Why Is 23XI Racing So Dominant? ‘Confidence and Speed Are Hard to Beat,’ Harvick Says

Even when Tyler Reddick’s car has numerous issues, it feels like everyone in NASCAR this season is racing for second. The driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota picked up his fourth win in the first six races to open the 2026 Cup Series season, as he raced to victory at the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. As Reddick gave Michael Jordan’s 23XI another victory, it didn’t come without some issues. He started off on the pole but lost the lead in Stage 1 when he dealt with an issue with his alternator. Reddick’s car needed a battery change in Stage 2, and his cool suit stopped working in Stage 3. However, none of that mattered as Reddick was able to regain the lead with just under 30 laps to go. He didn’t give it up, either, driving safely to victory in the end in what’s been a surprise start to the season for Reddick and 23XI. But how have Reddick and 23XI been able to find success this season after the driver went winless in 2025 and the team only picked up one checkered flag last year? Well, FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick believes things have fallen into place for the unit after 23XI Racing dealt with a lawsuit against NASCAR last season. “They have hit the balance at Darlington a little better than everybody else,” Harvick said on the latest episode of “SPEED With Harvick And Buxton.” “But we’ve had a sample size — we’ve had a road course, two superspeedway races with Dayton and Atlanta and our new short track package — and they’ve been good at all of them. I think that 23XI just has less going on this year. They’re still a pretty young team. I think that when you have that stability of everything that’s going on, and I think that Toyota has the best car right now.” [TYLER REDDICK: Michael Jordan Praises ‘Unbelievable’ Darlington Win] Beyond Reddick, a couple of 23XI’s other drivers have had solid starts as well. Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota, has four top-10 finishes and five top-11 finishes so far this season. Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 35 Toyota, finished eighth at Daytona, with his move on the final lap helping Reddick to secure the victory on the 2.5-mile track. Still, Harvick credited Reddick for stepping up this season after the 30-year-old racer had a down year in 2025. “Tyler Reddick has stepped up from a maturity standpoint just in his leadership of the team,” Harvick said on “SPEED.” “He’s really exposing his capability as a driver and who he is, and when you have that confidence and you see the reward for your efforts like Tyler Reddick and that 23XI team are seeing, that’s just going to snowball into more and more confidence. When you get confidence in this sport as a driver and as a team, that can help to overcome a lot of things just like it did for the 45.” Harvick also believes that 23XI is racing like it’s on a mission, detailing the team’s approach at the start of each weekend through race day. “I think those guys were in a league of their own, really from the time they dropped the green flag for practice straight into qualifying and into the start of the race,” Harvick said. “I think we’re probably sitting here talking a different tune about how the race went if Reddick doesn’t have those problems. For us, it was a great show and gave us a lot to talk about because of the fact that they had to go to the back, change the battery and do all the things that they did.” And when you’ve got preparation and confidence on your side, it’s pretty tough for other drivers to overcome that. “You can’t beat fast cars, and Tyler Reddick has stepped up to be able to deliver on those fast cars,” Harvick said. “Now, the confidence this team has, you see it in the situations when they’re overcoming things like they did this weekend. Confidence and speed are hard to beat.”