Tyler Reddick continues to live the dream.
Reddick had to think that maybe the racing luck had finally gone against him when his car sputtered. The sputtering made him lose the lead with only a few laps remaining Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
But a caution with less than two laps to go re-racked the field, and Reddick was able to rally after a poor restart to get by Kyle Larson for the victory.
“Was that nuts or what?” Reddick said in his FOX interview after doing the celebratory burnout.
It was the 23XI Racing driver’s fifth win of the Cup season, which is just nine races old. The last time a driver won five of the first nine races was Dale Earnhardt in 1987. That year, he won six of the first nine.
Here are my takeaways:
1: Reddick Collecting Checkered Flags
Reddick has so many race-winning flags that he probably doesn’t know what to do with them all. Maybe that’s why he gave the checkered flag to his team co-owner, basketball icon Michael Jordan.
“If he’s going to hang out [with] us, we received to get him dubs,” Reddick mentioned.
Jordan has attended many of the races this yr.
“This child is on fireplace,” Jordan mentioned on FOX. “I do not know if I can cool him down. He’s unbelievable.”
2: Hamlin Has No Kansas Luck
For the second consecutive Kansas race, Denny Hamlin seemed to be in place to win going right into a late restart solely to see it slip away.
Final fall, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver tangled with a automobile he owns — that of 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace, which finally allowed Chase Elliott to win.
He took the within for the additional time restart on Sunday and that bit him, as Larson made the transfer from restarting third to the within to take the lead. Hamlin received shuffled again and completed fourth.
It wasn’t the primary time Larson has executed that transfer on Hamlin.
“I’ve received to study from these errors that I make, not executing these previous few laps,” Hamlin mentioned on FOX.
3: Larson Winless Streak Continues
Kyle Larson, the 2025 Cup champion, noticed his winless streak prolong to 33 races, along with his final win coming at Kansas practically a yr in the past.
It seemed like Larson was going to steal a victory along with his late-race transfer, however as soon as Reddick might acquire his automobile following the chaotic preliminary restart, Larson had nothing to carry off Reddick.
Larson completed second within the opening stage and gained the second stage.
“We’re getting nearer,” Larson mentioned on FOX. “We’ll hold attempting.”
4: Cody Ware Flat Brings Out Warning
Cody Ware had a flat tire and as he began to spin up the observe, NASCAR threw the warning with lower than two laps remaining.
Hamlin would have gained however didn’t. Christopher Bell would have had a stable end, however he was the sufferer of contact with Reddick on the restart and ended up twentieth.
Chase Briscoe was the large winner (aside from Reddick) as he went from tenth to 3rd within the ultimate two laps.
4 ½: What’s Subsequent
Talladega is what’s subsequent, which means potential chaos, because the excessive speeds and tight packs usually result in brutal, massive wrecks.
And in case you’re questioning, Reddick does have a win at Talladega. He captured the victory within the Spring 2024 race for 23XI Racing.
