"I was worried I was gonna puke and crash" - Tyler Reddick shares struggle behind Darlington race amid 2024 regular season championship win

Tyler Reddick clinched the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season title in Sunday night's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington by a mere point over Kyle Larson. However, the night for the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota was anything but easy, as Reddick battled a stomach illness throughout the race while trying to log 500 miles around the famed Darlington Raceway.

The sickness was such a detriment to the seven-time Cup race winner that it became his main focus. Reddick said (via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio):

"I was worried that the end of stage one there, when it finally ended, I was having to focus more on just holding back puke than driving the car."

"I was just worried I was gonna start, you know, puking and not be able to drive and crash. I've never been able to really, for those that have puked, right? Like, I feel like it's pretty hard to puke and do something else at the same time. So I was just worried my day was going to end that way," he added.

---

Reddick was "more worried" about his sickness than driving the car

Reddick started from the sixth position in Sunday night's 500-mile race, finishing fourth in stage one and eighth in stage two - accumulating 10 stage points across the two stages.

Reddick ultimately finished 10th at race's end, enough to edge out Larson by one point for the regular-season championship - giving him an additional 15 playoff points heading into the first round this Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The two-time winner this season managed to gut out the full race despite feeling under the weather, but when talking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Reddick conceded it was difficult to concentrate on the race.

"I just hate it, because that's one of my best tracks, and I couldn't really do my part as a driver," Reddick said. "I was more worried about just trying to keep whatever was in my stomach down."

Despite winning both stages and leading the most laps, Larson had to settle for regular-season runner-up after a fourth-place finish on Sunday night. Chase Briscoe went on to win, fending off Kyle Busch to clinch a spot in the playoffs and nab his first win since Phoenix in 2022.

---

Reddick's string of solid finishes helped lead him to the regular-season title

For Reddick, the regular-season championship capped off a strong run leading up to the finish of the season's first 26 races for the California native, as he posted top 10 finishes in eight of the last nine races - including a win at Michigan. Reddick also won earlier in the season at Talladega.

Reddick will start the playoffs third in the standings, 12 points behind first-place Larson and four behind second-place Christopher Bell.