Tyler Reddick Can't Stop Winning

Hey, NASCAR Fans!

Nobody had Tyler Reddick winning 4 of the first 6 Cup races on their bingo card for the 2026 season. It seems as if the No. 45 team is unstoppable at the moment, and Reddick is in the form of his life.

The win at Darlington was anything but easy for the California native. Not to forget, the RFK Racing Fords had this race within their grasp, but the speed of the No. 45 Camry just blew past the competition. Let us dissect the race and understand how Reddick was able to pull off yet another victory.

Stage 1: Reddick set the pace early in the race, but a pit stop error allowed Brad Keselowski to capitalize and bag the Stage 1 points.

Stage 2: The RFK Racing Fords were battling for the second stage win, and Keselowski was able to get his nose in front of Chris Buescher.

Stage 3: Reddick finally managed to battle through the issues and made his move on the No. 6 to clinch the race win in a thrilling fashion.

With the new short-track package and the increased horsepower, the Goodyear 400 became a test for drivers. The 23XI Toyotas had the lead early in the race, but the dynamics changed after the first stage. In the thick of these issues was Tyler Reddick, who had voltage issues inside his race car.

Not to mention the early pit stop error in Stage 1 had already put the team at a disadvantage. Knowing the risks of abandoning track position, Billy Scott opted to bring his driver back to the pits and replace the battery altogether. The next thing you know, Reddick was ticking off laps and gaining on the leaders.

But not everything was resolved inside the No. 45 car. Reddick was seen pumping fluids out of his race car after a cool suit failure. With 20 laps into the final stage, he had already made his way inside the top 10. Then came the most important sequence of the race—pit cycles for the final time. Reddick bumped into the No. 17 RFK Ford, which tried to sneak into the pit lane but found itself into the wall.

After getting fresh Goodyear rubber, Reddick flew on the track, and the next thing you know, he was behind Keselowski’s back bumper. With 28 laps to go, the 23XI driver charged up the track and made a swift move down the inside lane to gain the lead. Keselowski threw a block, the two drivers made contact, but Reddick still made his way through. Here’s the thrilling battle for the race win if you haven’t watched it already.

This was the last time Reddick had to make any significant effort, as he cruised to his 4th win of the season. 5.847 seconds was the difference between him and the runner-up, Keselowski. Only Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott have previously managed to win four of the first six races in the Cup Series, and Reddick now joins this list.

The track, “Too Tough to Tame,” threw a wrench into the plans of the No. 45 team. However, they managed to work through the issues and were able to pull off a memorable win.

Brad Keselowski once again had to settle for a runner-up finish. It might look like a strong points day, but if you take a look at his winless streak, this was yet another missed opportunity. Interestingly, his last Cup win came at Darlington Raceway in the spring of 2024. Here’s a sneak peek into his last win, which had a slice of luck.

Ever since then, the RFK Racing co-owner has finished in the runner-up position five times. Now that’s an awful lot of second-place finishes, and a win in Darlington could’ve been huge for the entire organization. All the RFK Racing Fords were paying tribute to the late Greg Biffle with throwback schemes.

“I put a nice right-sided stripe on the car. I think that would make Greg (Biffle) proud. If you know Greg, you’ll understand that one. A good day for Ford Mustang,” Keselowski said after the race. Like a class act he is, the veteran driver also acknowledged that he didn’t have enough to put up a fight against Reddick’s rocket ship of a race car.

“We didn’t have the best car today. Not compared to Tyler. Tyler drove a hell of a race, and he’s driving a rocket, and he’s making it count right now. I think we got the most out of the day we were going to get, honestly, but we scored a lot of stage points—second place, first-place loser—but that’s okay,” he added.

The good news is that, with the “win and you’re in” system gone, this strong performance helps the No. 6 team gain a foothold in terms of points. He bagged a total of 55 points and placed 9th in the standings.

With a couple of short tracks lined up under a similar short-track package, it will be interesting to see if Keselowski manages to overcome his runner-up curse.

Darlington Raceway has to be one of the best tracks on the schedule, and the new package surely delivered the goods. You guys played your cards, and all you could do was wait for the race to play out.

Surprisingly, we have yet another tiebreaker, a three-way draw. And the winner of this week’s prediction challenge will have a feeling of a photo-finish.

This week’s ultimate bragging rights go to: Cecil Reene!

You take home a $25 Amazon gift card, while other notable finishers also deserve a spot on our weekly leaderboard.

NASCAR returns to another short oval at Martinsville next, and this allows you to have another go at this weekly challenge.

Carson Hocevar:

Hocevar came into Darlington with the hope of keeping himself above the cutline, and he was able to achieve it. We can say his top-5 finish came as a surprise, and what’s more surprising is that he was the best finisher out of the entire Chevy camp. HMS played second fiddle to Spire.

It looked as if Dale Earnhardt’s energy helped him pull off some insane passes in the final run. Check out his late charge in the race in the iconic Earnhardt-inspired car.

“Super proud of this No. 77 Chevrolet team. It hasn’t been a lack of effort, but just a lack of luck that takes us out of finishes, so it’s nice to take one today. Chili’s put a lot of effort into this throwback scheme, so it’s great to give it a good run,” he said after the race.

Daniel Súarez: 

Another driver who came into this race with a mission to prove himself was Daniel Suárez. Last week’s scuffle between him and his former teammate, Ross Chastain, made a lot of noise. He didn’t back down and shed light on the uneasy relationship between him and his former team. And he followed it up with yet another solid seventh-place finish.

“The culture of the team is pretty incredible. There are great people here; the structure’s solid, and I’m just really happy and proud to be a part of this organization. And the best part is that they just continue to grow,” he said. If you’ve been following the news last week, this is pretty much another subtle jab at his former team, and things can get spicy from here on. Listen to his full, unfiltered interview from Darlington.

Ryan Blaney:

You can always count on Ryan Blaney to make multiple passes and convert an okayish race into a winning opportunity. However, his No. 12 Mustang came to life a little too late in the race. He had his issues on pit road with a loose wheel, but once again, the Penske driver made up for the lost time and points.

According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Blaney made 124 green-flag passes. It was second-most to Carson Hocevar, who made 128. “I think it was the first time in my Cup career that I have let guys go on a restart or on a green-flag cycle, and I said to myself, I’m going to see you in about 20. That happened multiple times. I think we’re making progress on that, so we’ll keep going. Like I said, proud of the fight by the 12 guys,” Blaney added.

If you want to catch up on more post-race interviews from your favorite driver, check out this video.

Team Owner's Arrest Raises Questions on Earnhardt’s Heir Racing Career →

Darrell Waltrip Questions NASCAR’s Penalty Policy Amid Ongoing Driver Disputes →

Veteran Champ Welcomes Renewed "Passion" With Garage Disputes →

Team Penske Faces Internal Criticism as Joey Logano Raises Questions at Darlington →

Radio Frustrations Mount As 23XI Star Publicly Denies Connor Zilisch’s Apology →

Thank you for reading the latest edition of Lucky Dog on Track!
As always, we appreciate your honest feedback. So please tell us…