Tyler Reddick

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Reddick began his racing career at the age of four, competing in Outlaw Karts; soon after he was competing in mini sprints, midgets, dirt late models, and sprint cars.^[1] He was the youngest driver to qualify for the pole position at Eldora Speedway World 100, the youngest driver to win at the East Bay Winter Nationals, and the youngest winning driver in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.^[2] He is also the youngest driver ever to qualify for a feature race in World of Outlaws sprint car racing.^[3]

Reddick made his debut in the ARCA Racing Series in 2012. That October, he won in his first career start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Rockingham Speedway.^[4]

Reddick made his debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in April 2013, driving for Ken Schrader Racing at Rockingham Speedway; he was involved in an accident during the race, and finished 30th.^[5]

In November 2013, it was announced that Reddick had been signed by Brad Keselowski Racing to compete in the Camping World Truck Series; he was scheduled to drive the team's No. 19 Ford in 16 events in the series in 2014, before running the full series schedule for the team in 2015.^[1] On February 20, 2015, Reddick got his first career victory in the Camping World Truck Series at Daytona. On May 29, he got his second career victory in the Truck Series at Dover. He led the points during the later stages of the summer until wrecking at Mosport, at which point he surrendered the lead to eventual champion Erik Jones. He ultimately finished 2nd in his first full year of competition.

In 2016, Reddick returned to BKR, switching the No. 19 to the No. 29, with his new BKR teammate Hemric using his previous No. 19. He started the season with a crash at Daytona, finishing 18th. He would have been in contention for the championship in 2016, but he failed to make it into the playoffs. He won at Las Vegas, for his first victory of the season. On November 10, 2016, it was announced that Reddick would not return to BKR next season.

Eight days after the BKR announcement, Reddick joined Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro in the Xfinity Series on a part-time basis starting in 2017.^[6] That September, he won his first Xfinity race at Kentucky Speedway after leading 66 laps and winning with a 14-second advantage over teammate Brennan Poole.^[7] A month later, Reddick won his first Xfinity pole at Kansas Speedway.

On September 14, 2017, Reddick was signed by JR Motorsports to a full-time schedule for the 2018 Xfinity season, replacing William Byron, who was promoted to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, in the No. 24 car.^[8] On February 17, 2018, Reddick beat teammate Elliott Sadler in a photo finish to win the season-opening race at Daytona. At a margin of .0004 seconds, it is the closest finish in NASCAR history.^[9] Although he did not win again for the remainder of the regular season, he qualified for the playoffs and reached the Championship Round. In the season finale at Homestead, Reddick won the race and his first Xfinity Series championship.^[10]

On October 31, 2018, it was announced that Reddick would switch from JR Motorsports to Richard Childress Racing in 2019.^[11] He explained that his move to RCR was for a better chance to run in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in the near future.^[12] In April 2019, Reddick won his first race with RCR in the MoneyLion 300 at Talladega.^[13] At the end of the Kansas race, he got into a fight with Cole Custer on pit road.^[14] At the 2019 O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, Reddick scored his fourth pole of the season and led 32 laps before crashing and finishing 29th in the final order.^[15] He won at Homestead to claim his second consecutive Xfinity Series championship.^[16]

Reddick returned to the Xfinity Series for the 2021 season opener at Daytona, driving a newly opened No. 03 car for Our Motorsports.^[17] However, the car missed the race as qualifying was rained out.^[18] Two weeks later at Homestead, he moved to RSS Racing's No. 23 in a partnership with Our;^[19] he finished second behind RCR's Myatt Snider, but was disqualified when his car failed the rear height requirements during post-race inspection.^[20] In May, he signed with Jordan Anderson Racing to race at Circuit of the Americas.^[21]

In 2022, Reddick drove the Big Machine Racing No. 48 to the team's first win at Texas.^[22]

In 2023, he drove the No. 24 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing for select races.

In 2024, he returned to Sam Hunt Racing behind the wheel of the No. 26 Toyota at Nashville.^[23]

On February 1, 2019, it was announced that Reddick would make his Cup Series debut at the 2019 Daytona 500, driving the No. 31 car for RCR.^[24] After qualifying for the race as an open (non-charter) car, he started 39th. He was involved in two incidents during the race: on lap 159, as he was about to pit, contact by Cody Ware sent him airborne before being hit by Jimmie Johnson, ripping Johnson's left side; on lap 191, he was involved in "The Big One" that collected 20 other drivers.^[25][26]

In April, Reddick participated in qualifying at Talladega, driving the No. 62 Beard Motorsports car in place of Brendan Gaughan, who was attending his son's communion. Reddick was 29th fastest, but Gaughan started at the rear for the race under NASCAR's driver change rules.^[27] In only his second MENCS start at Kansas, Reddick finished ninth.

