Denny Hamlin addresses Tyler Reddick’s future with 23XI amid historic NASCAR start

Tyler Reddick has gotten off to a red-hot start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. His future with 23XI at this point appears to be a foregone conclusion.

Reddick is set to become a free agent after this season, but 23XI has no intention of letting him walk to another team. A contract extension appears to be in the works, as co-owner Denny Hamlin noted Reddick is in the team’s long-term plans.

“He will be. Tyler’s one of those guys that was very important for us to get our hands on him very early, as you talked about,” Hamlin said at a press conference at Martinsville. “But I think he’s lived up to the expectations for us. Certainly last year was not great, but like when his not great years are still in the top 10, those are the elite drivers.”

Tyler Reddick has proven pretty elite this season. He won the first three NASCAR Cup Series races of the year, becoming the first driver in the sport’s history to do so.

He has since followed that up with a win at Darlington. That brought his total to four wins in six races this season.

“We’re seeing this year he’s putting it all together,” Hamlin said. “And our racecars are really fast, too. They really are. What I like about it is just they’re winning races that they’re overcoming something. They’re not just flat out dominating them. So that shows his maturity.”

Last week, Tyler Reddick won despite having to go to the back of the field after having an issue with his alternator that required work while pit road was closed. He overcame that no problem.

Bottom line: Tyler Reddick is proving he’s well worth the ride. And 23XI sounds ready to give him one for the foreseeable future. And why not? Six races into the 2026 season, Reddick sports a 95-point lead atop the NASCAR Cup Series standings.