Tyler Reddick had a remarkable start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup season. Defying expectations, he seized victory in three consecutive races to assume a commanding championship lead. Heading into the Cup race at Phoenix, he was clearly one of the favorites to win. Regrettably, Ryan Blaney emerged victorious on Sunday.

Tyler Reddick spoke about missing out on four in a row

Post race, he caught up with pit reporter Jamie Little to break down his day in the office. She commiserated with the #45 driver’s lost chance at extending his dominance. However, Little did note that Tyler Reddick looked pretty strong during the race. In fact, he hovered around the top 10 for much of the race before ending the day in 8th.

Tyler Reddick told Little, “Yeah, you know. We just kind of find handling it a little bit difficult. It seemed like our Jordan-brand Toyota Camry had good speed. Just kind of back and forth on which direction we needed to go in our Camry. We kind of had it around 5 all day, and we took those two tires there. It just got a little tight on us at the end; all in all, it would have been nice to make it four. Looking at the board over here, scored the fourth-most amount of points on the day. That’s kind of what we need to just keep doing all year to keep the lead that we have and try and hang onto it. Just saw out the day; if we’re not going to win, these are the kind of days we need to have. Glad to get out of here with some points.”

It was a shame, too, because Reddick was eyeing history in the making. Had he won, he would have been the 9th driver to achieve the feat. The last person to do it was none other than 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Others who achieved the feat were Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, and Jeff Gordon.

The 23XI Racing driver was not too torn up about losing the win

Sure, he was disappointed, but the trade-off was that he still managed to extend his championship lead. Since there are no playoffs or ‘win, and you’re in,’ everything depends solely on points. In other words, Blaney’s Phoenix win does not automatically put him in title contention. Instead, Reddick’s 3-win advantage places him firmly in the lead.

Then again, the season is long, and there are plenty of opportunities for three things to happen. First and foremost, Reddick could continue to add more Cup wins to his tally and potentially wrap up the championship early. Secondly, Ryan Blaney could pick up some momentum and pose a serious threat to the #45 driver with more wins. Finally, other top drivers like Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, William Byron, and more could join the party with their wins. What helps Blaney’s case is that he finished in the Top 10 in the last two races. That was enough to propel him to second in the standings.

Although Reddick is tied with Johnson and the other legendary drivers, one thing sets him apart. His hat-trick of race wins came at the start of the season, from the Daytona 500 onward. He is the only driver so far to ever achieve that hat-trick in the first three races of the season. We now await the unfolding of the remaining races, commencing with Las Vegas this weekend.