Tyler Reddick is racing for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. It’s the first time that the former Dirt Late Model driver is a member of the Championship Four drivers in NASCAR’s top level. 

And while one might think that all those four drivers are focused on is how they can win the championship, Reddick is thinking about the past and how much he wants to win the championship not just for himself, but the entire Dirt Late Model community.

It’s been so long that many people forget that Reddick started off racing Dirt Late Models when he began in full-sized cars back in 2009 when he was just 13 years old. He attempted a handful of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and World of Outlaws Late Model Series events, but failed to qualify for any features that year. In 2010, he scored two top 10 finishes with the Lucas Oil series, and even scored a Lucas win in 2011 at East Bay Raceway Park before finishing eighth in points that year.

Reddick’s Dirt Late Model mentor was the late, great Scott Bloomquist. Reddick even dedicated his win at Michigan International Speedway this past August to Bloomquist, who passed away two days before the race at Michigan.

Reddick, who locked himself into the championship finale with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway two weeks ago, said last weekend at Martinsville Speedway that even though it’s been a handful of years since he last raced at Dirt Late Model, he’s proud to be representing that community.

“It is cool, right?” said Reddick to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. “I remember when Bobby (Pierce) had the couple Truck starts. I thought he showed the right things to get a shot, but it didn’t work out for him. I remember it was I think before I ever really made any asphalt starts, I remember Josh Richards making Truck starts. You’re just always pulling for those guys to do well, right?

Tyler Reddick will carry the banner for the dirt late model crowd as he competes for a Cup title next week. Not many dirt late model drivers have had an opportunity at a Cup title, and Reddick seems proud being the one to have that shot: pic.twitter.com/Dhg83b0grQ

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 3, 2024

“The years I spent racing Dirt Late Models when I got into that I didn’t know a whole lot about it. I knew who the players were, but it was a life-changing experience. I learned a lot about the race car and that racing, but more than anything I really grew to have an appreciation of just how tough Dirt Late Model racing really is. I hope I can get the job done for them next Sunday.”

Back in August, Reddick said that he learned how to be a racer from Bloomquist, as well as many things outside of racing too.

“He taught me a lot about being a racer. A lot of things out of racing, just in life. One of my favorite things about him, he’s not afraid of confrontation. If you do something wrong to him or there’s a dispute or something, I feel like it’s easy in this day and age for people to kind of back away from it. He’s never that way. If something is going on, he’s going to address it and he’s not going to be shy about it.”

Reddick won the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship over fellow dirt racer Kyle Larson, who was just eliminated from championship contention last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

Reddick will race for the championship on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway against two-time champion Joey Logano, defending champion Ryan Blaney, and 2024 Daytona 500 champion William Byron.