Following his win in the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway, Tyler Reddick joined an exclusive list of drivers who won the first two races of a NASCAR Cup Series season.
After a flawless drive in Sunday's DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Reddick became the first driver to win the first three races of a season.
Although Trackhouse Racing teammates Shane van Gisbergen and rookie Connor Zilisch entered the weekend as the favorites to win the race – and rightfully so – due to their road racing backgrounds, Reddick quickly reminded everyone to not forget about him after winning the pole on Saturday.
Zilisch proved it is only a matter of time until he puts it all together following a 14th place finish on Sunday, but it was Reddick who ultimately drove away from van Gisbergen during the final stint and officially etched his name in the history books, reminding everyone of his versatility and talent behind the wheel.
Reddick survived a chaotic final lap of the Daytona 500, miraculously won in Atlanta without a right front fender, and outlasted van Gisbergen with precise driving to win at COTA, making 23XI Racing the first organization to win the first three races of a season since Petty Enterprises in 1963.
That type of versatility anywhere the series goes is not lost on co-owner Denny Hamlin, who was asked what he believes is the most impressive part of Reddick during his post-race media availability on Sunday night.
Denny Hamlin applauds Tyler Reddick's improvement amid historic start
"He's complete," Hamlin said, per NASCAR.com. "I mean, the one area that we continue to work on with him is the short tracks. I think that's where he can still improve a little bit, but we're working pretty hard on improving him at those types of tracks. But he's complete and certainly more complete than I am at this stage. He's got really good things going on."
Reddick's 11 wins have come on 10 different tracks.
"I think we're steadily seeing him continue to get better," Hamlin continued. "What I love to see is that the work he puts in and things that we provide him for information, he's soaking it all in and he's using it and executing it. What I've seen out of him over the last few years, where he had some weaknesses, our team has helped him shore those up, and it's amazing to see how well he's doing."
Reddick's talent has never been questioned, going back to his consecutive O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity Series) titles in 2018 and 2019. After going winless each of his first two full-time Cup Series seasons, Reddick ended his tenure with Richard Childress Racing with a three-win campaign in 2022.
His first two seasons with 23XI Racing produced much of the same, with a pair of wins in 2023 and three more in 2024 on his way to a career-best fourth-place finish in the final standings. Despite posting the second-best average finish of his career (14.5) in 2025, Reddick endured a winless season and dealt with off-track issues as his younger son, Rookie, battled serious health problems.
After a historic three-peat to begin 2026, Reddick has wasted no time putting that behind him and reminding everyone how talented he is. Team co-owner and NBA legend Michael Jordan was the star of a pair of three-peat Chicago Bulls teams in the 1990s, so he is no stranger to consistent success. Experiencing that as an owner, though, is new for him, but something he may need to get used to.
After all, Reddick already holds a commanding 70-point lead over teammate Bubba Wallace in the point standings and is showing no signs of slowing down. No driver has won four straight races since Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson in 2007. If the first three races are any indication, don't be surprised if Reddick is in position once again at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday.
It may not be his best track statistically, with best finishes of third (twice) and only 72 laps led, but he had never had much success at Daytona and EchoPark Speedway, either, before winning at both venues to begin the season. It is not out of the question that he could add Phoenix to that list on Sunday to continue his historic start.