In 2002, a video game was released where players could start a racing career on dirt tracks and work their way up to the biggest stage of Daytona. Tyler Reddick has done just that.
While NASCAR fans are familiar with Reddick’s rise through the NASCAR ranks, Reddick’s early racing was on the dirt tracks across the country. At the age of 13, Reddick became a well-known name to dirt racing fans as he competed in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and prestigious events such as the World 100.
Tyler Reddick in 2010 at Volunteer Speedway
Reddick drove for his family-owned team and quickly shown he was a quick study competing against the likes of Scott Bloomquist and Jimmy Owens. It was a short time later the family racing team started buying their cars from Scott Bloomquist. The Team Zero cars suited his driving style and Reddick absorbed all the information he learned from one of the best dirt late model drivers of all time.
Reddick was named the LOLMDS Rookie of the Year in 2011 at the age of 15. The same season, Reddick outdueled Bloomquist to win his only LOLMDS feature race at East Bay Raceway Park.
From there, Reddick began to dabble in asphalt racing in 2012. He ran some ARCA and K&N Pro Series races, winning in his only start in the K&N series. Reddick ran several more ARCA and K&N races in 2013 and even had one Camping World Truck Series start.
It was 2014 when Reddick’s career shifted mostly from dirt to NASCAR. He signed with Brad Keselowski Racing’s Craftsman Truck Series team where he made 16 starts. Reddick got his first two series wins in 2015.
Reddick moved to the Xfinity Series in 2017 driving for Chip Ganassi Racing and picked up his first series win.
Then his big move came in 2018 when he signed with Jr. Motorsports. Reddick won 2 races en route to winning the Xfinity Series championship.
In a surprising move, Reddick left JRM and signed with Richard Childress Racing. The move allowed Reddick to get a shot at a Cup ride, which he made his first two starts driving for RCR. Reddick proved 2018 was no fluke by winning another Xfinity Series championship.
Reddick became a full-time Cup series driver in 2019. He spent three seasons with RCR and won three races in 2022.
Another big move came in 2023 when Reddick joined the newly formed 23XI team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. Reddick showed the move to be a good one winning two races that season and three more in 2024.
Tyler Reddick at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2025.
As good as things were going for Reddick, the 2025 season proved to be a tough one on and off the track. He went winless on the track. But more importantly, had to deal with the health of his newborn son, Rookie. The youngest of the two Reddick children was born with a tumor in his chest that was affecting his heart. The tumor was removed four months later, and a kidney was removed the following month. Rookie is on the road to recovery.
Looking to turn things around for 2026, Reddick has already done that by winning the Daytona 500. The win showed a driver can still came from a dirt racing background and become the winner of the Daytona 500. Reddick backed that up with a win in last weekend’s race at Echopark Speedway (Atlanta). Maybe Reddick can ride that momentum to a Cup Series title.
Tyler Reddick in his dirt late model at Tazewell Speedway in 2012.
Tyler Reddick greets fans at Bristol.
