February 22, 2026; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick celebrates his win at EchoPark Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Image With two exciting finishes, NASCAR opened the season strong and certainly raised questions. The biggest problems are: Who or what can stop team owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, their two 23XI Racing teams, and up-and-coming drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace?
After the organization and Front Row Motorsports ruled in court against NASCAR on antitrust charges last season, Jordan and the company reached a settlement on Dec. 11, citing the sanctioning body as an unfair and monopolistic group.
23XI Racing hasn’t let any disruption slow it down, but its third race of the season – a 95-lap race around the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas on Sunday – will be a much different race than the first two drafting tracks.
To this day, it is an affectionate animal for Reddick.
The NASCAR Cup Series has visited the Texas Twister track five times since the 2020 COVID-impacted campaign.
Following Chase Elliott’s win in 2021 and Ross Chastain’s win a year later, Reddick used a series of sharp lefts and rights to easily beat Kyle Busch in 2023 for his fourth career win and first with 23XI Racing in a race that featured 16 lead changes and 3,110 green flag passes (53.6 per lap).
Over the past two seasons, William Byron and defending winner Christopher Bell have been the best at figuring out tracks that look like they were designed in Etch A Sketch.
Bell’s win a year ago was over Byron, but the biggest story of the day was road racing ace Shane van Gisbergen failing to find the checkers first and finishing sixth after leading 23 laps.
That’s disappointing for a guy who went 5-for-6 on road courses in 2025.
The Jordan/Hamlin-led team has brought tremendous momentum to the Lone Star State, and Reddick stands alone in history Sunday.
No driver opened with a three-point win. Only Matt Kenseth (2009), Jeff Gordon (1997), David Pearson (1976), Bob Welborn (1959) and Marvin Panch (1957) have won two consecutive races.
“If I run out of motivation to win at any point this week, I’ll put it in my back pocket,” Reddick said. “You know, it’s cool to be able to do something like that or potentially have the opportunity to do something like that, but … it’s all about doing everything I can and showing up as prepared as possible every week.”
Unsurprisingly, the hotshots are ahead by points, with Texas looming on the southwestern horizon. He has 125 points, and teammate Wallace, the leading driver after leading 86 laps, is 40 points behind in second place.
In fact, Wallace’s name could have replaced Reddick’s this week, and the No. 23 Toyota, which led the final laps at Daytona and Atlanta, could have raced in Austin for history with a few breaks or a better final maneuver.
But a win in Texas sounds like speculation.
“Please pray for me,” Wallace joked about COTA, which finished 20th last time out.
Can Reddick win in the Texas capital again like he did in 2023? Or is it possible that a tortuous COTA could derail 23XI Racing’s successful start to 2026?
The answer to both is as obvious as asking Michael Jordan if he knows his championship ring size.
–Field level media
