In the current state of the NASCAR Cup Series with increased competition, what occurred in Austin last weekend was not supposed to happen.
And by that, we mean this: Tyler Reddick was surely not going to come to Texas’ Circuit of the Americas and reel off his third straight victory to open 2026.
But, as they say, here we are.
Now staring at a potential fourth consecutive victory as the series treks westward to Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon, Reddick, his No. 45 Toyota team and 23XI Racing owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin cruise into the Arizona desert with more momentum than any driver has experienced at this point in a NASCAR season.
Ever.
Four in a row right out of the chute. It just doesn’t seem possible, right?
However, four straight wins have happened before, granted at later points in a season: eight times by eight different drivers in NASCAR’s modern era.
Most recently in 2007, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson reeled off four straight checkers during his second title-winning season, at Martinsville, Atlanta, Fort Worth and Phoenix.
Seven others have done it: Jeff Gordon (1998), Mark Martin (1993), Bill Elliott (1992), Harry Gant (1991), Dale Earnhardt (1987), Darrell Waltrip (1981) and Cale Yarborough (1976).
Reddick had to hold off Shane van Gisbergen, the sport’s top road racer, to finish out the run to COTA’s historic checkers.
The 30-year-old Corning, Calif., native also likes what he has coming up for the next two weekends at Phoenix and Las Vegas.
“When we go to the spring Phoenix race, we’re typically right there,” Reddick said this week. “I’m really excited to see what we have for speed and pace over the next two weekends because we’ve worked really hard to improve things here.
“We’ve worked hard to kind of re-think how we get around Phoenix and we’ve just kind of doubled down on the things that we’ve been improving at Vegas, so honestly, I’m very excited to see what kind of pace we have at Phoenix and Vegas as it comes up.”
Jordan enjoys victories in threes.
As a superstar with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan, who has stock-car racing in his blood via his hometown of Wilmington, N.C., three-peated with NBA titles on two occasions.
The hardwood legend feels it’s a new day in Cup racing.
“It’s time for change, time for change,” Jordan said Sunday. “Tyler came in with the most pressure. … (Winning) three in a row is the hardest one to win. He kept to his strategy, and the guys put together a great car.
“A lot of credit goes to Denny. He’s the mastermind behind finding Tyler and putting together (crew chief) Billy Scott. Look, I just put up the money.”
But streak-busters infiltrate the field.
Hendrick Motorsports drivers have only one top-five finish so far — Chase Elliott’s fourth at Daytona — but Kyle Larson scored a championship last November with a strong run.
Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyotas and Team Penske’s Fords have won six of the past seven races outside Phoenix.
23XI Racing has never visited Victory Lane on the slightly banked, one-mile speedway, but Reddick sports two third-place finishes in 2022 and 2023.
Four in a row would be an even sweeter showing than the three-win start, but the organization is showing signs of something more savory in the next Arizona race after this Sunday.
A succulent championship.
–Field Level Media
