REDDICK NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE HATERS
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Tyler Reddick is well aware of “vibe change.” As quickly as race fans cheer on a team‘s big success, they often suffer fatigue of it as well. With five wins in the opening nine races of the season, the 23XI Racing driver smiled Saturday when asked about the reception he currently receives.
Advertisement
He‘ll start his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota from pole position in Sunday‘s Jack Link‘s 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), going for his second Talladega victory.
MORE: Full Talladega preview | Best weekend photos
“It is weird to be in this spot. I will say that,‘‘ Reddick allowed. “There‘s certainly a lot of noise out there, a lot of speculations, but for me, it’s easy to not get caught up in it because we know what we’re doing, we know how we’re doing it, when we’ve been successful with it.
“So, yeah, I feel bad for those that are tired of it,‘‘ he added, noting what a challenge his winless 2025 season had been for the team.
Advertisement
“We are enjoying it. We want to keep winning and doing the things that we’re doing. Yeah, I don’t feel bad because I remember how I felt all of last year. I know how my team felt about last year, and so we don’t want to go back to not winning, and we’re going to keep working really hard to find ways to get to victory lane.”
“I found out last year, it’s really hard just to win any race, and so for us to put together like we have and start the year strong like, it’s hard to do, but we’re really thankful that it’s happened, and certainly, I think, with how last year went for us at no point are we like, ‘we’re good.‘ I think if anything, we‘re hungrier now than we were to start the year to just keep after it and keep winning races.”
BUSCH SETTING EXAMPLE FOR SON
A two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion with 233 victories total in the sport‘s three national series, Kyle Busch knows how to win and how to compete.
Advertisement
One of the most dynamic competitors in the sport‘s history, however, Busch is currently enduring an unusual 102-race winless streak in the NASCAR Cup Series dating back to his last trophy on June 4, 2023, at Gateway (Madison, Ill.). Not only does the statistic continually motivate him, but it has given him an unusual opportunity to set an example of grace and persistence for his children.
The father of two, including up-and-coming racer, 10-year-old son Brexton, knows his kiddos are watching him at work and the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet is showing them how to react and prevail in both the challenging times as well as the victory circle moments. A two-time Talladega winner, he will start Sunday‘s race ranked 27th in the championship standings and still looking to earn his first top-10 of the year.
MORE: Full Cup Series standings
His passion should never be doubted, however. And that ethos, he hopes to pass along.
Advertisement
“It‘s frustrating,‘‘ Busch said of those who would question his effort or dedication. “Because I feel like I‘ve done nothing except positive things in the time in which I‘ve been at RCR. The last four years, I‘ve done nothing but work as hard as I could possibly do. There‘s a lot of great people there, and a lot of smart people there as well, in [team owner] Richard [Childress] and Mike [Dillon] and all those guys have given us all the resources and tools to go out there and succeed. It‘s just not quite come together with the results of winning.
“The first year it did, but it‘s trickled off since then. But there‘s nothing that stands out to me other than going there to win races and be competitive. I‘m raising a little racer myself. Brexton sees every single weekend. He‘s around. He sees me go home and I‘m watching SMT film or I‘m looking at data or being at team meetings.
“I‘m doing all I can on my side to help further develop the team, and it‘s for me to show him there‘s a lot of work that goes into this. It doesn‘t just come easy. You‘ve got to pour it in to get the result out of it.
“Yeah, we want to win and be successful. Brexton doesn‘t really remember the days of me being out there winning all the time, winning all the races and [him] being thrown up in the air. That was a little before his memory time. Lennox too. I won those three races in ‘23, and she was a baby. Trust me, this is my life, our lives and everything we‘ve known and now another generation coming in.
Advertisement
Busch won pole position for February‘s Daytona 500 and has a pair of victories at Talladega (Spring, 2008 and 2023) — leading laps in 14 of the last 15 races at the big track.
Kyle Busch, driver of the #07 Gainbridge Chevrolet, and his son, Brexton Busch wave to fans onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 30, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee.
KESELOWSKI‘S DEGA LEGACY
RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski‘s six Talladega Superspeedway wins are most among active drivers and second all-time to only the late Dale Earnhardt‘s 10-trophy total. But it‘s been since 2021 that the 2012 series champ last celebrated in Dega‘s Victory Lane. He has had three runner-up showings since, including both 2024 races.
The former champion scored his career-first NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega in his track debut in Spring 2009. And, Keselowski fully concedes, he feels a special affinity for the place and enjoys watching historic YouTube videos of the races here.
Advertisement
“When I watch them, I think about how cool it is that I get to race here and get to compete on the same track and the success that you have and get to the same record book as those that were behind you,‘‘ Keselowski said. “That feels really cool.
“Talladega is a storied track. There‘s so much history here. I don‘t really necessarily get caught up too much in the pageantry, although I do think it‘s cool, as much as I get caught up in the idea of being able to race where legends have raced before me and hopefully adding my name to a record book beside them.”
JONES AND TALLADEGA APPROACH
Even though the change to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship format has eliminated the win-and-in playoff strategy, Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones insists the emphasis on points racing doesn‘t change the way he goes about competing. Particularly at places such as Talladega Superspeedway.
Advertisement
Jones, who scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at a drafting track, the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 2018, enters Sunday‘s race 24th in the championship points standings — 63 points behind 16th-place Daniel Suárez in the final points position that would advance to the playoffs.
“We approach all these races pretty aggressive in the last handful years, because this has been our only great shot to try to win our way in the playoffs,‘‘ said Jones, driver of the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota. “So, I think if anything, it makes it more aggressive because the stage points are probably more important than ever. The finishes are great, but if you can go and earn top-three stage points in both stages, and even if you get wrecked out at the end, you’re still going to have a decent day, so I think that’s our focus.
“The stage lengths are probably a bigger change than anything. That first stage is a bit confusing, length on some strategies and things that guys can do. So, it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out, but I think as far as the aggression side, I think it will be just as high as ever for stage points.”
TALLADEGA RACE NUGGETS
The last 11 Talladega NASCAR Cup Series races have been won by different drivers, the longest such current streak of any track. … The winner led 10 laps or fewer in the last 10 Talladega races. … Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch has finished on the lead lap the last 10 Talladega races. Should he do so on Sunday, he would tie the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt with 11. … Eight of the last 12 Talladega races have been decided by a last-lap pass. … A stage winner has gone on to win the race only once this season — Ryan Blaney at Phoenix. … Drivers have combined for only six DNFs through the last five races, which is the fewest for a five-race span in NASCAR history. … The 54 total caution flags this season are the fewest through nine races since 2012.
