The Tyler Reddick Problem: NASCAR’s Best Start Ever And 33 Drivers Who’d Love To Ruin It

gettyimages-2148628377 — FORT WORTH, TEXAS - APRIL 14: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota, (L) John H. Nemechek, driver of the #42 Romco Equipment Co. Toyota, talk backstage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 14, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Tyler Reddick’s unprecedented start to the 2026 season is not only a strong competitive message to the NASCAR Cup Series garage but something the other drivers also genuinely acknowledge as special. While there is much admiration for Reddick’s historical three-peat – victories in the DAYTONA 500, at Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway and last week at the Circuit of The Americas road course – it also naturally creates huge motivation for those he’s racing against.

They give him props for his work, but remind, we’re only three races into a 36-race schedule.

“It’s early still,” three-time series champion Joey Logano said of Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing team. “But what they’ve done is impressive. It’s not surprising. I think Tyler is a really good driver and I’ve always thought that.

“I think by the time we get back from Vegas we’ll have a pretty good idea of strengths and weaknesses of where the teams are at. I don’t think we have the full report card yet,” he added. “Eventually when you average it out over the first 10 to 15 races I think things clear out quite a bit.”

Logano’s Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney agreed that as good as Reddick has been, it’s just too early to hand him the big trophy quite yet. Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Phoenix one-miler is followed by a race at Las Vegas, the first of the many 1.5-milers the series races on. After that looms the unique 1.366-mile Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and the half-mile Martinsville, Va. short track.

“The least surprising victory was last weekend,” Blaney said of Reddick. “He’s always run good at COTA, so that was not a surprise. Daytona, I saw him as a pretty decent drafter but not the guy leading a bunch of laps. He’s set himself up to race ahead of everybody three races in, that’s pretty impressive.”

“I think we’re close,” he added. “They’ve been doing an amazing job. You can’t take anything away from that group. But the competitor in me is like, dang, they’re kicking our butt every week, but the same competitor in me says, ‘you have to respect what they’re doing and the run they’ve been on.’ But I think we’re close and I look forward to this weekend.”