On October 2, 2019, RCR officially announced Reddick as the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for the 2020 season.^[28][29]

Reddick scored his first Top 10 of the 2020 season at the first Darlington spring race, finishing 7th. At Homestead, he ran in the Top 5 almost all day and finished 4th, his then-best career finish, despite almost losing the position on the last lap after thinking that the race ended a lap early.^[30]

He nearly won the 2020 GEICO 500 at Talladega, controlling the lead in the late stages but ultimately losing it with four laps to go and finishing 20th. He also contended with RCR teammate Austin Dillon for the victory at Texas after opting not to pit during a caution caused by fellow rookie Quin Houff spinning out, which moved him to the lead with 23 laps to go as a result. Reddick finished a then career-best second-place to Dillon, marking an RCR 1–2 finish for the first time since the 2011 Good Sam Club 500. Reddick posted three Top 5 finishes and nine Top 10 finishes.^[31] He was in playoff contention for most of the year, being 19th in points heading into the regular-season finale in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the regular-season finale.^[31] He nearly won the race, but in the late stages, he attempted to clear the No. 18 of Kyle Busch, but had not fully passed him and instead collided with Busch.^[32] The contact lost Reddick the lead and he was caught up in another wreck, resulting in him missing the playoffs. He finished the season out 19th in points.^[31]

In August 2020, Reddick announced that he would return to the No. 8 for RCR for a second year.^[33] He again was close to winning, this time at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He climbed up to 4th with roughly ten to go and battled with Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson. However, when he finally got by both of them for good, he did not have enough time to catch the race winner William Byron, despite having the fastest car on the track. Reddick's consistency and a 5th-place finish at the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona enabled him to make the playoffs for the first time.^[34] He was eliminated from the playoffs following the conclusion of the Round of 16 at Bristol.^[35] He finished the season thirteenth in the points standings.^[36]

Reddick began the 2022 season with a 35th-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. At the Bristol dirt race, he battled Chase Briscoe for the lead on the closing laps when Briscoe lost control and caused both cars to slide on the final turn, leading to Reddick finishing second to Kyle Busch. At Road America, Reddick held off Chase Elliott to score his first career Cup Series win.^[37] On July 12, 2022, it was announced that Reddick had signed with 23XI Racing for a full-time Cup ride in 2024.^[38] At the Indianapolis Road Course, he held off the field in overtime to win his second race of the season.^[39] Reddick was eliminated in the Round of 16 after being involved in a multi-car pileup at the Bristol night race.^[40] Despite his elimination, he scored his third career win at Texas a week later.^[41] He retired from the Martinsville playoff race early, as he was not feeling well.^[42][43] He finished the season 14th in the points standings.^[44]

On October 15, 2022, 23XI Racing announced that it had bought out the remainder of Reddick's contract from RCR to replace Kurt Busch in the No. 45 for the 2023 season.^[45]

He started the 2023 season with a 39th place DNF at the 2023 Daytona 500. A month later, he scored his first win of the season at COTA in triple overtime, earning the first win for the number 45 team since Kurt Busch's final career win in the 2022 Advent Health 400.^[46] On May 16, NASCAR docked the No. 45 team ten owner and driver points for unapproved ballasts during inspection prior to qualifying at Darlington.^[47] Although suffering from a small summer slump, Reddick was still able to qualify for the playoffs. During the playoffs, Reddick won at Kansas to advance to the Round of 12. He was eliminated at the conclusion of the Round of 8. He finished a career-high 6th in the points standings.^[48]

Reddick started the 2024 season with a 29th-place DNF at the 2024 Daytona 500. Following top-5 and top-10 finishes, he scored his first win of the season at Talladega by overtaking Brad Keselowski on the final stretch after Keselowski spun Michael McDowell and triggered a multi-car crash.^[49] This was not just Reddick's first win of the season, but also Michael Jordan's first appearance at one of his driver's wins, in which he began celebrating with the team.

