For the primary time throughout the 2026 NASCAR Cup season, Tyler Reddick isn’t the championship chief. After profitable the primary three races of the yr, Reddick held the highest spot via the primary 17 rounds of the season. At one level, he had a mighty 129-point lead. Only one month later, it is gone.
Reddick has completed twenty fifth or worse in three of the final 4 races, and at Sonoma, an influence steering subject left him with a last-place end.
In consequence, Denny Hamlin now leads the championship standings, only one level forward of Reddick. Nevertheless, the motive force of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota wasn’t smiling after Sunday’s race.
He gave up stage factors in favor of flipping each levels, as he had an opportunity for a prime 5, or at the least prime ten end. However in the long run, he completed twenty sixth, leaving a whole lot of factors on the desk. On a late-race restart, he received rotated whereas working seventh fell to the very rear of the sector. Hamlin’s splitter was additionally broken within the incident, and he struggled to make up misplaced floor.
“I had a extremely quick automobile, prime 5 automobile on velocity,” stated Hamlin, subdued in his TNT interview. “Did not actually have nice restarts, giving up a pair within the first and about one after that. Obtained spun there, and as soon as we received spun, I hit the nostril and knocked the splitter off. Misplaced a whole lot of downforce, and struggled to run the place we have been at.”
Reddick tries to have a look at the positives
As for Reddick, the frustration was clear for him as effectively. He fell six laps down whereas the 23XI Racing labored on the ability steering subject, and witn so little attrition, he was caught in last-place for a lot of the race. He did handle to safe the quickest lap bonus, strolling away with a measly two factors on the board.
“We have been making an attempt to diagnose it, and it was only a very odd subject,” remarked Reddick. “For us … every thing appeared high quality after we left within the pit stall that first inexperienced flag cycle. Simply a whole lot of points within the steering, simply actually notchy with the ability steering going out and in, prefer it was getting sure up. I did not know what was happening. I did not know if we had a wheel subject or what was happening at first. However all of the wheels have been good, and it was simply actually onerous to make any sort of laptime with it. It is so onerous to say in hindsight if we made the best choice to work on it. I undoubtedly do not suppose I’d have been inside seconds of the tempo, so both method, we had a troublesome street forward. We did get the Xfinity quickest lap out of the day at the least (after engaged on it), in order that was the robust factor … It was sort of bittersweet that we have been capable of get the quickest lap and have that sort of velocity, regardless that we have been having slight steering points.”
On dropping management of the championship, Reddick tried to look on the brilliant aspect of issues. “I might say we received fairly lucky right this moment. He was working actually good, however one thing occurred, do not actually know what it was. All issues thought-about for the problems that we had, we have been actually lucky to actually solely lose 9 factors on the day to Denny, ending useless final. It’s what it’s, we’ll take it and transfer on. And we’ll do every thing we will at Chicagoland to get again the lead.”
Watch: Reddick on ‘very odd subject’ that resulted in last-place end
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