Tyler Reddick has been lights out through the first 15 NASCAR Cup Series races of 2026 with five wins, which leads all drivers. On the strength of his dominant start, Reddick stretched his point lead to a whopping 109 points over second place and seemed destined to comfortably claim his second regular-season title in the last three years.
However, that point lead has all but disappeared thanks to a recent surge from Denny Hamlin, the co-owner of Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota.
On paper, Reddick and Hamlin are about as equally matched as two drivers could be. For starters, both have been the model of consistency in the early stages of the year, with both drivers scoring at least three wins. Last weekend at Michigan International Speedway, Hamlin scored his third victory of the season, continuing this surge as the summer stretch ramps up with The Chase drawing closer.
Additionally, the duo has both scored double-digit top-five finishes, with Reddick having nine top 10s, while Hamlin has compiled eight such finishes. Similarly, the pair are separated in top-10 finishes by one, with Reddick once again holding a slight edge over Hamlin 11 to 10.
With these two being so close in speed and consistency, one bad finish could be the difference between starting The Chase with 2,100 points and the No. 1 overall seed or starting 25 points behind in second. Reddick’s Michigan weekend could spell trouble should he have more on-track incidents to shrink his points lead.
On lap 83, Reddick was an innocent victim of a crash started by Carson Hocevar while laying back and trying to move three-wide beneath the car directly in front of him, John Hunter Nemechek. After his car suffered major damage from contact with Austin Dillon, Reddick was forced to take his car to the garage.
The team retired from the race, resulting in a 35th-place finish for the points leader. This marked the first time this season that Reddick failed to finish inside the top 15, with a 15th-place run at Martinsville Speedway being his previous worst result.
Despite scoring points in the opening stage, Reddick lost a good portion of his points lead to Hamlin, who scored his second-straight win after once again facing adversity by starting at the tail end of the field following qualifying at Michigan.
The victory was a special one for Hamlin. Not only did he score back-to-back wins, but he also tied former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in all-time Cup victories with 63. Post-race, Hamlin celebrated the victory with a Polish victory lap, made famous by Alan Kulwicki, to honor the late Busch.
The victory moves Hamlin closer to 70 career Cup wins, something only eight drivers have been able to achieve in NASCAR history: Richard Petty, David Pearson, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt.
Those drivers are all multi-time Cup champions and current members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Perhaps in the not so distant future, Hamlin will join these legends in the Hall of Fame with a racing resume that includes wins in the sport’s biggest races, including three Daytona 500s and Southern 500s, along with a triumph in the 2022 Coca-Cola 600.
Hamlin’s next victory will give him 64 wins, which would give him sole possession of ninth on NASCAR’s all-time list. In the last two seasons, Hamlin has shown a knack for remaining highly competitive despite being 45 years old. Typically, drivers over 40 begin to show signs of declining on-track performance.
We saw it firsthand with Johnson in his three final full-time seasons, as the seven-time champion failed to reach victory lane before stepping away from NASCAR on a full-time basis at the end of the 2020 season. Hamlin has shown he’s still as sharp as can be behind the wheel.
The driver has won 19 races since turning 40 years old, and with how well he’s performed over the last few seasons, 70 wins seems like an obtainable goal for him in the midst of trying to claim that elusive first Cup championship that was ripped away from him one year ago.
However, with how much wear and tear his body has endured over 19 full-time seasons, there have been more signs pointing to Hamlin’s tenure as a full-time Cup driver nearing the final checkered flag.
On Amazon Prime’s post-race show following his Michigan win, Hamlin was asked whether his intent is to step away from full-time Cup racing at the end of 2027. “I don’t know; the weeks are tougher,” Hamlin said post-race. “The body hurts. During the week, I’m not recovering as quick.”
In terms of who could potentially replace Hamlin whenever he decides to hang up the helmet, current NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series rookie Brent Crews may be the most suitable choice.
“They’ve got a great driver in Brent Crews that’s gonna be ready more than likely by the end of next year,” Hamlin said.
With all the rumblings surrounding when his last season as a full-time driver will be, one thing is for certain: we’re witnessing the best version of Hamlin right now, a driver who is more determined than ever to continue writing his own chapter in NASCAR’s storied history.
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