NASCAR insiders opine on whether Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott can catch Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are battling for the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship with one more race remaining. NASCAR insiders Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck of The Athletic talked about the three drivers and weighed in on which has the best chance to win the title.

“[Reddick] led 174 laps in the spring,” Bianchi said on The Teardown podcast about Reddick’s performance at Darlington earlier this year. “They have had a lot of speed in their race cars. …Look at what they have done throughout the course of the summer. They’ve had speed every single week, they don’t make mistakes, they execute, they qualify well, which is really important at Darlington, by the way. I would almost throw Reddick as the favorite in this race.”

CLICK HERE to go to PrizePicks and use code ON3 to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups!

The NASCAR drivers will head to Darlington this weekend for the Southern 500 for the final race of the regular season. Gluck pointed out the challenge Elliott and Larson have when trying to get past Reddick in the standings.

More on Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott

“Let’s say Reddick doesn’t win, let’s say Reddick gets a top five. Well, if you’re Kyle Larson, you’re like, ‘Well I’m pretty great at Darlington too.’ You still got to make up 17 points. If Reddick gets stage points and Reddick finishes respectively, where are you gonna make those points up? That’s a problem, right? You’re kind of hoping Reddick is just off, and same for Chase Elliott. …Larson and Reddick are two of the guys that are really exceptional at Darlington, so you would think it comes down to them. I don’t really see Chase outrunning both of them to the degree that he makes it in.”

Reddick has a 17-point lead over Larson and an 18-point lead over Elliott. He took the lead when he won the Michigan Cup Series race last week. Reddick has been on a big run, finishing in the top five in seven of his last 12 races.

Larson is no stranger to winning the regular season championship as he won the title in 2021, the same year he won the Cup Series title. He is the only driver in the Cup Series to win four races this season.

Elliott won the regular season championship in 2022 and the Cup Series championship in 2020. This year, the Georgia native won the Cup Series race at Texas and finished in the top five in six other races.

Zane Smith is currently without a ride in 2025 after Trackhouse Racing announced Friday that he will not return to the race team.

Smith, 25, is not even a full season into his Trackhouse tenure, but the team has seen enough to make the tough decision. Shane van Gisbergen is being promoted to the Cup Series, and will pilot the No. 88 Chevrolet in 2025.

Where that leaves Smith remains to be seen, as there are a limited amount of potential opportunities up for grabs. With that being said, Smith has a believer in Denny Hamlin, who has always given advice to him throughout his brief NASCAR career. Hamlin, speaking on Sunday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast, said he believes the best of Smith has yet to be seen, and he’s hopeful he gets another opportunity in the Cup Series.