Tyler Reddick did it again in Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, joining Dale Earnhardt (1987) and Bill Elliott (1992) on the short list of drivers to win four of the first six races of a NASCAR Cup Series season. Contrary to what many fans believe, Reddick's historic start is just the latest instance of a driver getting hot and riding the wave of momentum.
While Reddick's latest win stretched his points lead (+95) over new second-place driver Ryan Blaney, who moved ahead of Bubba Wallace after the most consistent driver through the first five races was hit with a Darlington disaster and finished 34th, one past champion quietly continued his impressive start to the season.
That would be RFK Racing co-owner/driver Brad Keselowski, who led a race-high 142 laps before losing the lead to Reddick with 28 laps remaining and settling for the runner-up spot. Unlike one season ago, when the 2012 champion had a best finish of 11th and four finishes of 26th or worse at this point in the season, he already has two top five finishes and one other top 10 finish to his credit.
That alone is a huge improvement, as is his ninth place position in the standings after spending much of the 2025 season outside the top 20. However, when you consider the fact that he broke his right femur during an offseason ski trip with his family, his success so far is magnified even more.
Brad Keselowski deserves more credit after impressive start to season
While Corey LaJoie ultimately filled in for Keselowski for the Cook Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium, Keselowski has not relinquished the seat since. Even more impressive, he and his RFK Racing drivers Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece are three of the five drivers who have finished on the lead lap in every race this season.
That includes the constant shifting and braking at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and the grueling test of Darlington on Sunday. Yet Keselowski did not let that bother him at all.
One of the issues that has plagued Keselowski going back to his struggles last season has been qualifying. He bucked that trend by putting his No. 6 Ford Mustang fifth on the grid at the "Lady in Black" and ran inside the top five the entire day.
Even at 1.5-mile tracks such as Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the RFK Racing cars have not been as strong consistently, Keselowski drove his way up to 10th from his 28th place starting spot. He was even in position to win the season-opening Daytona 500 before he was collected in the multi-car crash coming to the checkered flag.
That type of start would be welcomed by many drivers, especially with the new postseason format putting an emphasis on rewarding points and consistency. However, with all that he endured over the offseason and the countless hours he had to put in just to be able to get back behind the wheel, his start to the season is one that should be getting more recognition that it has been.
Sure, he has not won a race, but his improvement from 2025 and competitiveness following his serious injury have been beyond impressive and may be rewarded with a victory soon if his early-season performance is any indication.