Tyler Reddick deserves to be mentioned in NASCAR's championship conversation

If asked to name the favorites for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship, four names - Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell - would likely come to mind.

While those four drivers are tied for the series lead in wins, one driver seems to be floating under the radar in championship conversations: Tyler Reddick, who finished third on Sunday and currently leads the Cup Series with 12 top-10 finishes.

At just 28 years old and in his fifth full-time season, Reddick already has six Cup Series victories to his credit, including his lone 2024 win at Talladega. 2024 has been Reddick's most consistent season to date, meaning the two-time Xfinity Series champion won't be off the radar for much longer.

If Sunday's Ally 400 at Nashville was just one lap longer, it's possible that Reddick - who drew a bead on race winner Joey Logano on the final lap before falling to third - would have been able to slingshot around Logano on the outside and take the win for himself. While that didn't happen, finishing third in a race filled with carnage is an admirable accomplishment.

Reddick has seemingly flown under the radar all season. After three finishes of 29th or worse in the season's first five races, he only has three finishes outside the top-11 in the 14 races since. At Darlington, the site of Reddick's worst result of the season, he was battling for the win before contact with Chris Buescher forced the No. 45 car to pit road late in the race.

At New Hampshire, a sixth-place finish was small consolation for a team that thought they won the race earlier in the day when heavy rain swept across the track. Leading when the race was red flagged for rain on lap 220, Reddick eventually faded outside of the top-five when forced to go back to racing on wet-weather tires.

When weird or adverse conditions haven't gotten in the No. 45 team's way, however, they've been one of the best teams in garage. Reddick's seven top-fives tie him for second in the series, and his 409 laps led rank fifth. He may only have one win, but the speed and consistency necessary for a deep playoff run are intact for Reddick, who is still looking for his first trip to the Cup Series Championship Four.

While winning another race and building up playoff points before the postseason starts is important, Reddick only sits 53 points behind regular-season points leader Larson. If something were to happen to Larson, Reddick could be in a position to swoop in and steal the regular-season crown from under Hendrick Motorsports' nose.

Reddick will likely be a contender at Sunday's race in Chicago, where he looked to be one of the top cars in the field before an incident in 2023.

Regardless of how Chicago goes, however, one thing is clear - Reddick should be considered a Cup Series Championship favorite, and deserves the respect that comes with being a top-five driver at the top level of NASCAR.