Yahoo Autos NASCAR Cup Playoff Field Set: Reddick Keeps Stomach Virus at Bay to Win Regular Season Title
Tyler Reddick really wanted to puke after 115 laps in Sunday night’s 367-lap Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, but despite a stomach virus he was determined to remain in his Toyota.
Reddick was dueling Kyle Larson for the regular season championship, a title that provides 15 points the driver can carry through the playoffs. He entered the Darlington event 17 points ahead of Larson, but with the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s dominating performance and Reddick’s illness that he figures he caught from his 4-year-old son Beau, it was a tough fight.
“That’s the worst I’ve felt (in a race car),” Reddick said. “They were feeding me the right stuff in the car to help me manage it best as I could. Able to put the right stuff in my drink to help calm my stomach down. At one point, I was just waiting to puke all over myself. Thankfully, they kept that from happening. A whole lot of other gross stuff. We were able to avoid a lot of that, which was nice, but it was extremely uncomfortable in the car all night.
“I took some Imodium at the infield care center earlier. That was the worse thing for me because I couldn’t get anything out that I wanted. It was just a rough night.”
Reddick ran in the top 10 for most of the race, while Larson dominated the event, leading 263 laps. On lap 245, Larson took the lead in the standings by a point. For the rest of the race, the standings’ lead flipped back-and-forth between the two.
With 70 laps remaining, Larson led Reddick by four points. Ten laps later he had stretched it to six points. With 25 laps remaining, Larson possessed a 10-point advantage over Reddick. Then, suddenly, everything began turning in Reddick’s favor and at the end of the seventh and final caution period on lap 351, Larson’s lead over Reddick was a mere three points. With 10 laps remaining, they were tied. Five laps later, Reddick gained a point and that ended up being the final margin for the regular season championship.
“It took things out of our control to make it happen,” Reddick said. “Some cars got in front of the 5 (Larson). That’s ultimately what allowed us to get it from 10th.”
Larson noted they obtained the 15 bonus points on the owner’s side of the standings but it was “definitely a bummer” not to secure the regular season driver’s title.
The 2024 Playoff Field
Even though Tyler Reddick claimed the regular season championship, Kyle Larson is seeded first in the playoff standings due to having four victories, 10 stage wins and 40 playoff points this season.
Christopher Bell is seeded second and Reddick third.
Rounding out the 16 playoff drivers according to the seeding are William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, Darlington winner Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs.
