Reddick Overcomes Wild Day, Earns First Darlington Win!

Michael Jordan looking on watching his drivers (Photo via Eddie Kalegi, Darlington 2026)

DARLINGTON, S.C, – The NASCAR Cup Series faced a tough task Sunday, March 22, as it took its first trip to Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400. At the end of 293 laps, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, who started the day on pole earned his 4th win in the first six races of 2026. Though it would be another statement win for 23XI, it did not come easily as it was arguably Reddick's most earned win of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Reddick started on pole and was the clear dominant car early on in stage one. But he was plagued with two major issues early on. First, on lap two, Reddick began experiencing voltage issues, as he was having an internal issue with his alternator. This issue would not be addressed until the end of the first stage, as the team opted to change batteries, but regardless his pace was not impacted during the issue.

In fact the second issue is what cost Reddick the lead, as on lap 45 he opted to come down for his green flag pit stop, splitting the stage in half. During the stop his jackman dropped the jack to early causing the right front tire to not be tightened properly, forcing the crew to re-raise the car on the right side to make sure the nut was tightened. Reddick was undercut by multiple cars behind laps earlier, and with the added lost time on the stop exited pit road in 7th.

Reddick rebounded to finish 2nd in stage one, but far behind Roush Fenway Keselowski's Brad Keselowski. It was under caution while pits were closed where Reddick opted to seek service on the issue, sending him to the tail end of the lead lap.

Keselowski after earning the stage win became the class of the field for the majority of the race. At one point, RFK found itself claiming positions 1-3 in the second stage after multiple teams had bad pit stops under caution. Ryan Preece eventually fell off towards the end of the second stage, as he finished 6th, but it was very evident both Keselowski and Chris Buescher both were capable of racing for the win.

Keselowski ultimately claimed the 2nd stage, sweeping both stages.

The final stage was exciting, but it came with twists and turns. On lap 196, Reddick's teammate Riley Herbst went for a spin causing majority of the leaders to hit pit road under the caution. A slow stop plagued the #6 team as Keselowski lost four spots on his stop placing him 5th of the cars who pit.

Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe won the race out of pit road, but did not lead the cars on strategy, as Keselowski's teammate Chris Buescher as he assumed the lead on 207.

On the restart, Keselowski restarted 11th. Despite the loss of track position, the Michigan native would not be denied, as on lap 207 he climbed to 5th. Then 28 laps later on lap 235, he found himself on the bumper of Buescher trailing him for the lead.

On lap 240, the race changed mightily. Out of turn two, Brad Keselowski took the lead. Behind Chris Buescher decided he was going to make an aggressive dive to the bottom in attempt to undercut the #6, but instead went sliding into the outside wall as he got ran into the back of by Tyler Reddick, who was trailing just behind. Both cars continued without damage, but the incident was detrimental for Buescher as he finished the race 9th after losing a bunch of time.

Brad Keselowski pit on lap 241, and controlled the lead. Unfortunately for Keselowski, as fate had it, the strategy was wrong as Reddick simply overpowered the #6. Reddick exited pit road 7 seconds behind behind Keselowski after his stop on the overcut strategy. On lap 263, Reddick found himself back on the bumper of Keselowski.

On lap 265, Tyler Reddick used all of his grip to power to the lead under Keselowski out of the exit of turn two taking control of the race. Reddick never looked back after, strolling his way to his 4th victory in 2026.

Other Notes:

The overcut strategy did not only pay off for Reddick as it also paid off for a few others. Most notable was the spire duo of Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez. Hocevar, who did not earn a single stage point in the first two stages found himself mired in the top 15 during majority of the race. Hocevar was locked in, as he charged to 4th place in the closing laps earning second top five of the season.

Teammate Daniel Suarez was a big topic of conversation entering the weekend after his run in the previous week at Las Vegas with former Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. In the first battle between the two since, Suarez finished 7th, while Chastain finished 16th.

The final notable performances came from Penske Racing. Ryan Blaney was the strongest car in the group all day, earning 3rd in the first stage. Blaney very well could have been a contender for the win on raw pace, but did not get the opportunity as two slow pit stops over the course of the race cost him significant track position. Blaney charged late zooming to a third moving him to 2nd in the points, 95 behind Reddick the now four time winner.

Teammate Austin Cindric had pace throughout the day, but was not simply faster than Blaney. Cindric scored 8th in the first two stages, and crossed the checkered flag earning a 5th place result. This finish for Cindric was perhaps pivotal as the result was his first top 10 of 2026. Cindric entered the race 30th in points and exits Darlington up 9 positions in 21st 30 points out of the playoff cutline.

Lastly, it was simply a tough day for 3x NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. Speed was a big time struggle for Logano all weekend long. Logano found himself no higher than 23rd during the race, and spent majority of the race a lap down. Joey crossed for the finish 33rd, 3 laps off the lead bumping him down to 16th in points, tied with Michael McDowell of Spire Motorsports at the cutline.

UP NEXT:

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway in V.A. next weekend as teams take on the just over half-mile paperclip for the Cook Out 400. Last season, Denny Hamlin earned a big time win in the race. Coverage can be found on FS1 and MRN, with the green flag slated to start at 3:30 PM.

Motorsports Today will also have in person coverage at the track all weekend long as well! You can keep up with us on X @MtrsprtsToday, Instagram @Motorsports_Today, Tiktok & Youtube @motorsportstoday!