During the 2024 Goodyear 400 Reddick had a competitive car, sporting a throwback to former racer Tim Richmond. In this race, Reddick had a hard charge for the win with RFK Racing's Chris Buescher in a fight for the win. This fight for the win culminated in a dive to Buescher’s left in Turn 3. Reddick drifted high and came back up on the track into Buescher, who had no choice but to bounce off the SAFER barrier to his right. Following the race, Buescher unleashed his frustrations on Reddick with a shove and a stern discussion, saying "We don't have that sticker on right now!", in reference to the "Win and You're In" aspect of the Playoffs that required drivers to win to advance to the Playoffs. Reddick did not offer a defense for the contact and was apologetic after climbing out of his damaged No. 45 Toyota.^[50] He scored his second win of the season at Michigan.^[51]

Following the Southern 500, Reddick clinched the regular season championship, beating Kyle Larson by just one point, while suffering from a stomach bug throughout the race.^[52] He advanced to the Round of 8 after having an incredible run at the Charlotte Roval against Playoff contender Joey Logano, slowly gaining spots throughout the day as Logano lost spots.^[53] It was all for not, however, as hours after the Roval race, Alex Bowman received a post-race penalty from NASCAR for not meeting weight requirements, dropping him to 38th as a result of being disqualified and promoting Reddick as the seventh driver to enter the Round of 8, while also advancing Logano.^[54][55]

On lap 90 at Las Vegas, Reddick, as well as Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr., were three-wide coming off Turn 4. Elliott's No. 9 was shoved up high into Reddick's No. 45, which spun them both out, also collecting Brad Keselowski's No. 6. As Reddick's car was sliding through the grass, the car clipped the pavement of the Legends oval on the front stretch and rolled over one time before landing on all four tires. Reddick finished 36th due to the accident.^[56]

Following the accident the week prior, Reddick entered a deep point deficit, and would need good races through the rest of the round to have any chance to make the Championship 4. At Homestead, Reddick did exactly that, having an incredible race all day. Once a caution flew with 11 to go, the drivers would restart as Reddick fought a tough battle with Ryan Blaney. In the final laps, Reddick closed in on Blaney and, while in turn 4 on the final lap, ran the outside line around Blaney and team-owner Denny Hamlin, to win the race and securing him a spot in the Championship 4 at Phoenix.^[57] Although Reddick made the Championship 4, he had a good, but overall weak run compared to the other championship contenders, finishing a new record high 4th in the standings with a 6th place finish.

Reddick started the 2025 season with a runner-up finish at Daytona, as well as getting top-five finishes at Austin, Darlington, Atlanta, and Chicago. While Reddick's season was consistent, top-5's and top-10's were not as plentiful as they had been the years prior. Despite not scoring a win, he was consistent enough to make the playoffs, as well as being in contention to win the playoff-opening race at Darlington, but settled again for another runner-up finish. After being eliminated following the Round of 12, Reddick finished ninth in the points standings.

His season was very tough due to numerous issues, both career-wise, and personal issues. While he suffered from not winning this year, he also had a personal scare as his newborn son, Rookie, suffered from a tumor, but would recover and would be released from the hospital as the season concluded.^[58] The lawsuit between his team owners and NASCAR also helped create worry and dissent, not just within 23XI Racing, but also fellow plaintiff and race team Front Row Motorsports. Events such as these helped contribute to more distractions that hurt the performance of drivers like Reddick.

Entering a contract year for the 2026 season, Reddick started the season by winning the Daytona 500 in spectacular fashion.^[59] Following a late race crash, Reddick restarted in 2nd place. On the final lap, Reddick, sitting in 4th, missed a large last-lap pileup going into Turn 1 to run with the leaders for the win. Going into Turn 3, Reddick's teammate Riley Herbst, would give him a tremendous push past Zane Smith and race leader Chase Elliott, which he would use in the final stretch to pass Elliott and win the Daytona 500 as they wrecked behind. This was not just Reddick's first Daytona 500 win, but also 23XI Racing's first Daytona 500 victory, and the first Toyota to win at Daytona since his team-owner, Denny Hamlin, in 2020.

Despite being caught up in a wreck earlier in the race and suffering a significant amount of damage, Reddick was also able to charge a large run back to the lead to win the week following the Daytona 500 at Atlanta.^[60] This helped make Reddick the first driver since Matt Kenseth in 2009 to win the first two races of the season. The following week, running off the momentum he had earned the two weeks prior, he wiped the field and won at Austin, becoming the first driver to win the first three races of the season in NASCAR history.^[61]

As the early season continued, Reddick remained extremely consistent, winning the pole at Darlington, but suffering battery issues and falling far back into the field. He was able to reclaim his spots however, and gained his 4th win of the season in the race. He won again after having a competitive race in Kansas following an overtime restart, becoming the first driver since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 to score five of the first nine races in a season.^[62]

Reddick later signed a contract extension on April 26.^[63]

Reddick was born in Corning, California and grew up most of his life in DuQuoin, Illinois and Peoria, Illinois. He attended DuQuoin Christian Fellowship School before transferring to homeschooling for the last two years and graduating in 2014. He is the grandson of Benny Brown, founder of BBR Music Group.^[64] Reddick is married to Alexa DeLeon,^[65] and the couple has two sons.^[66]