Tyler Reddick’s path into the NASCAR playoffs wasn’t exactly smooth cruising. It was a rollercoaster, and not the fun kind. Just 18 laps into the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, his No. 45 Toyota smacked the inside wall after tangling with Todd Gilliland. The 23XI crew hustled to patch things up, and Reddick clawed back into the race, but the car was never the same. He limped to a 21st-place finish, clearly not what he wanted. And yet, fate had other plans. Nine laps after his wreck, Alex Bowman, the only driver with a realistic shot at bumping Reddick out, got caught in a wreck of his own, sealing Reddick’s ticket to the postseason. But while the playoff spot is secured, the confidence? Well, that’s another story.

Tyler Reddick hasn’t sugarcoated how rough the last few weeks have been. “When the moment’s been big, we’ve found a way to screw it up,” he admitted after Daytona. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 marked his second straight week of heartbreak, following a crash at Richmond when Ty Gibbs clipped the back of his car.

Reddick had looked strong early that day (Richmond), winning Stage 1. But his night unraveled into a 34th-place finish, four laps down. That stumble nearly torpedoed his playoff hopes after Alex Bowman surged to second, cutting deep into the points cushion. It took a mix of grit and fortune for Reddick to even make it this far.

“The trick is to just put that behind us and we’ve still gotten this far even with all those things going wrong,” he said. In reality, his playoff lifeline came only after Bowman’s car failed to finish the race at Daytona, a stunning DNF result that elevated Tyler Reddick into the postseason. That narrow escape means every race counts from here.

Still, Reddick sees reason for optimism. “I think we have an opportunity to make something out of it, especially at Darlington,” he noted. And he’s right! Darlington has been one of his better tracks. In 12 Cup starts, Reddick has scored six top-10 finishes and carries an average finish of 12.3. Those numbers make “The Lady in Black” a realistic shot at momentum.

But make no mistake. Reddick’s margin for error is gone. Currently slotted 14th in the playoff standings, two spots below the Round of 12 cutoff and just one point out, he knows the assignment is simple. As he put it, the goal now is to “snatch some playoff points or hopefully just win a race” before the first round of playoffs ends at Bristol.

While the playoff pressure is immense on Reddick, there is another battle that his team currently finds itself in.

Uncertain futures of Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace

As the stakes rise in the 23XI vs. NASCAR lawsuit, fans are watching every twist closely, especially with Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace’s fates hanging in the balance. Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic laid it bare. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports warned in court filings that, without their charters restored, they’d be “out of business following the 2025 Cup Series season.”

That leaves their drivers scrambling in what’s shaping up to be one of NASCAR’s most unpredictable offseasons. Reddick, still reeling from recent misfires on track, now faces an even steeper challenge. He not only has to make playoff waves but also potentially look for new employment.

Bianchi notes that Reddick was a Championship 4 finalist just a year ago, and his upside remains significant, even if his 2025 form has been rocky. Wallace, fresh off his Brickyard 400 win, also deserves attention from contenders. Where might they land? Bianchi says it’s anyone’s guess. “Predicting where these guys all would land is nearly impossible,” he wrote.

However, he further added that other teams may “reevaluate their driver lineups if an upgrade is suddenly available.” And indeed, with talent like Reddick’s consistency and Wallace’s marketability, doors could open across the garage. There might be justice at the end of the day for drivers stranded by a team losing out on its lifeline.

As Reddick and Wallace approach Darlington with playoff points hanging by a thread, the Court’s December ruling will loom large. Not just for NASCAR’s charter model, but also for the careers of two of its most visible drivers. One can hope the punishment evolves into an opportunity. But, as Bianchi reminds us, that outcome is far from guaranteed.