Given his shot on the common season title and the championship-boosting factors that include it, nobody would blame Tyler Reddick for heading into final night time’s race at Darlington — the season finale — with a pit in his abdomen. Solely it wasn’t nerves making him really feel unhealthy.
“I assumed I used to be going to (puke),” stated Reddick, who battled a brutal abdomen bug that made an already tense race much more tough. “I actually did on the finish of Stage 1, as quickly because the yellow got here out.”
He went on to elucidate that his younger son, Beau, was feeling sick final weekend at Daytona. Reddick began to develop signs at first of the Darlington race weekend. “Felt good just about all the way in which up till the race. I do not know, simply should have been the bump off of (Flip 2) or one thing. It simply actually, actually received unhealthy by the tip of Stage 1. It simply stayed there the remainder of the way in which.
His staff, 23XI, did every thing it may to maintain him from the worst-case situation whereas he gutted out 500 miles of driving. Reddick requested for crackers and bread over the radio too soothe his abdomen; the staff handed him some tablets in the course of the stage break — just for the motive force to by chance drop them contained in the No. 45 automotive.
Lesson discovered. On the subsequent cease, they handed him a water bottle with crushed tablets already dissolved inside.
“They had been feeding me the fitting stuff within the automotive to assist me handle it finest as I may…At one level, I used to be simply ready to puke throughout myself. Fortunately they stored that from taking place. A complete lot of different gross stuff. We had been in a position to keep away from plenty of that, which was good — nevertheless it was extraordinarily uncomfortable within the automotive all night time.”
Tyler Reddick with the trophy for the 2024 NASCAR Cup collection common season championship
Picture by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Photographs
As if driving by means of nausea wasn’t sufficient, Reddick and staff additionally spent the night time centered on the ever-changing factors battle with Kyle Larson. The common season title could also be symbolic, nevertheless it comes with a direct 15-point lead as NASCAR Cup Collection enters the playoffs. 5 of the final seven drivers to take the common season title — and people invaluable factors — have gone on to make the Championship 4.
“It was powerful, man, once we simply had been bleeding factors to the 5 in the midst of the race,” stated Reddick. “I used to be making an attempt to consider what I wanted to do to go sooner. It was actually, actually arduous to deal with that stuff. I used to be simply not in a position to actually do what I usually do good right here within the automotive.”
Reddick vs. Larson: A battle to the tip
Though Reddick was operating effectively, Kyle Larson’s driving was on a completely different degree. Regardless of lacking a race in Might whereas trying the Indianapolis 500, Larson caught close to the highest of the Cup Collection’ standings all yr. Within the common season finale at Darlington, he gained each phases, packing away 20 stage factors to slash away on the deficit between himself and Reddick.
Larson led the primary 263 laps of the race, solely to see Ross Chastain — trying to salvage his playoff hopes — roll the cube and keep out on outdated tires. Larson by no means regained the race lead, and completed fourth.
Reddick, queasy however undeterred, used that as a chance to shut the hole. He crossed the road in tenth place — denying Larson and Hendrick Motorsports the common season crown by a single level.
Watch: Larson on ‘bummer’ of shedding Common Season Championship by single level
“It is only a testomony to all of the arduous work that everybody at 23XI — right here on the racetrack, week-in and week-out, again at Airspeed — places into this,” stated Reddick of the accomplishment. “It is simply been actually, actually enjoyable the final two years to be part of this course of, constructing as much as the place we need to be.
“Each years actually really feel like we had rocky begins to get going. It is good to have the ability to get to the place we did in the midst of the yr and begin excited about factors. I feel it actually helped us simply proceed to be extra constant, get us in the fitting mindset for these playoffs. We’ll be doing it three races at a time right here quickly.”
It wasn’t a complete loss for Larson and the Hendrick Motorsports staff, although. With Justin Allgaier’s efficiency within the Coca-Cola 600 — the race Larson missed in his try on the double — the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet nonetheless gained the common season proprietor’s title.
“Yeah, we received them on the proprietor’s aspect, which is good,” stated Larson. “However the driver’s aspect is certainly a bummer. I assumed we had been going to have the ability to get it, however I suppose Tyler [Reddick] should have handed a few vehicles there on the finish, after which I fell again a few spots. Only a bummer, however we had been nonetheless in a position to rack up plenty of playoff factors this yr with the wins, in addition to the stage wins. You simply must take every week, week-by-week.”
