23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, proper, congratulates teammate Tyler Reddick on his win throughout a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)
AVONDALE, Ariz. — The flipside to Tyler Reddick taking Michael Jordan to victory lane in NASCAR’s first three races this season is teammate Bubba Wallace feels a bit unnoticed of the euphoria surrounding 23XI Racing.
Reddick set a NASCAR record in profitable the primary three races of the season, the Daytona 500, at Atlanta and final weekend on the street course in Austin, Texas, with Jordan in attendance, and the Pro Basketball Hall of Famer will likely be at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday when Reddick goes for 4 in a row.
The success has 23XI Racing buzzing and Reddick and Wallace are 1-2 within the Cup Series standings. Wallace can discover solace in how he’s operating — he had possibilities to win at Daytona and Atlanta — however continues to be upset the wins have gone solely to Reddick.
The distinction between the Toyota teammates, Wallace joked, is that Reddick inherited the legendary fortunate horseshoe Jimmie Johnson had for seven Cup championships.
“You know, Tyler’s been driving his (butt) off, simple as that, I couldn’t be more proud of him and the way he’s turned around from his (winless) season from last year,” Wallace stated. “It’s been pretty cool to witness that. I wish it was our team.”
Reddick can empathize with Wallace and famous he had a tinge of jealousy final season when Wallace received the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis as Reddick was slumping.
“I’ve experienced it other places that I’ve raced and feel like I contended to win, didn’t win and teammates did, so I understand where he probably would be with that part of it,” Reddick stated. “I think he’s doing a good job of remaining positive and it’s a good start to the year for him.”
Reddick and Wallace are winless at Phoenix. Reddick was third in 2023 and 2024, whereas Wallace has a median end of twentieth and failed to complete both race at Phoenix final 12 months.
Alfredo will get the decision
Anthony Alfredo has spent tons of of hours over the previous 4 years inside a racing simulator doing check work for Hendrick Motorsports.
That thankless job has lastly led to a breakthrough alternative driving in a Cup Series race for NASCAR’s winningest group. Alex Bowman will miss Sunday’s race and Alfredo was pulled from the bullpen to drive the No. 48 Chevrolet.
It will likely be Alfredo’s first Cup begin of the season — he certified for the Daytona 500 driving for tiny Beard Motorsports, however his automobile was disqualified and kicked out of the sector. Alfredo has 43 profession Cup begins for smaller groups so Sunday would be the finest automobile he’s ever pushed.
Bowman had to surrender his seat throughout final weekend’s race in Texas and has since been identified with vertigo. It’s left Alfredo with blended emotions.
“It’s just weird, right? I don’t want to see anyone in the position Alex is in, so it’s hard for me to be excited,” Alfredo stated. “That makes it definitely disappointing, as a result of a lot of persons are asking me how excited I’m, and I’m not excited that I’ve to fill in for somebody who’s not in a position to be in their very own automobile this weekend.
“But it is, of course, a huge opportunity for me to go out there and do a good job and maybe turn some heads, but I don’t even feel like I have to prove anything to anybody. Honestly, I don’t think they would have picked me if they didn’t think I could do it right, so it’s not about that. I think it’s more going out there and just do what’s asked of me and doing a good job behind the wheel filling in.”
Cool swimsuit failure
AJ Allmendinger needed to be medically handled after final week’s race in Austin, Texas, when his cool swimsuit failed and precipitated Allmendinger to overheat whereas driving.
He collapsed on pit street after exiting his automobile.
“Cool suits are a tough thing because they are not designed in our environment to fail,” stated Brad Keselowski. “So when they fail, it’s fairly devastating.”
A cool swimsuit is a specialised, liquid-cooled garment meant to stop warmth stroke and handle core temperatures in excessive environments. It circulates chilled water by means of tubes embedded in a shirt or vest, related to a small cooler field.
William Byron stated the fits could be hit-or-miss, and when one fails, it’s depressing for the driving force.
“Definitely when it works, it’s great. But I feel like there’s definitely a handful, if not more times, that it doesn’t work,” Byron stated. “That shirt is very insulated. I was at a Martinsville test one time and was wearing it and didn’t turn it on for most of the day and just started to feel sick because just the way it insulates your body and kind of has the opposite effect when it’s not on.”
Byron teammate Kyle Larson stated he was making an attempt a totally different cooling system this weekend at Phoenix. He deliberate to make use of the model teammate Chase Elliott has been sporting through which a pad connects to the core and a fan pushes cool air in.
Odds and ends
Ryan Blaney, winner at Phoenix in November’s season finale, is the BetMGM favourite at +475. Blaney has 10 top-five finishes in 20 profession begins right here. … Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have led 56% of the laps — most of each group — in every of the previous 4 races at Phoenix. But this season the group has opened with a median end of twenty first, their worst opening three races since 2017. … All three Spire Motorsports vehicles are at the moment inside the highest 10 in Cup factors, whereas not one of the 4 JGR vehicles is inside the highest 16. JGR is suing Spire and former competitors director Chris Gabehart in federal courtroom.