DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tyler Reddick had a massive smile on his face after winning the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon. Understandable, considering that he captured one of NASCAR's crown jewels.
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But this win meant just a little more after battling through a truly difficult year.
"I mean, I never knew if — when I had the opportunity to race Cup if I would win Cup races, but when I did, I enjoyed it a lot," Reddick said on Sunday evening.
"I had a number of years there where I won multiple races. To have last year play out the way that it did was — it was rough. Obviously everything else happening outside of the racetrack was not easy to manage, as well, with my son."
There’s so much happening in this photo 😂 pic.twitter.com/6aFvrIdFNg
— Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) February 16, 2026
Reddick went through one of the most difficult years of his life in 2025. On the professional side, he went winless for the first time since the 2021 season. He finished ninth in the championship standings after making the Championship 4 in 2024.
On the personal side, he dealt with far more serious situations. His infant son, Rookie, had a tumor that choked the renal vein and renal artery.
This caused an enlarged heart. Rookie remained hospitalized for a considerable amount of time, and he underwent surgery to remove a kidney. He didn't truly show signs of progress until the end of the season.
Reddick had to try to show up at the race track each and every week while dealing with this difficult situation. He had to leave his family at home while he traveled the country, and he had to fight for wins and playoff points.
This certainly took a toll on Reddick, who still ran well enough to reach the playoffs.
"The only time I've ever felt the level of emotions I did in that moment (winning the Daytona 500) was winning the pole at the Charlotte Roval when Rookie was in the hospital," Reddick said. "For me that was a whole different set of reasons, everything that my son was going through, our family was going through.
"But crossing the start-finish line here first in this race, the race that — I watched a lot of NASCAR racing growing up, but I would never miss a Daytona 500 as a little kid growing up out in California, sitting with my family on Sunday watching this race.
"I, again, dreamed of one day just having an opportunity to run in this race. I've had — this is my eighth opportunity to run this race, I believe, and it wasn't the smoothest day, but when it mattered at the end, we did a really good job of being in the mix."
Giant ring on his finger, Tyler Reddick makes sure that he is called Daytona 500 "champion" to start his presser. pic.twitter.com/1EA84UuzdV
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) February 16, 2026
Reddick now has a crown jewel on his resume. He has won a trophy that numerous Hall of Famers have failed to capture. More importantly, he got to celebrate in victory lane with his wife, Alexa, and both of his sons, Rookie and Beau.
This hit him differently than realizing that he had won a crown jewel for team owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan. It had that extra personal touch.
"The emotion I shared with my wife, my sons is — it's more reflecting on the personal things that we've went through, the struggles, the hard times, the uncertainties of knowing what's going on with Rookie," Reddick said.
"Is Rookie going to be okay, what's going on there? For us to have this moment in this race, you know, again, everything we went through, the tail end of last year and the off-season getting back under our feet has its own place."
