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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, pits in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, pits in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, walks the grid previous to the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by David Jensen/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: A common view of racing in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: A common view of racing in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Timmy Hill, driver of the #66 Auto Direct USA Ford, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 JackLinks Non-Vegan Chevrolet, Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 BPS/Winchester Lengthy Beard XR Chevrolet, Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Free Chicken Southern Spring Water Toyota, and Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, race in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: A common view of racing in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, pits in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: A common view of racing in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Grand Marshal and NASCAR Corridor of Famer Kurt Busch on the grid previous to the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by David Jensen/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Honorary tempo automobile driver, Mark Martin speaks on the NASCAR Expertise stage previous to the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by David Jensen/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 Columbia Toyota, and Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, lead the sphere on a tempo lap previous to the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by David Jensen/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, leads the sphere to the inexperienced flag to start out the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: A common view of the observe in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: A common view of racing in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor Chevrolet, and Daniel Suarez, driver of the #7 NationsGuard Chevrolet, race in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 JackLinks Non-Vegan Chevrolet, Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, Josh Berry, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Fast Lane Ford, Justin Allgaier, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and Michael McDowell, driver of the #71 Delaware Life Chevrolet, race in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
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NASCAR race at Darlington: Cup Sequence drivers deal with Goodyear 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Josh Berry, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Fast Lane Ford, Justin Allgaier, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and Michael McDowell, driver of the #71 Delaware Life Chevrolet, race in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photograph by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Pictures)
It’s been some time, hasn’t it?
Oh, certain, right here and there in recent times. However a full-blown conspiracy — or at the least a principle therein?
In earlier occasions, when NASCAR was courting Detroit’s Huge Three automakers in hopes of them (i.e. “cubic {dollars}”) into the game, Ford was satisfied Chevy was getting the wink-and-a-nod remedy, whereas Chevy was satisfied that remedy was truly reserved for Common Motors.
Michael Jordan and Tyler Reddick have gotten fixtures on Fox’s late-afternoon Sunday programming.
And GM, in flip, reversed the order of accusations.
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They had been all unsuitable. Or had been all of them proper? Again then, it relied on whether or not you had been asking Glen Wooden, Junior Johnson or Smokey Yunick.
Quick-forward to NASCAR’s color-TV days, and the conspiracies had been extra micro than macro. Keep in mind when everybody was satisfied Hendrick Motorsports was secretly using traction management on Jeff Gordon’s worldbeater No. 24?
How about Junior’s plate? Dale Earnhardt Jr. was proving so good at Daytona and Talladega, many assumed NASCAR held again a particular restrictor plate for the previous No. 8’s carburetor.
We’ve had little points about ill-timed warning flags or questionable dashing penalties on Pit Street, however a conspiracy relating to NASCAR taking part in favorites with a selected crew? It’s been some time.
However, boy howdy, foolish or not, one’s a-brewin’. And the extra it will get folks speaking, the higher it’s for NASCAR and people overlaying and broadcasting it.
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First Gear
Keep in mind a couple of weeks again after we realized no driver in NASCAR historical past had began a Cup season with three straight wins? Not even Richard Petty, again when he was amassing trophies like they had been bubblegum playing cards.
Then Tyler Reddick did it.
And we’re instructed solely two drivers had ever received 4 of the primary six races: Dale Earnhardt (1987) and Invoice Elliott (1992). Tyler Reddick has now finished that, too.
No, this isn’t as surprising as a Riley Herbst, Cody Ware and even Herman “The Turtle” Beam (ask your granddaddy) getting out of the gate like this, however nonetheless, Reddick entered 2026 with eight wins in 218 profession begins, and simply final season, he received as many races as you probably did.
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Even in a non-traditional sport like auto racing, momentum and sizzling streaks are actual, however this specific heater had some actual alternatives to chill off at Darlington, and it didn’t.
Second Gear
Right here’s what was notably surprising about Reddick at Darlington …
He was the twenty ninth of 37 drivers to show a qualifying lap Saturday. Nobody earlier than him may attain a mean of 168 mph, with the quickest being within the 167 vary. Reddick topped 169. Whereas scraping the notorious Darlington wall alongside the best way.
That uncooked pace (cue the theorists!) principally results in these subsequent two objects …
Reddick received Sunday’s race after detouring to Auto Zone for a brand new battery. Effectively, NASCAR’s model of that, anyway. He was having energy points, and it was early sufficient within the race so, to hell with it, simply change the battery, restart on the rear, and mow ’em down one after the other.
A clunky tire change misplaced him six positions on one other cease.
To assist cut back the chance of future energy issues, he turned off the juice to his cool swimsuit, which made issues bodily harder at a demanding observe on a heat day.
For good measure, he collided with Chris Buescher within the late phases.
And nonetheless, he blew previous Brad Keselowski with 28 laps remaining (poor Kez regarded like he had the emergency brake engaged!) and was practically six seconds forward on the checkers.
Third Gear
Be affected person, we’ll get there. For many who aren’t tuned in to the place we’re going with this, we have to construct the case, then we are able to all seize our formally licensed tinfoil caps.
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For now, let’s hear what others are saying about Reddick’s Darlington beatdown.
Keselowski, the runner-up: “Tyler is a superb driver. You shouldn’t take something away from that. However they’re clearly up on horsepower and downforce proper now, and he is making that rely.”
Ryan Blaney, who completed third: “He simply goes sooner. I want I may level one thing out, however he’s simply sooner, and Tyler is an incredible race-car driver. All the time has been, they usually’ve received it occurring over there proper now.”
Denny Hamlin, co-owner of Reddick’s crew and Sunday’s Eleventh-place finisher: “He was sooner on the entry, the center and the exit. I am going to examine it and attempt to be taught one thing from it as a result of clearly they received it found out.”
The one man who may’ve saved tempo with Reddick was his teammate at 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace, however he had a gradual pit cease that put him again within the pack, the place he discovered a crash and ruined his day.
Fourth Gear
Now, to state the apparent in explaining the smirks amongst NASCAR insiders.
The ink is barely dry on that offseason authorized settlement between NASCAR and the 2 race-team plaintiffs, one in all which is Reddick’s 23XI crew, which lists Michael Jordan (heard of him?) as a co-owner — a co-owner who has been extraordinarily seen by six weeks of the season.
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A whole lot of us are responsible as charged. Although we declare to know higher and might clarify why such a conspiracy can be approach too dangerous for a governing physique, we secretly benefit from the fleeting ideas.
“What ideas?” you could ask. How about this one …
The true believers can have you pondering the courtroom settlement language included this: In lieu of further financial issues, plaintiffs will settle for an extra 50 horsepower till additional discover.
By no means thoughts that the opposite co-plaintiff, Entrance Row Motorsports, has three automobiles with a paltry two top-10s in a mixed 18 begins this yr. Sure, two.
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Simply run with the conspiracy. It’s good for enterprise.
