NASCAR Goodyear 400 takeaways: Tyler Reddick's historic start continues with gutsy Darlington win

Reddick ultimately stretched that advantage to 5.8 seconds over Keselowski and led 77 laps total — second only to the RFK owner-driver's race-high 142. The win continues what has been a historic start for Reddick and his 23XI Racing team, which is co-owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan.

"He did an unbelievable job," the six-time NBA champion said of his driver during a post-race interview with Fox Sports' Jamie Little.

The four wins are the most the organization has had in a single season since its inaugural campaign in 2021. Furthermore, as the Fox broadcast noted following the race, Reddick joins Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt (1987) and Bill Elliott (1992) as the only drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history to win four of the first six races in a season.

Missed opportunity for RFK Racing

In the first race at Darlington with the new rules package that is designed to give drivers more of a handful behind the wheel, the RFK trio looked to be on their way to mastering it until everything changed late.

While Ryan Preece had a quieter day in 13th, runner-up Keselowski had nothing left for Reddick's fresher tires during the final stint despite sweeping the opening two stages. Meanwhile, ninth-place finisher Chris Buescher led 41 laps, but sustained right-side damage with the wall in turns 3-4 after an unaware Reddick ran into the back of him as he attempted to pit.

Carson Hocevar leads Chevrolet brigade

On a day that Chevrolet powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports struggled with William Byron leading the charge in eighth, Hocevar stepped up and made a late charge on fresher tires to at least salvage a top-five finish for the bow ties.

The Spire Motorsports driver began the race at the back after his team made unapproved adjustments, but as the last of the drivers to pit under green with 47 laps to go, Hocevar drove his way through the field to a fourth-place finish.

Joey Logano has uncharacteristic day

While the majority of the field fought ill-handling cars and endured lap times that continuously fell off throughout a run, the three-time champion was never a factor all day long after qualifying 29th.

Logano immediately went a lap down just 34 laps into the race and finished 33rd. He is a previous winner at Darlington in the 2022 spring race, but with his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney (third) and Austin Cindric (fifth) bringing home top-five finishes, the No. 22 bunch has to be scratching its head after a brutal 400 miles at Darlington.