2025 was a tough year for Tyler Reddick, as the 23XI Racing driver faced roadblocks in both his personal and professional life. On one side, he had to battle his son’s illness, and on the other side, his NASCAR future was in a cloud of doubt. But despite all of it, Michael Jordan’s decision to stick with him paid off at Daytona. As Reddick gets to breathe a sigh of relief, he reveals the emotional struggle behind the glory.

“The emotion I share with my wife, my sons, is more reflecting on the personal things that we went through, the struggles, the hard times, the uncertainties of knowing what’s going on with Rookie, is Rookie going to be okay? What’s going on there? So for us to have this moment in this race, everything we went through at the tail end of last year and through the off-season getting back under our feet, has its own place.”

Reddick expressed this in an interview with Cup Scene on YouTube. Keeping the personal side aside, Reddick then focused on how Jordan believed in him while his future was uncertain. In the end, both Jordan and Denny Hamlin decided to stick with Reddick, and it paid off at the Daytona International Speedway.

“And then over on the other side like with Denny and Michael and my team, for my team, it’s how worked really hard on all these things, in the off-season to improve it and come out of the gate strong and well, we did. We won the first points banging race. So, then with Denny and Michael, those two have believed in me for years.

“So, a mix of coming through on the promises that I made for them and they made for me. And, they believed in me a lot, and they wanted me to be here, a part of 23XI really badly. We made it all work,” Reddick further added.

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Notably, Tyler Reddick spent a winless season last year, after coming from a three-win season in 2024, where he finished as a runner-up behind Joey Logano. Even though he came quite close to winning races in Daytona (finished second), COTA (finished third), Chicago (finished third), and Darlington (finished second), it was not meant to be.

His career graph turned out to be so tough that there were rumors about him leaving the team and moving to Hendrick Motorsports. In the end, Jordan and Hamlin gambled to keep him at the helm of the #45 car for the 2026 season.

Speaking about Reddick’s personal life, his infant son, Rookie George Reddick, had been diagnosed with a tumor in his chest. Reports suggest that little Reddick was “choking” his renal vein and artery. This caused several medical issues, such as high blood pressure, an enlarged heart, and other severe medical issues.

As a result, in October 2025, little Rookie underwent open surgery and is reported to be healthy coming into 2026. So much so that he accompanied his father to the track along with his mother and brother.

Tyler Reddick reveals how Rookie enjoyed Daytona victory

The entire Reddick family was present at the race on Sunday, and it paid off since Tyler Reddick ended up in the victory lane. As the race concluded, elder son, Beau Reddick, jumped on Reddick’s car, while the younger son kept on cheering.

“Rookie, he’s total opposite,” Reddick recalled in the interview. “Like the more crazy it is, whether it’s from me, whether it’s from Beau, whether it’s from the Thunderbirds, or just stuff happening around us like in victory lane, Rookie loves the stuff. like the crazier it is, he just starts laughing and just loves it. So, he’s just, he’s wild like his dad.”

Tyler Reddick and Alexa DeLeon have been in a long-term relationship since 2018. They got engaged in May 2023 and then married in July 2024. Beau Reddick was born to Tyler Reddick and Alexa DeLeon on January 18, 2020, and Rookie Reddick, five years later, on May 25, 2025.