6.24.2025

NASCAR Insights: Positive indicators for Tyler Reddick on verge of 200th Cup start

Inching toward the NASCAR Cup Series midpoint of the season, just two drivers can claim single-digit rankings across all five categories in the year-to-date NASCAR Insights metrics. One is Denny Hamlin, who sits third in the standings with three victories in the bank. The other five-tool player (including pit-crew stats) is Tyler Reddick — Hamlin’s employee at 23XI Racing but a driver still thirsting for his first win of 2025 as he reaches a career milestone this weekend.

Reddick’s spot in the Cup Series Playoffs’ field of 16 drivers is not yet secure, though he holds a relatively comfortable 107-point margin over the provisional elimination line with nine races remaining in the regular season. That cushion has become a bit thinner in recent weeks as Reddick has gone nine races without a top-five finish, coming home a season-worst 32nd last weekend after battling brake issues at Pocono Raceway. During that stretch, the postseason field has swelled with six first-time winners clinching berths in the last eight races.

Reddick will make his 200th Cup Series start in Saturday’s Quaker State 400 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). If the Georgia track doesn’t hold the key to a rebound, some positive indicators loom for the No. 45 Toyota team in the Chicago Street Race, where Reddick was last year’s runner-up.

Reddick will face a difficult matchup in the opening round of the In-Season Challenge bracket, squaring off against Kyle Larson at Atlanta. Larson is one of five drivers with single-digit ratings in four of the five NASCAR Insights metrics for the season to date. Christopher Bell, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are the others.

Zack Albert
NASCAR.com