LAS VEGAS — Tyler Reddick went from a rough NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Kansas Speedway to a spinning success Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Reddick's No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry XSE finished third after Kyle Larson collected him in a wreck exiting the final corner on the final lap of the South Point 400. Despite a battery issue that kept him from possibly earning another seven stage points in the second stage, Reddick earned the fourth-most points (41) and gained five on Larson for the lead.

However, the 23XI Racing driver is still seventh in the points standings, 106 behind Larson, with five races to go in the Chase for the Cup. 

In one word: Disappointing.

Tyler Reddick's two top-five finishes in five Chase races are his only two top-10 finishes. He has also led just 75 laps with all but one lap led at Darlington Raceway. Although he won the first stage, he had an issue on pit road in the second stage that knocked him back to ninth and depressed his overall finish to third.

Reddick left Darlington fourth in the standings, 24 points out of the lead. Since then, he has only tumbled down the standings after a 25th-place finish and three points at World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway – followed by finishes of 18th at Bristol Motor Speedway and 11th at Kansas Speedway with not enough speed to get stage points.

At Bristol and Kansas, Reddick sunk outside of the top-30 at one point. At Kansas, he avoided going three laps down and rallied to the top-five. However, his crew had yet another issue on pit road that took him out of a top-10 finish before the Las Vegas issues.

"We've had multiple issues and have had multiple issues," Reddick said after Las Vegas. "We gotta win these races, we know that. It's still not getting it done."

Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend is their best chance. In the most recent Charlotte race, Reddick ranked first for driver rating and average position, second for speed and finished fourth. He also has the fourth-best average finish of any driver on the 1.5-mile tracks this season, according to statistician Ryan Rantz.

Above all, Reddick just needs a clean race with no mechanical issues, mistakes on pit road or lackluster speed, especially with a tougher stretch after Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After Charlotte is Phoenix Raceway, where Reddick hasn't run that well with 23XI. Talladega Superspeedway is a wild card before another tough track – Martinsville Speedway – precedes one of his best: Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he won in 2024.

If Reddick can enter the season finale at Homestead-Miami in championship contention, don't rule him out. However, getting there is going to be tough.

Tyler Reddick's 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season has been a massive rebound from where he and his team were when they went winless in 2025. Winning five of the first nine races is a massive success and shouldn't be discredited. 

However, the total laps led should've been a warning sign. He led just 199 laps in those wins and only led the most laps at Circuit of the Americas and EchoPark Speedway Atlanta. Even when Reddick led the most laps in a race, at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, he failed to win any of the stages and was passed by his Toyota teammates and Kyle Larson.

Reddick and his team showed resilience at Las Vegas with the quick battery fix and retaining the speed they found after the first stage at Kansas.

However, the team isn't rising to the occasion faster than the sun seems to be setting on their title hopes. That's not to say this isn't worth something for 2027.

23XI Racing is a young team. With a young gun coming on-board who has already won twice in their cars, the team is only going to improve as they get data from him.

Reddick may not win a championship this season but it's highly unlikely this will be the last time we mention his name as a championship contender.