The 2026 Enjoy Illinois 300 was a chaotic race, to say the least. As a matter of fact, there were 18 cautions that day. Apparently, some of them were triggered by a major issue that plagued the whole field. There was a spate of exploding brake rotors, which resulted in a number of cars retiring. In light of this, Tyler Reddick reflected on the issues.

“It’s just hard to get right, we definitely saw it,” he said in an X clip. “Seems like a fine line just in general with this car. Unfortunately, a number of teams really missed it we saw some really hard hits because of it.”

He then spoke about how further adjustments would play a bg role in how the event could have ideally gone.

“I think if we came back tomorrow and everyone’s able to make adjustments, make changes, we’d probably see far less failures than what we saw, this time around,” He further told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

For the 2026 season, NASCAR was running a 750hp rules package at Gateway. According to Reddick, the change in package means that all teams are going in blind. In a sense, there is little to no data to work off of, so the best that anyone can do is take rough estimates and calculations.

Different teams have their own methods and tools, so their answers will be different. The #45 driver acknowledged that some teams got the formulae right and others got it wrong, and it showed on the track.

“At the beginning of this car, it was like, ‘Wow! These brakes have a lot of cooling.’ They stay cool and drivers and teams fought, keeping them warm enough,” he added. “We’ve taken downforce off and put more power back in the engine. We’re using them more now, so the line moves.”

In other words, in the early years of the Gen 7 car, the brakes had a lot of cooling. However, as the seasons have passed, things have seemingly changed for the worse. Especially with the lack of downforce and more engine power, that has played a role. So the big question is if NASCAR will do something to fix the issue, or whether this was a one-off situation.

Can the 23XI Racing driver make up for the mid-season drop-off?

In the early part of the 2026 season, Tyler Reddick went on an absolute tear. He won five of the first nine races. Unfortunately for him, his boss and fellow Toyota driver, Denny Hamlin, suddenly hit his stride.

Till date, Hamlin is still leading the Chase standings, even if he is coming under threat from Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson. As for Reddick, he has slipped down to 5th in the standings, behind those three and Ryan Blaney. From a points perspective, he is only 42 points away from the championship lead.

There is also precedent of drivers in worse positions catching up from just last race. Larson was seventh in the standings till one race ago. Now, he trails Hamlin by nine points.

This is something that can be sorted with a clean sweep in the next race at Bristol. Speaking of which, he was fourth in the spring race at Bristol. The best that he ever finished at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race was 4th, back in 2020. Unfortunately for him, his track record in the upcoming races is nothing too stellar.

Then again, stranger things have happened, and there could still be a chance for the #45 driver. However, Denny Hamlin is not about to let a golden opportunity for a maiden Cup title slip through his fingers. On a similar note, Kyle Larson is keen to go back-to-back, and there are other drivers who are either seeking another title or their first.