Denny Hamlin experienced a wide range of emotions after the result at Darlington Raceway. He was proud that 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick finished as the regular season champion. However, a seventh-place result at the Cook Out Southern 500 wasn’t exactly what he had in mind for himself going into the race, particularly on a track in which he has traditionally excelled. Moreover, Bubba Wallace missing out on the playoffs was another disappointment, as the 30-year-old finished in 16th place.

Hamlin is now in a unique position, being both a competitor and a cheerleader for Tyler Reddick. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver believes that the No. 45 Toyota team will be the ones to beat in the postseason, which starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway next week.

Denny Hamlin hails road-course ace Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick has had quite a season so far, hasn’t he? Wins at Talladega and Michigan International Speedway don’t indicate the level of consistency the 28-year-old has shown this season. The 23XI Racing driver has finished in the top five a staggering eleven times already, sending warning signals to the rest of the teams that Reddick is a serious championship contender. So it should come as no surprise that Denny Hamlin isn’t underestimating the California native towards the business end of the year.

Speaking to Frontstretch’s Chase Folsom, Hamlin outlined his expectations for Reddick in the playoffs. The 23XI Racing co-owner said, “Yeah, I mean, the 45 is one of the best teams in the garage right now and so they’re running well, you know. They’re not having those really, really bad finishes that some of us have, that I can speak to, but they’re going to be one of the contenders, one of the favorites for this championship. I think the track suits him very well, especially the road courses, where you know, I’m probably not looking forward to it than he is. The 45 team is going to be the one to beat.”

They say NASCAR is a sport of fine margins, and Reddick proved just that at Darlington Raceway, winning the regular season championship by just one point. To achieve what he has, given the circumstances surrounding his health is no easy feat, but the 23XI Racing driver showed his professionalism when it truly mattered to get a result. With the extra 15 playoff points to his name, Reddick will head to Atlanta Motor Speedway as third-seed in the postseason standings.

Earlier this season, Reddick wrecked out of the 2024 Ambetter Health 400 and finished in 30th place in the process. However, the California native will hope to do a lot better this time around, with the stakes being higher than ever before. He will also be looking forward to the 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen, which will be held at Watkins Glen International. The 2.45-mile track is a road course, where Reddick will be playing to his strength.

Reddick fell violently sick at Darlington Raceway

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It couldn’t have happened at a worse time, but Tyler Reddick raced with a stomach bug at the Cook Out Southern 500. The 28-year-old announced on the car radio that he was feeling under the weather, prompting his team to give him medicines and water during the pit stop. When they asked if he felt like throwing up, the 23XI Racing driver went on to say that he was “throwing up, sh***ing myself, all of the above.” However, he clarified that he didn’t mean it literally, as he was able to recover just enough to secure a top-10 result thanks to his team.

Speaking to the media after the race, Reddick said, “Just really thankful that a lot of great people on our team. They were feeding me the right stuff in the car to help me manage it best as I could. Just smart people. Able to put the right stuff in my drink to help calm my stomach down. At one point, I was just waiting to puke all over myself. Thankfully, they kept that from happening. A whole lot of other gross stuff. We were able to avoid a lot of that, which was nice, but it was extremely uncomfortable in the car all night.”

Reddick’s performance was reminiscent of Michael Jordan’s iconic ‘flu game’ when the NBA Hall of Famer competed in the 1997 NBA Finals despite having severe food poisoning. The parallels are uncanny, as the Chicago Bulls won that match by just two points, while Tyler Reddick finished one point ahead of Kyle Larson to clinch the regular series championship. Maybe that’s what separates winners from others, the ability to give it their all irrespective of the circumstances.

Do you think Tyler Reddick can win the Cup Series championship? Let us know in the comments!