It’s expected that this offseason, the free agent driver market in the NASCAR Cup Series could potentially be wild. A lot of drivers are facing the end of their existing driving contracts, including two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.
One driver, who everyone has had their eye on this season, understandably, is Tyler Reddick.
Reddick has erupted by scoring five wins through the opening nine races of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, driving the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota; however, leading into the Talladega race weekend, the driver and team had yet to announce that a deal had been done for next season.
That all changed in NASCAR On FOX’s pre-race show ahead of Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, as Reddick revealed in an interview at the track with Josh Sims that he and 23XI Racing had come to terms on a multi-year contract extension.
“We got the deal done,” Reddick said. “I’m going to be continuing my future here at 23XI. Excited to have that all done and be able to continue building on what we’ve done. Just really glad that myself and 23XI were able to get to a good place and get the deal done. So, I’ll be here, hopefully, for a long time.”
By locking Reddick up, 23XI Racing has come to a multi-year contract agreement with the only driver who has shown the ability to go on a dominant tear in the Next Gen era of the NASCAR Cup Series. Reddick became the first driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the opening three races of a season, when he won the season-opening Daytona 500 and followed that up with wins at EchoPark Speedway and Circuit of the Americas.
Reddick then took a victory at Darlington Raceway, the sixth race of the season, which made him the third driver in series history to ever score four wins in the opening six races of a NASCAR Cup Series season, joining Dale Earnhardt (1987) and Bill Elliott (1992).
With a win a couple of weeks ago at Kansas Speedway, Reddick became the first driver since Earnhardt in 1987 to win five of the first nine races of a NASCAR Cup Series season.
Now, with the contract talks in the rearview mirror, Reddick can focus on the ultimate prize, which is winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
