Martin Truex Jr. ‘last resort’ replacement for Tyler Reddick amid illness at Darlington

Tyler Reddick is competing in the Southern 500 at Darlington while dealing with an illness, and Martin Truex Jr. could take over if things get really bad. The broadcast team on NBC Sports (per Stephen Stumpf of Frontstretch) said Reddick’s team hasn’t reached out to Truex yet. He would be a “last resort” and even if that happens, there would be issues with adjusting the seat.

Truex wrecked his car two laps into the Southern 500, so his day is done. But with him being a Toyota teammate, he could replace Reddick who already clinched a playoff spot. Truex is in a good position to reach the postseason but could lose his playoff spot depending on how the race ends.

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This is the final season for Truex as a full-time driver since he announced his retirement earlier this year. On Saturday, the 44-year-old driver talked about possibly missing the playoffs if things don’t go his way.

Martin Truex Jr. talks about possibly missing the playoffs

“I hate to even talk about it because I’ve seen crazy things happen in my time doing this,” Truex said Saturday, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “We should be fine. Hopefully nothing out of our control happens and that’s really what it’s gonna take to get us out of there. If we can just run a smart race, have no failures, nothing crazy happen, we don’t get run over or crash or whatever early, we will be fine. Excited about our car. Thought it was really close today and best one I’ve had here in a couple of years.”

Once the 2024 season ends, Truex will enjoy the entire life but could still be involved with Joe Gibbs Racing. “Martin will continue to be an ambassador for us for the years going forward,” Joe Gibbs said in June.

“We’re still talking about things that he might do for us and so that’s gonna be exciting if we can get him off a boat or out of a deer blind some place, we’ll have a chance. I’m still amazed, I still told him, ‘Do you really think you can fish every day?’ So, this will be interesting, I think we’ll be able to get him back for a few things.”