Tyler Reddick cleared to race at Phoenix after medical episode at Martinsville

Reddick dropped out of last Sunday's race after complaining that he did not feel well following hit

Tyler Reddick announced Wednesday that he has been cleared to race in this weekend's NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Phoenix after dropping out of last Sunday's race at Martinsville due to a medical issue. Reddick will complete the 2022 season and make his final start for Richard Childress Racing before his move to 23XI Racing next season.

After being involved in a stack-up at the beginning of stage two at Martinsville, Reddick pulled into the garage area and got out of his car, complaining that he did not feel well before being taken to the track's infield care center. According to The Athletic, Reddick had not felt right throughout the week leading up to the race after a hard crash at Homestead-Miami, and began to feel worse after rear-ending another car at Martinsville.

"I ran into the back of Noah [Gragson], my head went forward a bit. Then someone ran into the back of me and my head went flying back into the headrest. Something didn't really seem right, and it felt like I needed to get out of the car. And it was definitely the right call," Reddick told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "I wasn't feeling my best, so I went to the infield care center and got everything checked out. In their opinion, everything seemed okay.

"It's just being really safe and making sure we're taking the right steps. But we're 100% and not doing anything I shouldn't be."

Reddick was later checked and released from the infield care center, where he passed a neurological evaluation. Reddick was evaluated again during the week as a precautionary measure and then cleared to race.

After further evaluation, I’m very excited to say that I’ve been cleared to return to racing! I’d like to give thanks to NASCAR and their team for what they’ve done this week to make sure that I’m 100%. See everyone in Phoenix!

— Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) November 2, 2022

Reddick is the second driver whose status for Phoenix had been up in the air and who has been subsequently cleared to compete. Last week, Alex Bowman was cleared to return for the season finale after missing five races due to a concussion suffered at Texas.

At Phoenix, Reddick will put the finishing touches on the best season of his Cup career so far and his four-year tenure at Richard Childress Racing. After winning an Xfinity Series championship for the company in 2019, Reddick moved to Cup in 2020 and became a key part of the team's resurgence, including this season when he scored the first three wins of his career. Reddick will move to 23XI Racing at season's end, where he will replace Kurt Busch behind the wheel of the No. 45 Toyota.