Tyler Reddick would welcome a quiet offseason.
The 29-year-old NASCAR driver feels like it’s been years since he’s been able to truly relax during the sport’s three-month hiatus. His most recent “break” was his most chaotic.
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Reddick was thrust into headlines as part of the ongoing legal battle between his 23XI Racing team, co-owned by NASCAR star Denny Hamlin and NBA great Michael Jordan, and the sanctioning body.
23XI and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR last fall regarding the stock car series’ charter system that guarantees 36 cars a starting spot in every race. Among the claims: Reddick, last year’s regular-season Cup Series champion, would immediately become a free agent if the team did not have a charter.
A judge ruled in favor of the teams, allowing them to compete with charter recognition in 2025. But the fight is far from Reddick's rear-view mirror as he turns his attention to the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 16.
“I wouldn’t say it was uncomfortable, but certainly I was paying attention to it,” Reddick told The Associated Press. “I don’t think I ever really got uncomfortable in the whole process. I have a lot of faith in our owners. I believe in them. I believe in their process.
“That’s why I came here, and that’s why I’m still here. But it certainly caught my interest in the middle of the offseason.”
Stressful, no doubt. But did it create enough of a distraction that it could derail a rising star who is entering his third season at 23XI?
“The vibes are good,” he said. “Everyone’s focused and getting ready for the season. From that standpoint, I’m in a happy place.”
And for good reason. Reddick won three races in 2024 and ended up being one of four teams competing for the championship in the season finale. He struggled to keep up with eventual champ Joey Logano, finishing sixth at Phoenix Raceway and fourth in the standings.
It was a disappointing conclusion to a successful year that included Reddick marrying his longtime girlfriend, Alexa. They announced last month they are expecting a second child in June.
What could possibly top that?
“A Daytona 500 (victory) would be really nice,” he quipped.
It wouldn’t be shocking considering Reddick won two superspeedway races in 2024: at Talladega in April and at Daytona last February in one of the qualifying Duels.
“Baby steps,” he said. “Speedway racing has been a nightmare for me over the years. There are so many things that can happen, and it’s still a learning experience. … Finishing the 500 would be a start.
“I finished it one year, but I was like 500 laps down. If I can finish on the lead lap in the 500 — I know that’s a big ask — that would be a great start to the year. I would feel like we’re miles ahead.”
Reddick does have some momentum heading into Speedweeks. He finished sixth in the season-opening Clash, an exhibition race at historic Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina on Sunday, after running inside the top 10 all night.
“He just has the ability to get more speed out of a car than others,” Hamlin said. “That’s the simple way to put it. But he’s also got very good race craft. That’s where he’s really gotten better over time is being able to manage his stuff and keep it, keep himself in the game, even when he doesn’t have the best car.”
Reddick has developed a knack for managing the offseason, too.
His first child was born in January 2020, a month before his rookie season in the Cup Series. The following offseason was packed with testing before the debut of the New Gen car. In 2022, he was involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations to leave Richard Childress Racing and sign with 23IX.
The next offseason, after getting out of his RCR deal early, he found himself having to transition to a new team. In 2024, he spent the offseason adjusting to 23IX’s state-of-the-art, 114,000-square-foot race shop dubbed “Airspeed."
This year topped all the others because of the uncertainty surrounding the lawsuit and how it might affect his racing future, another kid on the way and the addition of a third car at 23IX, the No. 35 Toyota driven by Riley Herbst.
“There’s been change. There’s been growth. You name it, we’ve dealt with it," Reddick said. "Maybe that’s just life. It definitely makes the offseason go by really fast; it doesn’t even really feel like we have one anymore.”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
