DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Tyler Reddick chased down Brad Keselowski and led the final 28 laps Sunday at Darlington Raceway for his fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory this season.
Reddick, who drives for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan, started from the pole position and led 77 laps in his No. 45 Toyota to win by 5.847 seconds over Keselowski.
Ryan Blaney finished third, followed by Carson Hocevar and Austin Cindric.
Keselowski led six times for a race-high 142 laps, but made his final pit stops four laps earlier than Reddick, who made the most of the fresher rubber to make up a seven-second gap on the final run. The NASCAR points leader completed the winning pass on the 266th of 293 laps.
It’s the 12th career victory and first at Darlington for Reddick, who began the year with a Daytona 500 win on the way to becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to win the first three races of a season
Tire management always matters on Darlington’s abrasive surface, and drivers wrestled Sunday with increased wear because of new car regulations.
But despite predictions of chaos from a 12% increase of horsepower and a 25% reduction in downforce (which helps maintain traction through the turns at high speed), drivers mostly kept their cars from careening out of control.
The race featured four yellow flags — including only one for a multicar incident — the fewest caution periods at Darlington since there were three in the March 21, 1999, race that was shortened by rain. The last full-length race at Darlington with fewer than four cautions was the 1998 Southern 500, which had two yellows on Sept. 6, 1998.
Despite predictions of nonstop chaos because of the new car regulations, the first 91 laps unfolded under the green flag without interruption. It marked the fifth consecutive race in which the first stage was completed with the caution flag staying holstered.
The NASCAR Cup Series will race at Martinsville Speedway, the first short track of the 2026 season, on Sunday, March 29. A year ago, Denny Hamlin snapped a 31-race winless streak with his first victory in 10 years at Martinsville, where he has a series-leading six wins.
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