Tyler Reddick won the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, his fourth win of the 2026 Cup Series season, and the way he did it is the kind of thing that makes NASCAR stories different from any other sport.
The No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing had battery issues. The cooling system failed. As in — there was no cooling. In a car that generates enough heat to cook a steak on the dashboard, during a race that lasts three hours and five minutes around a 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval that NASCAR's own drivers call "The Lady in Black" because she punishes every small mistake.
Reddick drove the entire second half of the race in conditions that most drivers would consider grounds for parking the car. He didn't park it. He took the lead from Brad Keselowski with less than 30 laps to go and won by 5.847 seconds — an eternity in stock car racing.
“Reddick drove the entire second half of the race in conditions that most drivers would consider grounds for parking the car.”
The 30-year-old from Corning, California led 77 of 293 laps, and his margin of victory suggests that the end result wasn't as close as the mid-race drama implied. Once Reddick found clean air out front, he was gone.
Key Takeaways
- NASCAR: Tyler Reddick won the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, leading 77 of 293 laps and winning by 5.
- Goodyear 400: Tyler Reddick won the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, leading 77 of 293 laps and winning by 5.
- Racing: Tyler Reddick won the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, leading 77 of 293 laps and winning by 5.
- Tyler Reddick: Tyler Reddick won the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, leading 77 of 293 laps and winning by 5.
The 23XI Racing team — co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — had both their cars running strong all day. Behind Reddick, Keselowski held on for second, with his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher close behind. Ryan Blaney surged late for fourth. Defending Southern 500 champion Chase Briscoe rounded out the top five.
Darlington is always a test of endurance, patience, and nerve. The track's asymmetric shape — wider in turns 1 and 2, tighter in 3 and 4 — rewards drivers who can adapt their approach corner by corner, lap by lap. Reddick handled that challenge while his car was actively falling apart around him.
Four wins in six races to start the season. If anyone else is the Cup Series favorite right now, they need to make their case loudly, because Reddick is driving like a man who's already decided how this year ends.
