Tyler Reddick: Son of NASCAR driver with chest tumor.

Tyler Reddick Races with Heart on the Line After Son’s Diagnosis

The driver Tyler Reddick faced a crucial race on Sunday, with his championship hopes hanging by a thread. His wife recently revealed that their son, Rookie, was diagnosed with a chest tumor affecting his heart. Rookie, the second child of Tyler and Alexa Reddick, was born in May. Alexa shared last week that the little one is dealing with serious health complications. The couple provided an update before the race at The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Tyler was starting from the pole position and needed a win to stay in contention for the Cup Series title. Shane van Gisbergen took the victory, eliminating Reddick from the playoffs. Reddick finished in tenth position. After the race, Alexa Reddick posted on social media about her Rookie condition, explaining that she has a “tumor that ‘strangles’ the renal vein and artery. It tells the heart ‘Hey, I’m not getting enough blood… pump harder'”. According to Alexa, this has caused an enlargement of the heart, and the 4-month-old baby will need a kidney removed because doctors determined it no longer functions.

He will undergo open surgery to remove his right kidney. We are just not sure when. Waiting is okay at this time to give his heart a break while he is on blood pressure medication. They are hoping his heart will fully recover because it was just an innocent bystander. We have answers, but a journey ahead to bring our little Cookie home.

Alexa Reddick

Alexa also added that her son was happy spending time playing, blowing bubbles, and “interacting with every nurse and doctor who enters his room.” Tyler Reddick had kept his son’s health situation private until his wife made it public before last week’s race at Kansas Speedway, where she revealed that Rookie was at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte and showing signs of heart failure. Reddick spoke about Rookie’s health in Charlotte. “Healthier probably isn’t the right word, but I’ve never seen him happier. His color looks good. He’s gained weight. A lot of things are going well,” Reddick said. “That said, some of the most difficult moments are definitely ahead. We’re definitely not out of the woods. There are some things we have to get through first.” “So, on the one hand, I’m very happy, and it makes me feel great that he’s doing much better right now, but we certainly have some hurdles to overcome first before we even think about leaving the hospital or thinking about what comes next.” Reddick, who reached the final of last year’s championship, started Sunday’s race below the cut line of the drivers. The group was reduced from 12 to eight after the race. The last four, Reddick, his 23XI Racing teammate, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric, were eliminated. “For me, this weekend, where we’re at, is what it is,” Reddick said. “I’m going to go out and give my best while I’m here, certainly. For me, this week, the elimination, everything that’s going on in the racing world is in the background, as it should be.” Denny Hamlin, co-owner of Reddick’s car, said that 23XI Racing has provided support and has participated to ensure that the Rookie receives the best attention. “We’ve tried to do everything we can as a company to leverage every resource we can, to get second, third opinions, all the things, put it in touch with specialists,” Hamlin said. “We feel not relief, but it’s a small relief to know that they now understand the path forward, compared to not knowing.” “I can’t imagine being in his shoes. He has enough to think about. I’m sure he’s probably breathing a bit of a sigh of relief that he’s still going out there to do his job at a high level, given everything that’s going on off the track.” Reddick started alongside van Gisbergen, who won for the fifth consecutive time in a road or street race. The New Zealander was the big favorite, and any driver hoping to avoid elimination from the playoffs needed to beat van Gisbergen. Meanwhile, Reddick thanked for the support that he and his family have received and reflected on the emotional impact this has had on his family. “Countless people have helped,” Reddick said. “Countless people have reached out, provided support, whatever. It’s been really eye-opening. I agree with my wife, this is the hardest thing I’ve had to go through… Certainly, being away [last week] wasn’t ideal.” “That was a decision that she and I made when I was in Kansas. It was going in the right direction. Yes, as I said, there are great things ahead that we have to fix, but during that past weekend, it was stable and going in the right direction. It was difficult to stay and compete [in Kansas], but we were okay with that. I just wanted to get off that plane with a lot of desire on Sunday night and go back to the hospital.”