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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MAY 02: Retired NASCAR Cup Series driver, Kevin Harvick, and 2025 inductee to the Texas Motorsports Hall Of Fame speaks to the media during the Hall of Fame Luncheon at Texas Motor Speedway on May 02, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Tyler Reddick has been the standout driver of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> season, but Kevin Harvick is not convinced his success has come through pure domination. The 23XI Racing star opened the season with three straight wins and now leads the championship standings by 97 points after 15 races. While those numbers have fueled talk of dominance, Harvick believes there is more to the story.<\/p>\n Speaking on his Happy Hour podcast<\/a>, the 2014 Cup Series champion argued that Reddick\u2019s success has been built on execution, strategy, and taking advantage of key opportunities. His comments come as 23XI Racing continues to strengthen its future by adding rising talent Corey Heim to its growing NASCAR lineup.<\/p>\n Kevin Harvick Questions Tyler Reddick\u2019s NASCAR Dominance<\/p>\n Despite Reddick\u2019s impressive results, Harvick said<\/a> the No. 45 team has not shown the type of overwhelming speed normally associated with a dominant season.<\/p>\n \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been that pure dominance of speed. It has been a great execution from keeping the car going and keeping yourself in position with great restarts and getting it done behind the wheel. It hasn\u2019t been pure dominance.\u201d<\/p>\n Harvick pointed to races where Reddick led significant laps but was unable to close out victories. He also noted that some of the driver\u2019s biggest wins came from capitalizing on late-race opportunities rather than controlling races from start to finish.<\/p>\n One example was Reddick\u2019s Kansas Speedway victory. The win came in overtime after a late caution created a restart, allowing him to pass Kyle Larson in the final two corners and secure the checkered flag.<\/p>\n 23XI Racing Built Success Through People and Leadership<\/p>\n While Harvick questioned the idea of pure dominance, he praised the structure that has helped 23XI Racing become one of NASCAR\u2019s top organizations.<\/p>\n During an appearance on SPEED With Harvick and Buxton<\/a>, he was asked what Michael Jordan brings to the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI would answer that question: Yes. It\u2019s all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Harvick credited Jordan\u2019s financial support and winning mentality, developed during his six NBA<\/a> championship seasons, as key parts of the organization\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n He also highlighted Denny Hamlin\u2019s role in building the team.<\/p>\n \u201cDenny Hamlin was able to help him put the pieces together\u2026 to go out and find Billy Scott \u2014 Tyler Reddick\u2019s crew chief, to go get Tyler Reddick, to put Bubba Wallace and the crew chief pairings that they have, the personnel inside it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause, as you know, you can have fast cars and you can have the coolest trick of the week, but if you don\u2019t have the right people, this is no different than any other business. It\u2019s all about the people.\u201d<\/p>\n Corey Heim Gives 23XI Racing Another Boost<\/p>\n The team\u2019s focus on talent was reinforced this week when 23XI Racing promoted Corey Heim to a full-time Cup Series ride.<\/p>\n The reigning Truck Series champion has competed part-time for the organization during the past three seasons and earned a career-best sixth-place finish at Bristol.<\/p>\n Hamlin praised the young driver after the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cCorey is a gifted driver who is continuing to get better and better with each race he runs. He has a bright future in the sport and joins a team that is continuing to build a solid foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n The addition gives 23XI Racing a three-car lineup featuring Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Heim. As the team pushes toward a NASCAR championship, Harvick believes its biggest advantage may not be superior speed. Instead, he points to strong leadership, smart decisions, and the people assembled by Jordan and Hamlin.<\/p>\n With Tyler Reddick leading the standings and Corey Heim joining the organization full-time, 23XI Racing appears well-positioned to remain a major force throughout the 2026 NASCAR season.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MAY 02: Retired NASCAR Cup Series driver, Kevin Harvick, and 2025 inductee to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-715012","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\/715012","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=715012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}