Reddick Dominates NASCAR Early Season
Tyler Reddick dominates the 2026 Cup Series with back-to-back wins (first since Matt Kenseth), leading by 40 points over Bubba Wallace. The next race is the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix at COTA on March 1, featuring 2.4 miles and 95 laps.
Reddick is just the sixth driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the first two races of a season. He joins an elite list that includes names like David Pearson (1976) and Jeff Gordon (1997). Of the previous five drivers to accomplish the feat, only Gordon went on to win the championship that same year. The dominant start is a major milestone for 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and driver Denny Hamlin. With Reddick's teammate Bubba Wallace sitting second in the current standings, 23XI Racing holds the top two spots in the championship hunt. His first victory came in the season-opening Daytona 500, followed by a win at the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway. The back-to-back victories snapped a 38-race winless streak for Reddick. The last driver to start a season 2-0 was Matt Kenseth in 2009, who won at Daytona and California Speedway. Despite the hot start, Kenseth's team struggled later that season and he ultimately finished 14th in the standings. The upcoming race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is the first road course of the 2026 season. Reddick has a strong history at the track, having won the COTA race in 2023. Reddick's average finish of 4.6 at COTA is the best among all active drivers. He is also one of only two drivers to have finished in the top 10 in all five Cup Series races held at the Austin, Texas track. No driver in NASCAR history has ever won the first three races of a season. When Jeff Gordon started 2-0 in 1997, he finished fourth in the third race. Matt Kenseth's 2009 attempt at a three-peat ended with a blown engine just six laps into the third race at Las Vegas.
