Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing ready for NASCAR's new Chase format after wild season

Tyler Reddick has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. But as the sport's new Chase postseason format approaches, the 30-year-old driver from Corning, California, says his team is battle-tested and ready for the fight.

Reddick made history in February by becoming the first driver ever to win the first three races of the season, taking checkered flags at Daytona, Atlanta, and Circuit of the Americas. Not even legends like Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt accomplished that feat. By mid-April, he had won five of the first nine races, and many fans assumed he would cruise to his first Cup Series championship.

Then the summer slump hit. A multi-car crash at Michigan, a blown tire while battling for the lead at Naval Base Coronado, power steering issues at Sonoma, and debris puncturing his radiator at Chicagoland all contributed to a frustrating stretch. More tough days followed at North Wilkesboro and Iowa.

Despite the roller-coaster ride, Reddick enters the final race of the regular season at Daytona sitting fourth in the point standings. With the Chase beginning Sept. 6 at Darlington, he remains confident his No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing can return to victory lane.

How Reddick's team has responded to adversity

Reddick credits his crew for keeping their composure when things go wrong on the track. He told USA TODAY Sports that the team's ability to fight through difficult days will serve them well in the Chase.

We have days that don't go smooth, but we don't let it derail us. We fight through those hard days very well as a team. When we get into the Chase here, I mean, ideally on paper, you don't want to have a bad race, but when it does happen, it's important to respond the right way. I feel like our team does that. When something goes wrong, we don't just throw our hands up in the air and start complaining, we get to work.

Recent results back up that confidence. Reddick finished 10th at the Brickyard 400 after qualifying third. At Richmond, he started 32nd but clawed his way to an 11th-place finish. Last weekend at New Hampshire, he won the pole but spun out early on the rain-soaked track, only to fight back for an eighth-place finish. That gave him his 15th top-10 of the season, fourth most among all drivers.

What's different about NASCAR's new Chase format

This will be Reddick's sixth consecutive postseason appearance, but the format has changed. After 12 years of the win-and-in elimination-style playoffs, NASCAR has brought back the Chase. Under this system, there are no resets every three races. The full 10-race Chase determines the champion.

Reddick says carrying momentum into the Chase is crucial because there is no starting over.

It's extremely important to keep rolling the things that your team does well from the season into the Chase. With the old playoffs, it was like three races at a time and then you start over again. There will be no starting over in the Chase. I think your mindset, your approach, is going to be different. There's going to be mistakes made along the way, but don't let those mistakes tear down your entire Chase. Respond the right way, handle the adversity the correct way, and I feel like we've been having to do that the last couple of months.

Michael Jordan's visit boosts 23XI morale

NBA legend and 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan visited the team's facilities in Huntersville, North Carolina, ahead of the Richmond race on Aug. 15. Jordan celebrated in victory lane with Reddick earlier this season, and Reddick says his presence at the shop, which the team calls Airspeed, provided a significant morale boost.

It's great for me, but my favorite part is what it does to the rest of the people here at Airspeed. For him to come here and spend time with the entire team, it's just a big needle mover. The impact that he has on myself as a driver is significant, obviously. But when he does this for everyone here, I feel like he does a really good job of letting us know where he's at, where he wants us to be, and how and why he believes in us, in this group and in this organization.

The other co-owner, Denny Hamlin, is also having a career year. At 45, Hamlin is the oldest active driver in the Cup Series and has already locked up the regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the Chase. He has four wins this season and finished inside the top seven in six of the past seven races.

Reddick admires how Hamlin balances his dual roles as owner and competitor.

He's made clear his passion, his vision, for 23XI. Whether I'm talking to Denny the owner or Denny the driver, he's a great Toyota teammate. You can't put a price on the value that he brings to the table for us. Obviously, when we're on the racetrack with him, he's out there for himself. That's one thing I always appreciate about him is you know what you're going to get.

Fans can win big during the Chase

Fans have an extra reason to root for Reddick and teammate Bubba Wallace during the Chase. Through the We Win, You Win sweepstakes, every time a 23XI driver wins one of the 10 Chase races, one fan will earn an all-expenses-paid trip to a Charlotte NASCAR Cup Series race in 2027. If either Reddick or Wallace captures the championship, each winner will also receive a $2,311 cash prize.

Fans can enter by visiting Mobil 1's website or by purchasing Mobil 1 motor oil at an O'Reilly Auto Parts store through Nov. 15.

Hopefully the fans get to experience the winning sensation. It gives them a little something extra to pull for and be excited for as we try to win some races in the Chase.

Meet Rowdy, the new shop dog at Airspeed

In a touching twist, the day after NASCAR legend Kyle Busch suddenly died, a 23XI employee found a stray dog alongside a busy road on the way to work. The team took the dog to a vet and then gave him a home at Airspeed as the unofficial shop dog. They named him Rowdy, Busch's famous nickname.

The timing was, it just seemed like a sign. He's a puppy, he's young, he's got all this energy. He has all this open space and runs around and says hi to everybody. He's settling into the crazy things we do around here on a daily basis. He's a work in progress, but Rowdy is figuring it out. He really likes peeing and pooping on the floors. We're trying to get him to do that in the grass.

Whether it's finding consistency on the racetrack or training a puppy, the work never stops for Reddick and 23XI Racing. The Chase begins Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY.