So did they have to take a break the last two races?
Tyler Reddick is off to an incredible start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, winning four of the first six races and racking up a 95 point lead over second place Ryan Blaney just a month into the season. And after scoring his fourth win of 2026 yesterday at Darlington Raceway, fans are more convinced than ever that NASCAR is letting his 23XI Racing team get away with bending the rules.
The driver of the #45 car started out the season by winning the season-opening Daytona 500, and continued his hot streak with wins at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) and the Circuit of the Americas road course.
He decided to give the rest of the field a break at Phoenix Raceway, finishing 8th while Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag. And last week at Las Vegas, Reddick finished a “disappointing” 13th while his team owner and fellow Toyota driver Denny Hamlin scored an emotional win.
But yesterday at Darlington, Reddick was once again the class of the field, despite mechanical issues that had him on pit road early in the race changing a battery and forced him to race most of the day in the 80+ degree heat without his cooling system functioning inside the car.
The early setbacks put Reddick back in the field, but it didn’t really matter: He still managed to charge his way to the front, and on the final run he easily passed leader Brad Keselowski to win the race by nearly 6 seconds.
It’s been a dominant run for Reddick and his 23XI Racing team, which is co-owned by Hamlin alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan. But not only that, it’s also been quite the turnaround from 2025 when the team’s three drivers combined for only one win the entire season (although it was a big one, with Bubba Wallace taking home the trophy in the Brickyard 400).
Of course there’s another big difference from 2025 too: 23XI Racing isn’t actively suing NASCAR this year like they were last year.
Ahead of last season, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR over issues they had with the new charter agreement. I’m not going to break down the whole lawsuit, but needless to say things were obviously awkward for the team last year as they competed while also challenging NASCAR in court.
The teams were forced to race most of the season without charters, meaning they got a smaller portion of the prize money, and were also facing the uncertainty of whether they’d even be able to continue as a team if they lost the lawsuit and weren’t given their charters back.
But this past December, NASCAR agreed to settle the lawsuit after an embarrassing 8-day trial, and in that settlement 23XI Racing not only (reportedly) got a large payout but also got the permanent charters the teams had long been asking for and an increased voice in the governance of the sport.
After their success to open this season though, fans are convinced that 23XI might have gotten something else in the settlement.
As expected when any competitor goes on a dominant run, the conspiracy theories are once again flying and some NASCAR fans (and 23XI haters) are convinced that…NASCAR is allowing 23XI to cheat as part of the settlement in the lawsuit.
Dude, 23xi is cheating straight up, now way they are that good all of a sudden, specially bubbles
— Nascar Asshole (@RHPD3883) March 23, 2026
Just proves all you need to do is sue Nascar and then you get the ok to cheat. 23XI is clearly cheating. They are consistently .30 secs faster than everybody else. Thats not possible unless your cheating.
— horsehead (@jptfst) March 23, 2026
I hate how those 23xi and JGR toyotas are driving around with additional HP under the hoods and everyone is acting like its all good.
Wallace, and Gibbs running with the leaders as if they both dont have talent level equal to Natalie decker and Hailey deegan, its comically bad.
— MaximusHuskius (@MountainHsky) March 23, 2026
Now, let’s put this to bed: Is NASCAR letting 23XI Racing cheat? Absolutely not.
23XI Racing publicly embarrassed NASCAR, a governing body that has traditionally ruled with an iron fist. If anything, I would expect NASCAR to be HARDER on 23XI than other teams for putting them in that spot and forcing them to give permanent charters, which took away some of NASCAR’s power.
And another thing people forget: There were two teams in the lawsuit, and Front Row Motorsports doesn’t seem to be benefitting much from any secret agreement. Right now their highest ranked car is Zane Smith at 19th in the standings, while Noah Gragson and John Hunter Nemechek are 29th and 30th, respectively. I guess somebody forgot to tell them the lawsuit gave them permission to cheat…
Toyota as a whole has stepped up their game this year in NASCAR. Denny Hamlin dominated at Las Vegas, and Joe Gibbs Racing looks like one of the strongest teams out there alongside 23XI Racing. Meanwhile Hendrick Motorsports, which has traditionally been the dominant team early in the season, seems to be struggling more than they have in years past, which clears a path for 23XI and other teams to win races that would otherwise go to the Hendrick Chevys.
The whole conspiracy also overlooks another important fact: Tyler Reddick is a hell of a driver. He won 3 races during his time at Richard Childress Racing, and…well, any NASCAR fan can tell you how good that team has been lately… (not very). He consistently overperforms his equipment, so when you put him in good equipment, the rest of the field is in trouble.
23XI Racing does have one thing this year that they didn’t have last year, but it’s not horsepower: It’s stability. Last year the team didn’t know whether they’d even be around in 2026, so there’s no doubt they were hesitant to pour more resources into making their cars go faster with that uncertainty about their future.
Now though, with the lawsuit settled and their future secure in the sport (as well as the money they received as part of the settlement), there’s no doubt the team is doing whatever it takes to become a championship contender.
Are they pushing the envelope? I’m sure they are, but so is every other team. Are they getting away with things that they shouldn’t be? Maybe – but again, I’m sure there are other teams who are too.
23XI Racing is dominating this year, but it’s not because NASCAR is allowing them to cheat: It’s because they have a badass driver and a team as a whole who’s onto something that the rest of the garage hasn’t found yet.
We’ll see if it continues for the rest of the season, but I’d say the rest of the field is pretty nervous right now.
