Tyler Reddick currently holds a commanding lead in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. He’s got 325 points, a clear 95 points clear of second place in the standings, which is currently manned by Ryan Blaney.
His margin has been shocking. That’s what happens when you win four of the first six races in the new Cup Series format.
Still, it has begged the question. Is it sustainable? Or, as the Door Bumper Clear podcast phrased the hypothetical with an agree or disagree premise: Tyler Reddick will not be challenged for the regular season championship.
“Spot off. I don’t think it’s a given he’s going to win the regular season championship,” journalist Matt Weaver, a guest on the podcast, said. “I think that this sport — and I’m not saying anything you guys don’t know — is a matter of the hot hand exchanging hands multiple times. And I still think eventually the Hendrick guys are going to figure out that new body. I think the two other legacy teams, Penske and Gibbs, are going to get a hot hand at some point. This is not over yet. It’s a long regular season to go.”
The other major voice on the podcast, spotter Freddie Kraft, also agreed. It’s way too early to call it Tyler Reddick’s championship.
“With the amount of points you get for winning a race now, if Tyler has a bad race and somebody goes out and wins the stage, wins the race, they’re going to make up 60 points on Tyler that race,” Kraft said. “So 90 is not a… if he continues on like this and continues to build his gap… I’m tired of it, but I think it’s too early to say he’s not going to get challenged, because you can make up so many points in one race.”
Can Tyler Reddick maintain his current pace? Or even if he has some falloff, can he mitigate it enough to protect his currently very large lead in the standings?
Kraft sees reasons to believe he can. He’s just not ready to declare him the champion yet.
“This was what the problem was last year, why everybody was so surprised that he didn’t win a race last year, is because I thought Tyler was, if you asked me who a couple of the best drivers in the sport were, I would say (Kyle) Larson would be the No. 1, Tyler’s right there in the top three to five,” Kraft said. “And he doesn’t have a weakness. Road courses, he can run the wall as good as anybody. Short track, this week is maybe his Achilles Heel of places that maybe he goes that he’s not going to (do as well). It’s not so much a weakness, it’s a place he doesn’t feel as comfortable at.”
We shall see. So far, Tyler Reddick hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.