Denny Hamlin has voiced his dissatisfaction with NASCAR’s handling of Tyler Reddick’s regular season trophy presentation.
This past weekend at Darlington Raceway, South Carolina, Hamlin publicly criticized NASCAR for failing to formally recognize Reddick’s achievement.
“It was pretty disappointing no one from NASCAR presented [Reddick] with his regular season trophy,” Hamlin commented to Jenna Fryer of Associated Press.
Denny Hamlin, who says charter talks are stagnant, “it was pretty disappointing no one from #NASCAR presented (Reddick) with his regular season trophy.”
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) September 4, 2024
Reddick’s narrow victory over Kyle Larson by a single point in the final standings marked a significant milestone for 23XI Racing, clinching their first regular season title.
2024 Regular Season Champion, Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Upper Deck Toyota, poses with Curtis Polk, 23XI Racing co-owners, NBA Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, after the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 01, 2024 in Darlington, South Carolina. Tyler Reddick won the 2024 Regular Season championship.
Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
However, the victory celebration was marred by the absence of a formal trophy presentation, a snub that resonated deeply with both Reddick and Hamlin. Reddick celebrated the victory after a challenging race at Darlington Raceway as he battled severe sickness throughout. Speaking about his win after the race, he explained, as Newsweek previously reported:
“Just really thankful that a lot of great people on our team.
“They were feeding me the right stuff in the car to help me manage it best as I could. Just smart people. 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 held on for dear life all night.”
He added:
“I actually really just wanted to get it out because it was really, really bad. 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.”
Co-team owner Michael Jordan commended Reddick’s efforts whilst speaking to the media after the race:
“I mean, I know what it feels like to be sick and trying to perform, and just to do what he did, I mean, I wasn’t going around 200 miles an hour in a car, but I’m proud of his effort, and we needed it.
“We won by one point. I mean, he gutted it out. So hopefully he feels better tomorrow, and we feel better next week.”
NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out Southern 500 At Darlington Raceway Results
- Chase Elliott – Running
- Ryan Preece – Running
- Austin Cindric – Running
- Brad Keselowski – Running
- Austin Dillon – Running
- Bubba Wallace – Running
- Todd Gilliland – Running
- Daniel Suárez – Running
- Alex Bowman – Running
- Ty Gibbs – Running
- Harrison Burton – Running
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr – Running
- Zane Smith – Running
- Erik Jones – Running
- John H. Nemechek – Running
- Shane Van Gisbergen – Running
- Justin Haley – Running
- Michael McDowell – Running
- Daniel Hemric – Running
- William Byron – Accident
- Josh Berry – Accident
- Noah Gragson – Accident
- Carson Hocevar – Accident
- Kaz Grala – Running
- Timmy Hill – Steering
- Martin Truex Jr – Accident
- Ryan Blaney – Accident
