Earlier in the year, just a few weeks ago even; Tyler Reddick seemed far an away the favorite for at least the regular season championship.

Tyler Reddick kicked off the season by winning the 2026 Daytona 500, an accomplishment every driver craves. He then won the next 2 races, being the first driver in the history of NASCAR to win the first 3 races of a season. In the next 7 races, he was able to grab 2 more wins. This means he won a staggering 5 of the first 10 races of the season! This strong start placed him 105 points ahead of second-place Denny Hamlin, a lead that would grow to 122 after the Coca-Cola 600. This is when the momentum shifts.

Denny Hamlin has been second place for the majority of the season. Tyler Reddick’s 5 wins through 10 races is a lot; but of those 5 Reddick lost; Hamlin only won 1. He had some strong races and multiple top 5s through the first 13 races, including finishing 3rd at Charlotte. Now we have Nashville, Michigan, and Pocono; 3 fairly different tracks that we typically see different drivers do well each year. Not this year; as Denny dominated these 3 races; winning all 3 and accumulating a whopping 187 points from these races. This has led him to trim down Tyler Reddick’s lead to just 19 points; something unattainable turned to something that could just be within reach from one race.