As if racing at the famed Darlington Raceway wasn’t tough enough, Tyler Reddick had another factor potentially blocking his path to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship on Sunday evening.
A stomach bug plagued the 28-year-old throughout the Southern 500, but despite the adverse conditions inside the No. 45 Toyota Camry, Reddick forged on to a 10th-place finish.
If a top-10 effort at NASCAR’s toughest track didn’t settle Reddick’s stomach, the shine of the regular-season championship trophy might. Reddick won the regular-season title by just one point over Kyle Larson, who entered Sunday’s race 17 points behind Reddick in second place.
Reddick’s health wasn’t too bad when the green flag flew, but as Stage 1 progressed, his condition seemed to worsen inside a car reaching temperatures of over 120 degrees.