Tyler Reddick makes alarming Daytona 500 admission

Eight-time Cup Series race winner Tyler Reddick has suggested that the iconic Daytona 500 race has lost some of its appeal.

Held at the start of each NASCAR Cup Series season since 1982, the Daytona 500 is an event entrenched in history, having been first on the calendar all the way back in 1959.

At this year's event, William Byron claimed his second successive Daytona 500 victory, while Reddick finished in second after some late drama.

Heading into the last lap, the fight looked to be between Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric after the likes of Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney had been caught up in an earlier wreck, with the #2 and #11 creating a gap over those behind.

However, due to that gap, the cars behind soon closed in, and as Hamlin moved to the outside row to get a run on Cindric he received contact, with a huge wreck ensuing and going on to gather most of the field.

Astonishingly, Byron made it through and was quite literally in the right place at the right time, with the Hendrick Motorsports star going from ninth place to first on the last lap to take a stunning and unlikely win.

23XI Racing star Reddick was asked on the Dirty Mo Media podcast whether it now means less to win the Daytona 500, to which the 29-year-old replied: "I hate to even answer that question but if I'm being honest, yes.

"For me it has lost some of it because of the way the racing plays out." Going on to reference his second-place finish at this year's Daytona 500, Reddick continued: "It's crazy, like this year on the green white checkered or whatever it was at the end there, I was running like 18th on the last lap, they all crashed, I finished second.

"I was like 'I did nothing to get to second place!'"

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2025 championship race

The Daytona 500 race is one of three to take place in Florida throughout the season, with Byron's Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Kyle Larson winning the Straight Talk Wireless 400 back in March, and Ryan Blaney winning the other race at Daytona in the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

With the regular season gone, the playoffs are now in full swing in 2025, with Reddick currently struggling in the round of 12.

The 29-year-old finds himself 23 points off the cutoff line, with 23XI Racing team-mate Bubba Wallace even further adrift.

The pair will be looking for a good result at the Kansas Speedway this weekend.

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