Tyler Reddick Reveals The Lone Thing That Stops Him Doing the Four-Peat at Phoenix

Tyler Reddick is doing something that shouldn’t be possible in 2026. Three races into the NASCAR Cup Series season, the 23XI Racing driver has won all three of them, Daytona, Atlanta, and COTA. He’s not just hot right now. He’s historically hot. And this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Reddick has a chance to do what only two drivers in the last 30 years have managed, which is win four Cup Series races in a row.

The Daytona 500 set the tone. February 15, final lap, Chase Elliott breathing down his neck, and Reddick didn’t flinch. He surged past Elliott and took the checkered flag in one of the most dramatic finishes the Great American Race has seen in years. That alone would’ve made for a memorable opening weekend.

But Reddick was just getting started. One week later at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his No. 45 Toyota took serious damage mid-race. Most drivers would’ve settled for a points finish and called it a day. Reddick held it together and found his way to Victory Lane anyway. That win wasn’t just impressive, but it was the kind of gritty, refuse-to-lose performance that starts locker room conversations about a driver’s character.

Then came Circuit of the Americas on March 1. Road courses have a way of sorting out pretenders from contenders, and Reddick looked like he’d been driving COTA his entire life. He dominated from flag to flag, securing his third straight win and officially making the NASCAR world stop and pay attention.

1. What Reddick Is Chasing at Phoenix

In the past three decades, only Harry Gant in 1991 and Jimmie Johnson in 2007 have won four consecutive Cup Series races. Eight other drivers have reached three straight and come up short, so the wall Reddick is running toward is real, and it’s high. Phoenix Raceway is a one-mile oval, which is a completely different animal from the drafting chaos of Daytona, the high-banking madness of Atlanta, and the technical turns of COTA. Reddick has had to prove himself on three completely different track types already. Phoenix will be his fourth test, and maybe his hardest one yet. Analysts have been quick to point this out. Even Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing and one of the sharpest NASCAR minds in the business, acknowledged that winning at a drafting track carries a different level of randomness. Which, by extension, makes what Reddick has pulled off even more remarkable. He hasn’t just been lucky. He’s been dominant.

2. Reddick’s Numbers Tell the Whole Story

Coming into Phoenix, Reddick leads the Cup Series standings by 70 points. That’s not a slim margin. That’s a gap that tells you he hasn’t just been winning, he’s been winning with something to spare. For 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Hamlin, this season has been a coming-out party. The organization has been building toward this moment, and now that it’s here, the entire racing world is watching to see what it does with it.

3. Can Phoenix End the Streak?

Every streak ends eventually. That’s what makes sport worth watching. But Reddick hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, and there’s no obvious reason to believe Phoenix will be the place where the wheels fall off. The March 8 race is going to be one of the most-watched events on the NASCAR calendar this season, full stop. Fans, analysts, and former champions, everyone will all have their eyes locked on Reddick as he chases a four-race sweep that would cement his place among NASCAR’s all-time greats. If he pulls it off, it won’t just be a win. It’ll be a statement. One of the boldest the sport has seen in nearly two decades.

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