Tyler Reddick’s dominant start to the NASCAR 2026 season is all anyone can talk about. But more than the success speaking volumes about his talent, it has raised an important question about 23XI Racing. Is the Michael Jordan co-owned team now part of NASCAR's Big 3?

For a long time, based on overall success, Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, and Team Penske have been talked about as the Big 3. In 2026, Tyler Reddick and 23XI are rewriting that narrative. With Reddick’s five wins in nine and Bubba Wallace finding consistency, 23XI seemed to have finally broken into the big three.

NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi have had the conversation about 23XI being a part of the Big 3 on "The Teardown" podcast a few times this year. Bianchi has been putting 23XI forward as a big three team, but Gluck wasn't agreeing, wanting to see more proof of success.

However, after 23XI's Kansas success, with all four drivers finishing inthe Top 15, Gluck finally gave in to Bianchi's stance. He said, "So they won the first three races of the year. Two superspeedways in a row. Of course, you’re like, 'I don’t know.' He’s able to win Darlington. A few weeks later, you’re like, 'Okay, wow, that’s what you’re saying. It’s pretty good, right? Then they come here (Kansas) and they ran four cars today and all finished in the top 15 in addition to Reddick winning."

Gluck then jokingly spoke about his early-season doubt as if it were Bianchi's stance, adding, "We’re a quarter way through the entire season, and we’re much more than that obviously through the regular season. And he's got a 105-point lead. So clearly, Jordan, this is one of the big three teams. I don’t know why you keep denying that."

23XI 'not celebrating' heading Into Talladega

Heading into Talladega, Tyler Reddick has a whopping 105-point lead over 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing. Though Reddick's 23XI teammates haven't been dominant, Bubba Wallace has shown some consistency.

Wallace has backed up his teammate with 275 points in 9 races, putting him at eighth in the standings. While Wallace is searching for his first top three and first win, he has picked up his form, finishing 5th in Kansas, making it five top 10 finishes for the #23 driver.

At Kansas, Riley Herbst and Corey Heim finished in the Top 15 as well, showing the team's rise to the top. However, while fans are celebrating 23XI's dominance, Denny Hamlin feels there is a lot more left to conquer, and it isn’t time to celebrate just yet.

"We don’t celebrate top 15s," Hamlin said on his "Actions Detrimental" podcast. "What are you talking? Nah, if it was like 1-2 finish, yeah, that's a great team day. Let me not understate, they all ran very well."

In 2025, Talladega wasn't as much of a happy hunting ground for 23XI. Wallace was the team's best performer with an eighth-place result.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Yask Kotak