DOVER, Del. — To say Tyler Reddick’s 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign has been electric would be quite the understatement.
Entering All-Star weekend festivities, the No. 45 23XI Racing driver leads the championship standings by 129 markers, with five victories already to his ledger. Collecting more hardware, however, could be in the cards, with Miles the Monster and a $1 million prize at stake Sunday in the 350-lap All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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“It’s been pretty surreal to start the year off the way that we have,” Reddick, who announced at Talladega Superspeedway that he signed a multiyear extension with 23XI Racing, said. “Checked off a number of things you want to do as a driver in your career in one year, so that part’s been pretty cool, so it’s already been, win-side of things and consistency side of things, best year I’ve had in the Cup Series. So we just add to what is already up to this point the best year I’ve ever had.”
Though he has visited Victory Lane there in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the “Monster Mile” has been a trickier beast for Reddick to slay in NASCAR’s premier circuit. The 1-mile concrete venue is one of two active tracks that the 30-year-old has yet to lead a Cup Series lap (Iowa Speedway). In seven career starts at Dover, Reddick has tallied two top-10 finishes.
Speaking from his Cup starts there, in addition to prior experience in the Truck Series and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Reddick believes Dover’s track characteristics suit his style the best, even with other difficulties to manage, including difficult pit-road entry, attempting to create grip on the concrete and limited green-flag stops in years prior.
Such experience, once refined, could be just what is needed for Reddick and the No. 45 camp to excel at Dover and this weekend’s All-Star Race. Reddick, who has already clinched a berth in Sunday’s final 200-lap main segment, has competed in three previous All-Star Races, with a career-best finish of third during the 2023 rendition at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
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“Whether it’s been an O’Reilly Auto Parts car or truck, it’s the track that, of the concrete tracks that we go to, it’s the one that makes the most sense for me that I like the most,” Reddick said. “So yeah, I mean, I think just the nature of what Dover has become as we’ve moved on from Gen 6 to Gen 7, it just takes the entire weekend, takes having a good practice, having confidence in qualifying and maintaining the track position all day.
“I think we ran towards the top five quite a bit, but yeah, never led a lap. I think once we break through that level when it comes to these concrete tracks, I think we’ll probably lead more than just one.”
