2026 Goodyear 400 (Darlington) Race Recap

By Adam Carabine

2026 has shown that the key to success is how well you can battle adversity.  Tyler Reddick, battling alternator issues all day long, gambled on tire strategy and earned his fourth win of this young season.

Reddick earned the pole, but within the first two laps he noticed that he was having some voltage issues.  He was unable to run his cool suit, had to run with less throttle at times to preserve power, and at one point had to take an elongated pit stop just to switch out a battery in his car.  Regardless, he managed to snag the victory on fresher tires than the other leaders, and coasted to a 5-second lead at the end of the Goodyear 400 in Darlington!

Lap 1: It’s a 23XI front row again, as Reddick takes the pole, and Bubba Wallace starts by his side.

Lap 10:   With tire fall-off, lap times have already fallen about 1.5 seconds from the first laps of the race.

Lap 30:   Expanding on the previous update, now lap times have fallen to 2.5 seconds slower.

Lap 37: A couple of early takers on pit road.  Stage One was too long to do on a single run of fuel, but the halfway point would have been lap 45.  Some early cars come to pit road to try and short pit.

Lap 45:  As most have pitted by this point, leader Tyler Reddick has stayed out a little longer to try and preserve a tire advantage at the end of the stage.  He pits but it’s a slow stop with some trouble on the tires – falls to P7 after the cycle.  Brad Keselowski takes the lead through this pit cycle.

Lap 88:  With three to go in the stage, Tyler Reddick has battled his way back up to P3, and those fresher tires are starting to come into play. 

Lap 89:  Reddick gets P2 from Ryan Blaney, but the gap to Keselowski is too far.

Lap 90: Keselowski wins Stage One!

Lap 96: Tyler Reddick’s alternator issues are diagnosed, and the team replaces a battery during pit cycles.  He pitted too soon and will start from the back of the pack.  A couple of slow stops for both Ryan Blaney (who once again had a loose wheel that had to be tightened up in someone else’s pit box) and Bubba Wallace.  Michael McDowell got nabbed for speeding.

Lap 101: Kyle Larson leads the field to green for Stage Two.

Lap 111:   CAUTION comes out for an incident with Denny Hamlin spinning Erik Jones.  Bubba Wallace was an innocent bystander who got some damage too. 

Lap 117: Back to green flag.

Lap 133: RFK Racing has made their way up to run 1-2-3, with Keselowski at the lead.

Lap 138: Those who took the wavearound under that previous caution are pitting, as the others have more fuel in their tanks.

Lap 146: More takers on pit road now, pretty much everyone comes down for four tires and fuel.

Lap 150: Chase Elliott is the lone driver who hasn’t pitted, and he’s in the lead. 

Lap 151: Elliott pits, Keselowski retakes the lead.

Lap 180: Some sort of issue for Denny Hamlin? It might be a tire coming apart? He’s slowed down on the track, but it stays green.  Eventually he gets it going again but holds on as Stage Two is almost done.

Lap 182: Keselowski is getting pressure from teammate Chris Buescher for the lead, but once again there isn’t enough time for Keselowski to be caught.

Lap 185:  Brad Keselowski wins Stage Two, sweeping both stages.

Lap 194: Green flag for the Final Stage.

Lap 195: Immediately Chase Briscoe takes over the lead.

Lap 197: CAUTION – Riley Herbst spins on his own and hits the inside wall.

Lap 199: Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suarez, SVG, Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell all stay out under caution and move to the front, as the rest of the field opts for new tires, even though it’s been a very short run.

Lap 203: Green flag – Buescher leads.

Lap 240: The green flag pit cycle starts up again, early takers are Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.

Lap 241: Chris Buescher and his team make a last-minute decision to pit, and slow down in front of an unaware Tyler Reddick.  Reddick smashes into the back of Buescher, Buescher bounces off the outside wall a few times, but somehow the race stays green.  Minimal damage to Reddick and he carries on.

Lap 242: Buescher and Keselowski get to pit road (Buescher and his team later admitted that the incident the lap prior was their fault).  Tyler Reddick takes over the lead.

Lap 247: Reddick pits from the lead, the pit cycle concludes, and Brad Keselowski retakes the lead, though Reddick has fresher tires now, after staying out an extra 5 or so laps.

Lap 259: 35 to go, Reddick has managed to work his new tires to his advantage and has charged back up to P2.

Lap 266: Reddick passes Keselowski (with a slight bump, no less) and takes the lead.

Lap 282: 12 to go, Carson Hocevar is on the same tire strategy as Reddick, but farther back in the field.  He’s flying through the field, but is there enough time for him to catch up?

Lap 287: Kyle Larson takes an unscheduled pit stop.  The TV broadcast doesn’t really end up explaining why, though it appears a broken toe link is to blame.

Lap 288: Hocevar has charged up to P4, but still 12 seconds off Reddick’s lead.

Lap 290: Kyle Larson is back out on track but he’s way off the pace.  NASCAR warns him that he’s below minimum speed and needs to pick it up, but can he keep the car straight and not bring out a late caution?

Lap 292: A couple of cars hit the wall – Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst! But it stays green.

Lap 293: Tyler Reddick WINS the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, securing his fourth win of the season!  Keselowski finishes P2.

Next weekend we head to Martinsville!