{"id":56997,"date":"2026-03-22T21:47:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T02:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=56997"},"modified":"2026-03-22T21:58:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T02:58:25","slug":"unsinkable-tyler-reddick-overcomes-adversity-to-win-at-darlington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/22\/unsinkable-tyler-reddick-overcomes-adversity-to-win-at-darlington\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsinkable Tyler Reddick overcomes adversity to win at Darlington"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

DARLINGTON, S.C.\u2014It\u2019s almost impossible to keep a good man down\u2014when you\u2019re on the kind roll Tyler Reddick is enjoying, that is.<\/p>\n

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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Overcoming a succession of issues inside his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, Reddick delivered a convincing victory in Sunday\u2019s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, beating runner-up Brad Keselowski to the finish line by 5.847 seconds.<\/p>\n

The win was Reddick\u2019s fourth of the season in six NASCAR Cup Series events, following his record-setting sweep of the first three races of the year. That four-victory total puts Reddick in the company of two pillars of the sport.<\/p>\n

Only twice before has a Cup Series driver won four of the first six races in a given season: Dale Earnhardt in 1987 and Bill Elliott in 1992.<\/p>\n

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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, drives with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Nor did circumstances make it easy on the 30-year-old driver from Corning, California. With a malfunctioning alternator from the outset, Reddick had to conserve power by eliminating unnecessary electrical drains.<\/p>\n

That meant no cool suit to keep him refreshed on a warm day in the South Carolina Sandhills. It also meant a change to a more robust battery on pit road, a move that relegated the No. 45 Camry to the back of the field.<\/p>\n

Trouble on the right-front tire on the team\u2019s first green-flag pit stop compounded the issues, resulting in a 16.3-second pit stop that cost Reddick six positions in the running order.<\/p>\n

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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing celebrates with a crew member of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, after driver, Tyler Reddick wins the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

An untimely final-stage collision with Chris Buescher, who made a late signal to come to pit road on Lap 242 of 293, also cost Reddick valuable time.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, Reddick overcame all the obstacles thrown at the No. 45 team on Sunday. After pitting for the final time on Lap 246, Reddick charged forward, erasing a seven-second deficit to Keselowski, who led a race-high 142 laps.<\/p>\n

On Lap 266, Reddick passed Keselowski for the lead and pulled away to the decisive victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m pretty sure it’s frustrating for him because he had an unbelievable car,\u201d said former NBA superstar Michael Jordan, who co-owns 23XI Racing with Cup driver Denny Hamlin. \u201cYou know, you never know what’s going to happen, especially at Darlington. I think that the key to him winning was just keeping his head.<\/p>\n

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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI think (crew chief) Billy (Scott) did a good job of trying to keep him calm. We knew we had a fast car. We knew on a 30-lap run we were real good, on a short-lap run we were real good. We just had to get the car right. And he kept his composure, and he did an unbelievable job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reddick, who started from the pole and led 77 laps, thought a trial by fire was appropriate at the Track Too Tough to Tame.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know never to give up,\u201d Reddick, who won for the 12th time in his career. \u201cI think it’s very fitting that when we finally get our first win here at Darlington that the Lady in Black would test us like that. We’ve been so close so many times. I mean, Lap 1 we had the charging problem where the battery wasn’t charging at all.<\/p>\n

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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAll day long, just not running fans. Sweat my tail off inside the race car, and we knew it was going to be physical. Really worn out, but I guess I don’t need as much of that cooling stuff as I normally have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keselowski was running a paint scheme to honor the late Greg Biffle, a former RFK Racing driver who lost his life in a plane crash last December.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn’t have the best car today,\u201d Keselowski acknowledged. \u201cNot compared to Tyler. Tyler drove a hell of a race, and he’s driving a rocket, and he’s making it count right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we got the most out of the day we were getting to get, honestly, but we scored a lot of stage points, second place, first place loser, but that’s OK. We’re doing the things we need to do and making the most of the days we have.<\/p>\n

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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Marg Machine Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt’s really cool to have the great group of (RFK) cars running up front. I put a nice right-sided stripe on the car. I think that would make Greg proud. If you know Greg, you’ll understand that one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan Blaney finished third, overcoming a penalty for pitting in a teammate\u2019s stall to tighten a loose wheel.<\/p>\n

Carson Hocevar showed blazing speed in the final stage in finishing fourth after starting from the rear of the field because of an unapproved adjustment to his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet\u2014the repair of an upper control arm.<\/p>\n

