After a thorough investigation, Tyler Reddick said he discovered why his team plummeted after making a historic NASCAR Cup season start by winning the first three races in 2026 and five of the first nine.
"Oh yeah, we figured it out," Reddick said. "It was called running over things that should never be on a racetrack, to having parts that never fail, fail, to cutting tires with light contact with the wall, to getting caught up in a wreck that started three rows behind you on a restart. I can keep going, but that kind of gives you an idea of what it was. Just crazy, crazy stuff."
Obviously, there's no formula for fixing unexpected and uncontrollable mishaps. But things did get back on track for Reddick in the No. 45. 23XI Racing Toyota and owners
Michael Jordan andDenny Hamlin.
After back-to-back 36th place finishes along with a 35th over a five-week stretch, Reddick ended the regular season in the top-11 in five of the last six races. He was third in the finale at Daytona on Aug. 29.
23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin thrived during Tyler Reddick's struggles?
Hamlin, who drives the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, took advantage of Reddick's midseason misfortune.
At one point, Reddick had a 129-point lead on his boss. But on June 28 at Sonoma, Reddick experienced power steering failure and finished 36th. Hamlin finished 10 places ahead and overtook Reddick by a single point in the standings.
Hamlin continued that momentum, finishing as the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season points champion and the top seed for the Chase, which begins Sept. 6 at Darlington (4 p.m. CT, USA Network). Reddick is third in the Chase standings.
"In a sense of trying to maintain the points lead, it's not ideal when your boss is on an all-time heater running first, second or third every week," Reddick said. "You will eventually lose ground."
So the question came up: Did Hamlin, who won four of five races at one point, have a hand in Reddick's slump?
When asked in jest, Reddick laughed.
"Oh my gosh, yeah, that would be something," Reddick said. "Hey, he pays for a lot of the stuff around here, so. ... But I don't see it. I know Denny, and he wants to win fair and square. No chance of that."
Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan helped Tyler Reddick recover
In reality, Reddick said Hamlin and Jordan were extremely supportive when things were going well and when the wheels came off.
"Denny is one of the first to come to you and say, 'What do we need to do? What do we need to look at?'" Reddick said. "I can go to him with things that went wrong. Mistakes that I made, things that I want to look at."
Jordan does not have the institutional knowledge Hamlin has in NASCAR, but he was also helpful in the struggle.
"Michael does a really good job in his role with 23XI coming in and saying the right things to get everyone back into the right space mentally," Reddick said. "Both of them are huge assets as we strive to be a little more consistent and as we've gotten ready for the Chase."
Tyler Reddick on Toyota's dominance entering the Chase
Not surprisingly, Reddick deferred to Hamlin when asked about Toyota's dominance over Chevrolet and Ford for much of the regular season. Toyotas won 13 points races compared to six each by Chevrolet and Ford.
"I think Denny put it best: There are going to be stretches in the season and tracks where we've been really good at, we had a little stretch there where we went to tracks (and won) where some of the other manufacturers have historically been strong," Reddick said. "The way Denny put it, it was just the ebb and flow of the season."
Reddick admits, however, he likes being behind the wheel of a Toyota heading into the Chase.
"There's a lot of tracks in the Chase where, whether it's us in the 45 or 23XI or Toyotas in general, have been very strong," he said. "Just the way the Chase sets up and is laid out is really, really good for us."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Tyler Reddick got his groove back entering NASCAR Chase
