Can Tyler Reddick get the job done again at Michigan?
As with each track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule that’s routinely visited, there are some drivers who simply fare better than others at certain venues. This weekend, the Cup Series travels to Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400, and for all intents and purposes, it could be Tyler Reddick’s race to lose.
While Denny Hamlin, who is also on a bit of a scorcher at the moment, took home the win last year, Reddick still ended up in a respectable 12th, and after starting the year off in such a dominant fashion, Reddick has a unique opportunity to extend his gargantuan point lead even more this weekend. But will he get it done?
Yes, because at Michigan, speed still reigns supreme. It’s no secret that the Toyotas have another gear thus far in 2026, and they’ll be prepared to use that to gain even more points on the rest of the field come Sunday. However, Reddick has shown that he’s figured out the 23XI Racing equipment at fast tracks better than anyone else, and it should net him another win if all goes according to plan.
Of course, this is racing, and when do things ever go according to plan? If you’re cagey about picking Reddick and Reddick alone, I’ll relent, but it’s also worth noting that it wouldn’t be his first win at NASCAR’s fastest 2-miler. While Hamlin took home the win last year, Reddick did manage to snag it in overtime fashion.
This is a big weekend for the standings, which currently have Reddick and Hamlin trampling the field. If Ryan Blaney can make some magic happen, though, and find his way to victory lane while Hamlin and Reddick somehow have bad days at the track, the top three picture could start to look interesting in the coming weeks.
What can fans expect from NASCAR’s new mini movie?
Truth be told, I have no clue what a mini movie is. I’ve always treated TV shows as mini movies, but technically, isn’t anything you see on a screen a mini movie? Who really knows at the end of the day, but the big promotional push for NASCAR yesterday was that it has produced a mini movie to promote the upcoming road-course race at Naval Base Coronado, and it looks interesting, to say the least.
From the promotional material that matches the vibes of Top Gun to the soundtrack, it looks like a good balance of kitsch and humor. Additionally, it places Prime Video center stage yet again, which leads me to believe this was an Amazon-sponsored venture rather than one NASCAR cooked up on its own. And if that’s the case, it’s another mark in the win column for NASCAR’s freshest broadcast partner.
I’ve said it until I’m blue in the face at this point, but what Prime does with its short stint of NASCAR coverage reminds fans so much of what they fell in love with the sport for: the drivers themselves. They showcase their personality far more than FOX and NBC and have the sport’s biggest former personalities at the nucleus of their coverage.
Whether the acting in this movie is worth a damn or not (although Noah Gragson cutting a donut in front of cop cars was more than believable), the point is that it looks fun, gives drivers a chance to showcase some personality, and, above all else, gets more racing content in front of people who may not tune in each weekend. It’s the equivalent of the old cardboard cutouts at the grocery store, and it makes people at least ask who these drivers are and what they do.
The mini movie, however long it is, will likely make the audience laugh more than Top Gun did and probably won’t evoke the same emotions as other military thrillers such as Saving Private Ryan, but it’s at least a genuine attempt to do something interesting instead of sticking in the same week-to-week marketing mold, and that’s worth mentioning.
That said, if Ryan Blaney chaperoned this group of actors, I’m not sure I see the SAG cards coming through the mail anytime soon. I’ll save my Rotten Tomatoes score for another column.
Does Noah Gragson to Richard Childress Racing make sense?
Front Row Motorsports has some decisions to make toward the end of the calendar. Gragson has not delivered as expected in the No. 4, and with Layne Riggs and Chandler Smith both making their own waves for FRM in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, they’ll be chomping at the bit for a chance to move up the ladder sooner than later.
Zane Smith just signed an extension, and Todd Gilliland is as safe as any driver with the money he brings to the table with Love’s. That leaves Gragson as the odd man out, but with an intriguing option on the table at Richard Childress Racing.
RCR has a lot to think about this year, and it’d be forgiven for wanting to wait until the end of the year to make any moves. However, with Gragson’s former connection to and success with Bass Pro Shops, RCR seems like a solid fit for the 27-year-old.
Additionally, it would provide Gragson with a long-tenured team and a wealth of experience he hasn’t had since his days at JR Motorsports in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Unless Gragson turns the season around, he’s trending toward a suboptimal finish in the No. 4. However, a good change of scenery might be all he needs to get back to his winning ways of old.
That being said, Gragson is most likely not a win-now driver, and if that’s what RCR wants, it’s going to have to go out and get it, which is looking tougher to do by the day. Perhaps, then, bringing Gragson in and building around him might be the sounder strategy.
With Corey Heim signed, who is NASCAR’s No. 1 prospect?
If you’re one of the people who have (rightfully) been clamoring for Corey Heim to go full-time Cup racing, you can now rest. He’s taking Riley Herbst‘s spot at 23XI next season and will look to make an immediate impact in fast equipment.
That leaves one big question, though: who is now the most intriguing prospect in NASCAR?
Realistically, there are four names to mention, and one is already a series champion. Jesse Love will be the most talked about at this juncture and will more than likely secure a Cup ride before the other names mentioned, but does that automatically mean he’s the best? I’m not sure.
For instance, one would feel pretty comfortable elevating Riggs to the upper echelon of the sport. He’s a short-track savant who has figured out how to compete and win across the Truck schedule at an array of venues, and would more than likely have been an even bigger prospect if it weren’t for Heim’s dominance last year in the Truck Series.
That said, two dark-horse candidates are Brent Crews and Corey Day, who end this list for very different reasons.
Crews, much like his close friend Connor Zilisch, will race anything he can get his hands on. He’s so solid, in fact, that he already has five top-five finishes on the year, and had to miss four races earlier in the season because he wasn’t 18 years old.
Day, however, is intriguing for another reason. He’s got the right people in his corner. He’s been hailed as the next Kyle Larson, who entered the sport as a 410 Sprint Car savant and has now won multiple championships. With a pair of wins on the year already and at third in points, Day is showing that, despite his early struggles, he can quickly adapt to the necessary level of competition.
That’s without mentioning the likes of Kaden Honeycutt or Carson Kvapil, who most certainly have their own impressive futures ahead of them. While Love will get most of the attention out of this group, it wouldn’t shock me if, by the end of this year, Crews and Riggs weren’t right alongside him.
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for multiple automotive news outlets, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host, and a PhD. student at a premier college of media and mass communication. Tanner began working with Frontstretch in 2022, covering the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
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