Regular season champ, Tyler Reddick made headlines exiting Las Vegas, but for all the wrong reasons. Ten minutes after his Stage 1 victory, the 23XI Racing wheelman’s Jordan-branded Toyota caught air in a manner that had the entire NASCAR community praying for his well-being.

Thankfully, Reddick was unharmed when the #45 landed on all four wheels after doing a full 360, sideways on the infield grass. He was even alert enough to maneuver his damaged car back to the pits with his own power. So above all, Tyler Reddick’s flip should stand as yet another testament to the grit and resilience possessed by today’s drivers.

Tyler Reddick’s tumble highlights the risks and resilience of the Next-Gen era

There’s very little room for error in stock car racing. On average, the NASCAR Cup Series sadly hosts over 200 crashes annually. That averages to somewhere around 5 wrecks each race. These days, the sport’s premier sanctioning body implements some very lofty safety standards to protect its drivers. But when you’re dancing with death and speed at such a high frequency, it doesn’t even take a second for things to go south.

According to a study by the Ciancio Ciancio Brown Law Firm, NASCAR has witnessed 108 driver fatalities across all its national, regional, and international series from 1948 to 2024. Out of that number, “The NASCAR Cup Series is the deadliest event, accounting for a total of 28 driver deaths.” That is quite a sobering statistic. But then again, this sport is not for the faint of heart. Those brave enough to dream of conquering its top racetracks are much aware of the life-or-death consequences. 

Ironically, the Cup Series has seen zero on-track driver fatality since the heartbreaking loss of one of the grittiest drivers of all time, Dale Earnhardt, to the tragic crash at Daytona International Speedway on February 18th, 2001. Only months later, the sport’s governing body made the Hands and Neck Safety (HANS) device compulsory on all cars, after 25-year-old Blaise Alexander passed away in an ARCA crash that had eerie similarities to The Intimidator’s accident. In 2002, NASCAR started installing Steel And Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barriers on all its tracks. They then mandated the six-point harness system in 2007, which helped eliminate almost all sternum injuries inside the newly introduced, ‘safer,’ Car of Tomorrow (CoT). These days NASCAR demands drivers use a seven-point harness system with its Generation-7  (Next-Gen) vehicle.

When the Next-Gen Cup car debuted in 2022, it promised to introduce a reliable, more competitive look for the sport. Three years later, safety concerns remain a pressing issue. The vehicle’s tendency to go airborne has become increasingly alarming, raising questions about its design and the risks it poses to drivers. Tyler Reddick’s car going airborne was a prime example of that notion. And it isn’t just him. Michael McDowell, Josh Berry, and Corey LaJoie have all faced something similar this season. Regardless, Reddick highlighted how calm our drivers remain during these situations in the post-race release of NASCAR’s RADIOACTIVE from Las Vegas on YouTube.

After his dust-up with Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr sent him flying between Turns 3 and 4 around Lap 90, Reddick’s radio caught an awe-inspiring moment. Once the out-of-control#45 got lifted off the LVMS infield, there was a brief silence louder than its crash-landing. His spotter, Nick Payne, understandably worried, probed Reddick to say something over the radio. The #45 wheelman swiftly assured his team that he was safe with a nonchalant 3-word, “Yep, I’m good,” and only then, everything seemed to return to normal. It’s a moment that will surely be on Reddick’s highlight reel at the end of this season.

For all it is worth, drivers like Tyler Reddick remind us of those old golden days when the racing wasn’t as attuned to safety and technology as it was to speed and showboating. And just like Reddick, all his present-day peers pay their dues, with advanced training regimens, and countless hours spent in the simulator to combat any mistakes. That is taking nothing away from those who paved the path for them in the years gone by with way less than what the drivers of today possess.

Regardless, the legends of yesterday never had to worry about an unlikely villain in this Playoff format. And thanks to his big crash at Vegas, and the subsequent DNFs that followed, Tyler Reddick and a few other Playoff contenders, are threatened by just that at Homestead.

Brace for a Homestead humdinger

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When the chequered flag waves for the winner in Homestead, there will only be one race remaining for those who still might have a chance of claiming the last spots in the championship finale in Phoenix. Considering they do not run strong throughout the 2024 Straight Talk Wireless 400, there will be bad news for Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott. All of those drivers are currently coasting below the elimination cutline after Vegas. If any of them are so unfortunate as to DNF one more time in Homestead, they might as well kiss their championship dreams goodbye. Even before the Martinsville cutoff race gets underway the following weekend.

For that matter, Denny Hamlin was the only one from that group who did not end his race early last Sunday. He finished 6th in Vegas, and scored zero stage points, placing himself 27 points, first below the cutline. But his 23XI employee, Tyler Reddick, faces a three-point deficit against Hamlin and is currently minus-30 on the bubble. In his trail, Ryan Blaney (-47), and Chase Elliott (-53) have a mountain to climb, if either wishes to win that second Bill France Cup for their respective brigade this year.

It must come as no surprise that Reddick, Elliott, and even Blaney were all involved in that Lap 89 incident where the #45 flipped to become the most crucial talking point post-Vegas. The #12 car of Blaney was only a casualty, as it could not avoid the oncoming RFK Ford of Brad Keselowski sliding up the racetrack towards him after contact with Reddick. Now, the Playoff puzzle will make their advances a tad bit tougher in Homestead.

Although Tyler Reddick has never won a Cup race at Homestead, he is one of the best statistical drivers on the 1.5-mile racetrack. This is where he won the Xfinity Series championship both times in 2018 and 2019 with Richard Childress Racing. As for the rest of his bubble-mates? Only Denny Hamlin has won a top-level race on the Florida oval. Next Sunday is shaping up to be another white-knuckled affair in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series.