Austin Cindric ran fifth, followed by Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Buescher and Erik Jones.<\/p>\n

The Cup Series races next at Martinsville Speedway on March 29 in the Cook at 400 (FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). <\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Reddick (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota) –<\/p>\n

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Billy Scott and Denny Hamlin –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DennyPRODMEDIACENTER7ADARLINGTON22MAR2026NCS1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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Mark Martin (Honorary Pace Car Driver for the Goodyear 400) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/PRODMEDIACENTER6CDARLINGTON22MAR2026NCSMartin.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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Kurt Busch and Harry Gant (Co-Grand Marshals for the Goodyear 400) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/PRODMEDIACENTER6BDARLINGTON22MAR2026NCSKurtHarry.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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Darlington Raceway Press Conference BBQ Announcement with Josh Harris (President of Darlington Raceway) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/R050007BBQ.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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NASCAR Cup Series Race – Goodyear 400<\/strong><\/p>\n

Darlington Raceway<\/strong><\/p>\n

Darlington, South Carolina<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 22, 2026Tyler Reddick (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota) – <\/strong><\/p>\n

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                   1. (1)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 293.<\/p>\n

                   2. (5)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 293.<\/p>\n

                   3. (7)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 293.<\/p>\n

                   4. (16)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 293.<\/p>\n

                   5. (12)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 293.<\/p>\n

                   6. (28)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 293.<\/p>\n

                   7. (11)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 293.<\/p>\n

                   8. (13)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 293.<\/p>\n

                   9. (6)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 293.<\/p>\n

                   10. (24)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 293.<\/p>\n

                   11. (9)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 293.<\/p>\n

                   12. (23)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 293.<\/p>\n

                   13. (17)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 293.<\/p>\n

                   14. (33)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 293.<\/p>\n

                   15. (3)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 293.<\/p>\n

                   16. (25)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 293.<\/p>\n

                   17. (26)  Josh Berry, Ford, 293.<\/p>\n

                   18. (32)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 293.<\/p>\n

                   19. (22)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 292.<\/p>\n

                   20. (20)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 292.<\/p>\n

                   21. (8)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 292.<\/p>\n

                   22. (19)  Zane Smith, Ford, 292.<\/p>\n

                   23. (31)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 292.<\/p>\n

                   24. (15)  Justin Allgaier(i), Chevrolet, 292.<\/p>\n

                   25. (10)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 292.<\/p>\n

                   26. (30)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 291.<\/p>\n

                   27. (21)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 291.<\/p>\n

                   28. (35)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 291.<\/p>\n

                   29. (18)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 291.<\/p>\n

                   30. (27)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 291.<\/p>\n

                   31. (36)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 291.<\/p>\n

                   32. (4)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 291.<\/p>\n

                   33. (29)  Joey Logano, Ford, 290.<\/p>\n

                   34. (2)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 288.<\/p>\n

                   35. (14)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 288.<\/p>\n

                   36. (34)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 285.<\/p>\n

                   37. (37)  Timmy Hill(i), Ford, Handling, 52.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  129.854 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 4 Mins, 56 Secs. Margin of Victory:  5.847 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  4 for 26 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  16 among 8 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   T. Reddick 1-45;B. Keselowski 46-95;K. Larson 96-112;B. Keselowski 113;K. Larson 114-116;B. Keselowski 117-145;C. Elliott 146-151;B. Keselowski 152-194;C. Briscoe 195-198;C. Buescher 199-201;T. Gibbs 202;C. Buescher 203-240;B. Keselowski 241;T. Reddick 242-245;C. Hocevar 246-247;B. Keselowski 248-265;T. Reddick 266-293.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Brad Keselowski 6 times for 142 laps; Tyler Reddick 3 times for 77 laps; Chris Buescher 2 times for 41 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 20 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 6 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 4 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 2 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 6,45,12,23,5,17,9,2,7,24<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 6,17,5,19,45,60,24,2,54,7<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.\u2014It\u2019s almost impossible to keep a good man down\u2014when you\u2019re on the kind roll Tyler Reddick is enjoying, that is. Overcoming a succession of issues inside his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, Reddick delivered a convincing victory in Sunday\u2019s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, beating runner-up Brad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":57002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[651,16,496],"class_list":["post-56997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-darlington-raceway","tag-nascar","tag-tyler-reddick"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2267890994-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-ePj","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56997"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57022,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56997\/revisions\/57022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}