Sports

Reddick Makes NASCAR History With 3-0 Season Start

Is Reddick's dominance proof of total superiority or is an inflated lead masking playoff uncertainty?

Published MAR 2

Story

Above: Tyler Reddick celebrates at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, on Mar. 1. Image credit: Logan Riely/Getty Images

The Facts

Tyler Reddick became the first NASCAR Cup Series driver in history to win the first three races of a season after he secured victory at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.
NBC
FOX News
Sunday's triumph follows previous victories at the Daytona 500, where Reddick clinched the win in the final lap, and the EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta, which required Reddick to survive two overtime attempts to finish first.
BBC News
EchoPark Speedway
Driving a Toyota co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin for 23XI Racing, Reddick won Sunday's contest after holding off Shane van Gisbergen over the final 20 laps, with a winning margin of 3.944 seconds over the Trackhouse Racing driver.
ESPN.com
NASCAR
Reddick's victory at COTA was his 11th career win and his second at the track, marking it as the first racetrack he has won multiple times. He previously won at COTA in 2023 and led a race-high of 58 out of 95 laps on Sunday.
NASCAR
Racer
Speaking after the race, Reddick said the win "means the world" and highlighted the contributions of his teammates, whom he claimed "worked really hard," stating that he was "really proud of...everyone at 23XI."
NASCAR
Michael Jordan, meanwhile, credited Reddick's success to Denny Hamlin, telling reporters that Hamlin was the "mastermind" behind the project and had done an "done an incredible job building this team," joking, "I just put up the money."
NASCAR on X
Arizona Daily Star

Sources Split

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RIGHT

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The Spin

Narrative A

Reddick's historic three-race winning streak proves that he's NASCAR's most complete driver right now, dominating every track type from superspeedways to road courses. His 70-point lead demonstrates total superiority, and with Michael Jordan celebrating ringside, 23XI Racing has become the sport's premier organization.

NASCAR

Narrative B

Despite his three wins, Reddick should not rest on his laurels, as under NASCAR's new format, he isn't even locked into the playoffs yet. Reddick and Racing23XI, therefore, must continue to build upon their 70-point lead — which only exists due to artificial bonuses — to secure a place, lest they risk undoing all their hard work.