![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2263050243-e1771978415256.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Tyler Reddick became just the sixth driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the first two races of a season.<\/p>\n
Tyler Reddick has placed himself in rare company to begin the 2026 NASCAR<\/a> Cup Series season.<\/p>\n With his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Autotrader 400, Reddick became just the sixth driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the first two races of a season.<\/p>\n The Atlanta win came one week after Reddick captured the checkered<\/a> at the Daytona 500, giving him a 2-0 start to the year and marking the first time since 2009 that a driver has opened a season with back-to-back victories.<\/p>\n The Atlanta triumph was also the 10th Cup Series win of Reddick\u2019s career.<\/p>\n Drivers to Win the First Two NASCAR Cup Series Races of a Season<\/p>\n Only five other drivers have opened a NASCAR Cup Series season with wins in the first two races:<\/p>\n Marvin Panch (1957) Reddick<\/a> is now the first driver since Kenseth in 2009 to start a Cup Series season with consecutive victories. The 17-year gap underscores how difficult it is to sweep the sport\u2019s opening two races.<\/p>\n What Happened the Last Time It Occurred?<\/p>\n Matt Kenseth was the last driver to open a Cup Series season 2-0 in 2009, winning the Daytona 500 and the Auto Club 500. Kenseth finished the season with two wins and ranked 14th in the final standings<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1997, Jeff Gordon turned his fast start into one of the most dominant championship seasons of the modern era, winning 10 races and capturing the Cup Series title<\/a>.<\/p>\n Historically, drivers who open a season with back-to-back wins position themselves as immediate championship contenders.<\/p>\n While a 2-0 start does not guarantee a title, it has often correlated with sustained success.<\/p>\n Reddick\u2019s historic start also marks a milestone for 23XI Racing.<\/p>\n The 2-0 start represents a milestone moment for 23XI Racing<\/a> \u2014 co-owned by Michael Jordan<\/a> and Denny Hamlin \u2014 which has quickly evolved into a championship-caliber organization.<\/p>\n Through two races in 2026, Reddick leads the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. Teammate Bubba Wallace sits second in points following his eighth-place finish at Atlanta.<\/p>\n No other team has placed two drivers inside the top two in the standings<\/a> through the season\u2019s opening stretch.<\/p>\n The early surge positions 23XI Racing as one of the strongest organizations in the garage entering the next phase of the schedule.<\/p>\n How Rare Is a 2-0 Start in NASCAR?<\/p>\n The Cup Series has been contested for more than seven decades, yet only six drivers have managed to sweep the first two races of a season.<\/p>\n Between Kenseth\u2019s 2009 start and Reddick\u2019s 2026 breakthrough, multiple champions and Hall of Fame drivers came close but fell short of matching the feat.<\/p>\n That rarity reinforces the significance of Reddick\u2019s accomplishment.<\/p>\n Opening with victories at Daytona<\/a> and Atlanta \u2014 two drafting-style tracks that demand precision in traffic and late-race execution \u2014 adds further weight to the achievement.<\/p>\n Tyler Reddick\u2019s 2026 Season Is Off to a Historic Pace<\/p>\n Reddick\u2019s Atlanta win not only secured his place in NASCAR history but also gave him immediate playoff security and momentum in the championship race.<\/p>\n Becoming the first driver since 2009 to start 2-0 places Reddick alongside some of the most recognizable names in the sport\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Through two races, the 2026 season has belonged to Tyler Reddick.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMaggie MacKenzie<\/a> Maggie MacKenzie covers NASCAR for Heavy.com. She previously worked for NASCAR.com, where she reported, wrote, and edited race-weekend coverage and traveled to key events throughout the season. She has more than ten years of experience in sports media and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. More about Maggie MacKenzie<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Tyler Reddick became just the sixth driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the first two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-497574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBob Welborn (1959)
\nDavid Pearson (1976)
\nJeff Gordon (1997)
\nMatt Kenseth (2009)<\/p>\n