NASCAR's toughest track couldn't keep red-hot Tyler Reddick from victory lane

Throughout NASCAR's storied history, there have been seasons where a driver leaves the field in the dust from the word go and never looks back. 

And while it's very, very early to make such a declaration about the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season just six races in, Tyler Reddick's victory at Darlington Raceway on Sunday — his fourth of the season — only bolstered what was already an incredible start to the 2026 campaign for the No. 45 team. 

Reddick became the first driver to ever win the first three races in a season and has been the points leader from the outset of the season. But despite a pole run in qualifying at Darlington on Saturday, a win on Sunday didn't seem to be in the cards. 

That was due to voltage issues that forced Reddick to essentially abandon all forms of driver cooling on a very warm day in South Carolina and muscle his Toyota Camry around NASCAR's toughest, most treacherous venue while under intense physical strain. 

"The final 100 laps were brutally hot," Reddick said. "Yeah, when Billy asked me if I was willing to stay and keep everything off, I was all in because I really, really wanted to win here. With the car as good as we had today, I was willing to take that risk, you know? Just fought through the heat, fought through those things to win the race."

Reddick was over seven seconds behind race leader Brad Keselowski, who was trying to break a 65-race winless drought, on the final run but chased Keselowski down and passed him for the lead with 28 laps to go. 

It was smooth sailing from there for Reddick, who finally conquered Darlington after a plethora of close calls at the "Lady in Black" over the years.

Tyler Reddick on a roll to start 2026

Reddick entered Sunday with seven top-10 finishes in 13 Darlington starts. His near misses at the track included a runner-up to Kyle Larson in the 2023 Southern 500, a heartbreaker in the spring of 2024 that saw him lead 174 laps but finish 32nd after late-race contact with Chris Buescher and another Southern 500 runner-up finish in 2025. 

But he finally broke through on Sunday, leading 77 of 293 laps despite the aforementioned voltage issue and a slow pit stop early in the race that forced him to charge his way back through the pack. 

"You could say three of the four wins we’ve had to fight through some level of adversity, whether it’s issues with the car, getting caught up in an accident, or having to hold off the field basically like in COTA," Reddick said.

"For us to be put through these things that in my opinion kept us from winning a year ago to fight through these things and then still win is very remarkable. It’s very fulfilling. It’s the stuff that, you know, you just got to kind of take a step back and say, wow, that was incredible."

Reddick leads second-place Ryan Blaney by 95 points going into the March 29 race at Martinsville Speedway and is the only driver in the Cup Series field with five top-10 finishes and four top-fives so far. 

Only time will tell whether or not 2026 ends with a championship for Reddick, but it's started in such a way where it's hard to imagine he's not at least in contention come November.

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.