Tyler Reddick just keeps winning, even when he loses

When the checkered flag waved in Sunday's Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International, Shane van Gisbergen claimed his seventh career win after erasing a 29-second deficit in the final 18 laps, once again making his case as the best road course racer the sport has seen.

While no one had anything for the New Zealander at the Upstate New York road course, series points leader Tyler Reddick was once again a factor throughout the race. He only qualified 15th and led zero laps at Watkins Glen, a far cry from his win from the pole after leading a race-high 61 laps at the Circuit of the Americas road course earlier this season.

Reddick has wasted no time making an impact this season, becoming the first driver in the sport's history to win the first three races of a season. He added to that with five total wins in the first nine races, a feat that hadn't been accomplished since Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt in 1987.

But even for as many wins as Reddick has through the season's first 12 races, it has been his consistency that has stood out the most, even when the victories have slipped past him.

Tyler Reddick's consistency continues to be on display

Since the Next Gen car's inception in 2022, no driver has won more than six races in an entire season. While Reddick's five wins this early in the season point to him likely surpassing that mark at some point, he continues to be in contention nearly every week, even when his No. 45 Toyota may not be the best car.

According to NASCAR Insights, Reddick has the best average (5.67) finish through 12 races since Ernie Irvan in 1994 (5.25). His five wins, meanwhile, are still tied with Kevin Harvick in 2018 for the most through 12 races since 1997, even with no wins in over a month by the time the series runs its next points race.

Furthermore, Reddick is just one of eight drivers in Cup Series history to finish on the lead lap in the first 12 races of a season. Ryan Preece is the only other driver to accomplish the same feat this season, while Hall of Famer Kurt Busch owns the record with 22 such starts to begin the 2016 season.

Reddick ultimately battled with van Gisbergen early in the race at Watkins Glen and rallied to fifth after pitting under green with 30 laps remaining. With that said, he left the scenic venue with a lot left to be desired.

"It was kind of disappointing, honestly," Reddick said, per SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

It may have not been the performance Reddick was looking for, but his collective body of work this season speaks to how versatile he has been everywhere the series has been. His laps led (201) are far below series leaders Kyle Larson (499) and Denny Hamlin (624), but his eight top five finishes and nine top 10 finishes lead the series.

With no finish worse than 15th this season, Reddick has not had a bad weekend, especially when you factor in the DNFs that have plagued several of the sport's top drivers. Three-time champion Joey Logano is currently outside the provisional Chase field after a fourth consecutive finish of 30th or worse, while Ryan Blaney's pit crew continues to force him to play from behind each week.

Reddick's pit crew has by no means been the quickest in the series, but the overall lack of mistakes from the team and the consistent finishes that have come with it have clearly separated Reddick from the pack one-third of the way through the season, making the regular season championship his to lose. His lead over Denny Hamlin is 129 points.

Reddick may not be the fastest everywhere, but even at Watkins Glen, which he left disappointed with a fifth place finish, he continues to win even when he loses and only strengthens the impressive points cushion he has already built up.

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