Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Tyler Reddick competed in a critical NASCAR Cup Series playoff race Sunday while his 4-month son, Rookie, was in a cardiovascular intensive care unit undergoing tests following signs of heart failure.
Reddick’s wife, Alexa, had posted Sunday morning on Instagram about their baby’s health crisis and asking for prayers:
“After a run around for months with the pediatrician office, I knew what was going on was something bigger. Always trust your mom gut. Our sweet Rookie was showing signs of heart failure that were being missed. Please please pray for this sweet guy that God heals his heart. With God, Rookie, and his amazing doctors here at Levine’s I believe He can. We are in the cardiovascular ICU while we get some answers and work on improving heart function.”
After finishing seventh at Kansas Speedway, Reddick said it is a serious situation.
“It’s difficult,” Reddick said. “It’s not what you want for your kids. As a father, my first son, [5-year-old] Beau has hit his head, bruised himself up, cut himself up. But what my son Rookie is going through is serious. It’s a tricky situation.
“More than anything, I’m just ready to get on a plane and go home.”
Tyler Reddick celebrates with his wife, Alexa, and son, Beau, after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 on August 19, 2024.
While he would have been able to obtain NASCAR approval to skip the race and remain eligible to advance to the next round, the points lost likely would have put him in a must-win situation next week at the Charlotte road course. But even with the seventh-place finish, he is still 29 points below the cutline and faces nearly a must-win situation.
Reddick indicated he had some thoughts about skipping the race.
“Thankfully, he’s doing well enough — I don’t know where to even classify it,” Reddick said. “I wouldn’t say [my missing the race] was off the table, depending on how things were going.
“But thankfully, he’s doing well enough to where me and my wife were on the same page about me staying.”
If Reddick were to miss a race, 23XI Racing would have truck series points leader Corey Heim available in his role as the team’s reserve driver.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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