Tyler Reddick enjoy spoils of Daytona 500 win with family, infant son who battled a tumor in chest

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Reddick had trouble corralling his young son on a Disney cruise and then inside a cramped motorhome in the days leading into the Daytona 500.

Rookie Reddick turns 9 months old later this month and he's ready to stretch his hands and legs and start crawling.

“He's been like a speedster,” Tyler Reddick said.

Kind of like dad.

Reddick had his entire family with him in victory lane — oh, and team owner and basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, too — once he burst through a last-lap wreck Sunday at Daytona International Speedway for 23XI Racing to shake a 38-race winless streak and celebrate his first Daytona 500 victory.

Reddick's 6-year-old son jumped on the roof of the No. 45 Toyota and was soon swooped in the air by his joyous father as confetti fluttered around them. Reddick's wife quickly joined them and plopped Rookie in his father's lap as they all posed for a victorious photo opp in front of the Harley J. Earl trophy.

Reddick gave Rookie an extra squeeze lest he try and crawl away from all the festivities.

“You start crawling really fast and we have to keep up with that,” Reddick said. “Keep away from the stairs and the bus.”

An emotional victory for any driver who win's NASCAR's version of the Super Bowl, Reddick had a tinge more reason to soak in the milestone. Yes, he only needed one race to rebound from a winless 2025 season that prompted some hard conversations inside the 23XI team. But his family also got to share the joy with Rookie, who suffered serious health complications l ast year.

Rookie was diagnosed with a tumor in his chest that affected his heart.

Alexa Reddick posted a social media update last October that said Rookie had a “tumor that’s ‘choking’ the renal vein & renal artery. Telling the heart ‘Hey I’m not getting enough blood … pump harder.’”

She said it has caused an enlarged heart, and Rookie needed a kidney removed because doctors determined it was no longer functioning.

Four months later, Rookie's health had improved, and he is now the son of a Daytona 500 champion.

“I just remember getting out of the car, and typically I’ve just been able to focus on Beau and my wife, and it’s like Rookie is getting to experience this for the first time, too,” Reddick said. “Rookie is a trooper, whether it’s been the Thunderbirds blasting over the track, just super loud, stuff I love.”

Waiting for him once the family reunion subsided was Jordan. The Chicago Bulls legend — who co-owns the team with three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin — bear-hugged Reddick in victory lane and then jointly hoisted the trophy with Reddick.

“I have someone like Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin saying, ‘you’re our first pick, you’re the guy that we want most ... it’s just crazy," Reddick said. "But they believe in what I bring to the table. It’s just nice to be able to deliver on those things for people like that.”

Reddick signed with Jordan's team ahead of the 2023 season after spending the first three-plus years with Richard Childress Racing. Reddick made NASCAR's playoff in his first two seasons driving for Jordan, winning twice in 2023 and three more times in 2024, when he advanced to the championship-deciding finale.

Last season brought professional and personal hardships that were so intertwined that Reddick, a 30-year-old from Corning, California, found the season difficult at times to navigate.

“You've got all these expectations to win multiple races, championships, and we didn't really live up to those last year,” Reddick said. “We had a lot of hard conversations in the offseason on top of everything else that was going on.”

The early results were promising for 23XI and Reddick. Reddick led only one lap Sunday and that was the one to the checkered flag. He was the 25th different driver to lead a lap for a new Daytona 500 record.

“It was never a frustration of discouragement or disappointment or blame or anything else,” crew chief Billy Scott said. “It was collectively how do we get better, how do we work on the things that we can improve ourselves. And he has been all in on everything that’s come up, from ownership, from within our team, and he’s entered the season with a new, I think, rejuvenated outlook on things.”

Reddick certainly feels rejuvenated in 2026 — already a Daytona 500 champ with Beau in his arms, and Rookie in tow.

“Rookie loves this stuff. The crazier it is, he just starts laughing and loves it,” Reddick said. “He’s wild, like his dad.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Tyler Reddick, (45) and his son Beau celebrate with the team after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Tyler Reddick, (45) and his son Beau celebrate with the team after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Nigel Cook)

Tyler Reddick, (45) and his son Beau celebrate with the team after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Tyler Reddick, (45) celebrates winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said LaMelo Ball should have been ejected for tripping Bam Adebayo, leading to a lower back injury that knocked the Heat's star center out of Tuesday night's 127-126 play-in tournament loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Ball fell to the floor after missing a shot on a drive to the basket early in the second quarter, and appeared to reach out with his left arm and grab Adebayo's left leg, causing the big man to fall on his back.

Ball was not called for a foul, and Adebayo remained on the floor as play continued. He eventually got up and walked to the locker room under his own power but did not return.

“He should have been thrown out of the game for that,” Spoelstra said. “There is no place in the game for that.”

Adebayo did not speak to reporters.

Ball, who scored 30 points and made the go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime, apologized for his role in Adebayo’s injury but said he was disoriented because he had been hit in the head on the drive.

“I apologize on that one,” Ball said. “I got hit in the head and didn’t really know where I was. But I’m going to check on him and see if he is OK and everything.”

When asked if he intentionally grabbed Adebayo’s leg, Ball said he hadn’t seen a replay and added, “Like I said, I got hit in the head and didn’t know where I was and was just playing basketball. But like I said, sorry, and I’m going to check on him.”

Ball remained in the game and was not immediately checked for a concussion.

“I don’t think it’s cute, and I don’t think it’s funny,” Spoelstra said after the loss, which ended Miami's season. “I think it’s a stupid play. It’s a dangerous play and obviously our best player was out. I’m not making an excuse. The Hornets played great and made those plays down the stretch. We had opportunities to win.

“That’s a shame. He should be penalized for that. I don’t think that belongs in the game, you know, tripping guys, shenanigans.”

Official Zach Zarba explained in a pool report why the play was not reviewed.

“The play wasn’t whistled in real time. Play continued with a fast break. And because play wasn’t stopped immediately, and there was no whistle on the play, the window to review the play was closed,” Zarba said. “Play was stopped, after a change of possession, and then a timeout. So, by rule, our window to review that play then is closed.”

Zarba said the officiating crew reviewed the play at halftime.

When asked if Ball should have been assessed a flagrant foul, Zarba said, “At this point, that goes to league operations, and they’ll make a determination on that in the coming days. So, they will make that determination and go from there.”

Ball had only one flagrant foul this season, on Feb. 5 against Houston.

Andrew Wiggins said seeing Adebayo go down was a “gut punch” for the Heat.

“To lose the leader of the team, the captain of the team, seeing him go down was definitely tough and guys had to rally around that,” Wiggins said.

Despite the loss of Adebayo, who scored 83 points in a game last month, Miami had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Tyler Herro missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

In overtime, Herro put the Heat up by one when he made three free throws with 8.7 seconds left after getting fouled by Ball following a Hornets turnover. Before that play, Herro hit a turnaround corner 3.

But Ball's driving layup saved the day for the Hornets.

Miami's Davion Mitchell said he hadn't seen video of the play where Adebayo was hurt, but called it a “high-intensity game.”

“I didn’t grab nobody’s ankle, but I grabbed somebody’s shirt,” Mitchell said. “I just think it was just a physical game because we were both fighting for our lives just to stay in. Obviously you don’t want to see Bam get hurt, especially like that, but it was a physical game.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) lies on the court during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) lies on the court during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) lies on the court during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo jumps to dunk during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)