July 13, 2025; Sonoma, California, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick, 45, waves after being introduced to fans before the start of the NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 360 at Sonoma Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Image In the current state of the increasingly competitive NASCAR Cup Series, what happened last weekend in Austin shouldn’t have happened.
That means Tyler Reddick won’t be coming to the Texas Circuit of America on a three-game winning streak to open 2026.
But as they say, here we are.
Now, as the series moves west to Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon, Reddick and his No. 1 driver are looking for a potential fourth straight victory. The 45 Toyota team, 23XI Racing owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, are cruising into the Arizona desert with more momentum than any driver has ever experienced at this point in the NASCAR season.
always.
Four in a row come out of the parachute. It seems impossible, doesn’t it?
However, they have previously won four in a row and were granted late in the season. In the modern era of NASCAR, eight different drivers have won eight times.
Most recently in 2007, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson made four straight checkers in Martinsville, Atlanta, Fort Worth and Phoenix during his second title-winning season.
Seven others have done it too: Jeff Gordon (1998), Mark Martin (1993), Bill Elliott (1992), Harry Gant (1991), Dale Earnhardt (1987), Darrell Waltrip (1981) and Cale Yarborough (1976).
Reddick had to hold off Shane van Gisbergen, the sport’s best road racer, to make his run to COTA’s historic checkers.
The 30-year-old from Corning, California, also likes schedules in Phoenix and Las Vegas over the next two weekends.
“When we go to the spring Phoenix races, we’re usually right there,” Reddick said this week. “We’ve worked really hard to improve things here, so I’m really excited to see what we can get in terms of speed and pace over the next two weekends.
“We’ve worked hard to rethink how you get around Phoenix and doubled down on the improvements we’ve been making in Vegas, so I’m honestly excited to see how it goes in Phoenix and Vegas.”
Jordan has won three games in a row.
Jordan, a Chicago Bulls superstar, raced stock cars through his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, and won three NBA titles over two seasons.
The hardwood legend feels it’s a new day for Cup racing.
“It’s time for a change. It’s time for a change,” Jordan said Sunday. “Tyler came in with the most pressure. … (Winning three in a row is the hardest win.) He stuck to his strategy and his teammates built a great car.
“A lot of the credit goes to Denny. He was the mastermind behind finding Tyler and putting (crew chief) Billy Scott together. Look, I just upped the ante.”
However, serial vandals infiltrate the scene.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has only had one top-five finish to date (Chase Elliott’s fourth at Daytona), but Kyle Larson followed up with a strong performance last November to take the win.
Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyotas and Team Penske’s Fords have won six of the last seven races outside of Phoenix.
23XI Racing has never visited Victory Lane, a slightly graded one-mile highway, but Reddick has finished third twice, in 2022 and 2023.
A fourth straight win would be a lot sweeter than a three-win start, but the organization is showing signs of something more juicy in the next Arizona race after this Sunday.
A juicy championship.
–Field level media
