DARLINGTON, S.C. – Most NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers would be thrilled with a third-place finish in just their second appearance at Darlington Raceway.

Not Tyler Reddick, however. He left the track billed as ‘Too Tough to Tame’ frustrated on Saturday afternoon, despite picking up his best finish since winning at Daytona Int’l Speedway in February.

Reddick qualified third and ran among the top five all afternoon, but just seemed to lack a little bit of speed compared to polesitter Ross Chastain and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regulars Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski, who combined to dominate the proceedings.

When Chastain and Harvick tangled during the final stage while racing for the lead, Reddick was able to capitalize and rise into the top three, where he remained for the rest of the race. He just simply wasn’t able to chase down Keselowski and eventual runner-up Cole Custer following the final restart.

Reddick, who slapped the wall during practice on Friday before rebounding when it mattered most, shouldered the blame for what he called a “disappointing end to a promising weekend.”

“This was a step in the right direction for us, but unfortunately, I’m still doing the same thing I always seem to do and making mistakes when we don’t need them,” said Reddick. “I had another really good car today, and I feel like when I knocked the tail over and unsealed the decklid … sometimes that can help, but when I got out of the car and was looking at it I feel like (the damage) hurt it.

“It’s an unfortunate finish for us; I honestly felt like we had the car to beat after practice on Friday, but we still had good speed in our Old Milwaukee Chevrolet and I’m really proud they came on board for our Tim Richmond throwback this year. This was really cool to be able to do, and it was a fun weekend, but third place is never enough.”

Even though Saturday’s event pushed Reddick back up to sixth in the regular-season standings and gave his team an apparent shot in the arm heading into the final two races before the playoffs, the California young gun was on the fence about the positives from the day.

Asked if it was a good sign that he was frustrated with a third-place run, Reddick gave a bit of a wry smile before offering his response.

“Yes and no. I feel like we had a car that could have contended for the win, and yet we were only able to finish third with it,” Reddick explained. “It’s a little hard to swallow, but when you’re racing against Cup guys and guys who have been racing here (at Darlington) about as long as I’ve been alive, it’s tough.

“As I said, we’re moving the right way and we know what we’ve got to do (to get better), but we came here with the intention of winning the race and third just doesn’t cut it.”

He brightened considerably, however, when discussing the throwback paint scheme that his No. 9 Old Milwaukee Chevrolet carried during the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, replicating the colors driven by Tim Richmond from 1983 to 1985 at Raymond Beadle’s Blue Max Racing team.

Reddick noted that he was honored to pay tribute to the driver that he considers to be one of his racing heroes.

“He was just an outstanding driver. He did things behind the wheel that a lot of people couldn’t do at their time, and even guys like Dale Earnhardt could see that,” said Reddick. “To be able to run a throwback to a guy who was so talented and was just an outstanding guy and ambassador for the sport is such a privilege for me. He was great with fans on and off the track; he had it all.

“It was a shame to see him taken before his time was truly up, but I’m glad we were able to honor his memory and hopefully gave his fans some pride with a solid run today.”