Dale Earnhardt Jr. Snubs Tyler Reddick and Names Denny Hamlin “as the Clear Favorite to Win the Title”

The 2026 season has witnessed an absolute dominant performance from 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who currently leads the championship with 97 points, ahead of his boss Denny Hamlin. He won five races and finished inside the top-5 in nine of the 14 races of the season so far.  But despite all this, Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t think the No:45 team are title front runners.

In the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, the Hall of Famer discussed the possibility of the 23XI Racing driver remaining on top for the remaining 22 races of the season and winning the Cup. He admitted that JGR drivers would have a speed advantage on him in the last ten playoffs races, and that curbs his championship hopes.

I’ve got to say, instead of just, can Reddick beat Denny, my question is, can Reddick compete with Briscoe, with Bell? When Bell gets his stuff together, he’s going to be all right. He’s going to be tough… Over a 10-race stretch at the end of the season, I got to give the advantage to JGR over 23XI.

Dale Eranhardt Jr. said on his podcast.

The veteran even refused to entertain the idea that Tyler Reddick crew has been the best team of the season, as the laps lead and other similar stats says a different story than the points table. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also admitted that he believes Denny Hamlin the clear favorite to win the title, despite the fact that he has three less wins than the points leader.

So, while Reddick’s sitting out here with his giant lead, I’m not sure that they’re the best team in the garage. You look at this piece of paper with the points and go, “Well, this team’s going to dominate the series…I would say right now, Denny Hamlin’s a clear favorite to win the championship.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added via Dale Jr. Download.

Kevin Harvick shares the same Tyler Reddick verdict as Dale Earnhardt Jr.

On his podcast, Hall of Famer Kevin Harvick shared similar feelings about Tyler Reddick. He pointed out that the No:45 team haven’t been the most dominant side this season, yet as they didn’t win any races due their pure pace but won because of perfect execution.

There hasn’t been that pure dominance of speed. It has been a great execution from keeping the car going and keeping yourself in position with great restarts and getting it done behind the wheel. It hasn’t been pure dominance.

Kevin Harvick via Speed with Harvick and Buxton podcast.

The veteran credited team co-owner Denny Hamlin and the senior management for this. 23XI have become the blueprint on how to hire the perfect people to lead the team in the modern era and as majority of their hiring have been key to their success.

Denny Hamlin was able to help him put the pieces together… to go out and find Billy Scott — Tyler Reddick’s crew chief, to go get Tyler Reddick… Because, as you know, you can have fast cars and you can have the coolest trick of the week, but if you don’t have the right people, this is no different than any other business. It’s all about the people.

Kevin Harvick added.

The comments from the veteran racer are on point and shows how execution is as importance as the pace on race day. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the two drivers in the remaining races of the season.

Also Read: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Overlooks Denny Hamlin and Bets on Kyle Larson to Win Michigan Cup Race