“He’s our favorite elf”: NASCAR Insider rooting for Tyler Reddick as the title favorite ahead of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott

Freddie Kraft has said Tyler Reddick is currently the "hottest driver" in the Cup Series. The NASCAR insider has rooted for the 23XI Racing driver as the title contender instead of previous championship winners Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.

Reddick is running his fifth full-time schedule in the Cup Series and scored a career-best P6 last year. He bagged his first top 5 in the third Cup race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and, has been flying since his outing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After securing a fourth-place finish at the Coca-Cola 600, the #45 Toyota driver registered six top-5s and nine top-10s in the next 10 races. This included two P2 finishes at the Chicago Street Race and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, two P3s at Nashville Superspeedway and Richmond Raceway, and his latest Michigan win.

Thus, the 23XI Racing driver's odds of sealing his maiden regular-season title are high.

Bubba Wallace's spotter Freddie Kraft has bolstered Tyler Reddick. When asked if the #45 driver is the championship frontrunner, Kraft said (via Dirty Mo Media on X).

"I hope so, we've all been really big Tyler Reddick fans for years. He's our favorite elf, he comes on for our Christmas every year. I'd say he's probably, if he's not the favorite right now, he's the hottest driver in the sport right now. He's got a bunch of top-5s, he finishes second to a new winner I feel like every week. He's been on a roll lately and like they said, 'The playoffs lineup is really well for him,'" Kraft said.

Though Reddick is leading the charts, there is little room for error in the upcoming races as Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are not far behind.

Tyler Reddick is in a tough spot as the Hendrick Motorsports teammates closely follow the 23XI Racing driver in the standings

From 24 race weekends, Tyler Reddick has registered two wins, 11 top-5s, and 17 top-10s. Chase Elliott had a slow start to the season and marked his maiden top 5 in the seventh Cup race at Richmond. But he improved his on-track game and has collected a solitary win, seven top-5s, and 12 top-10s, placing him second. With four wins, nine top-5s, and 12 top-10s, Kyle Larson led the 2024 regular season for the most part.

However, Reddick's performance surge, especially his consecutive podium finishes in the past three races, has made him the regular season leader. Elliott and Larson are not far behind as they're shy of 10 and 32 points, respectively.

Moreover, Larson is the defending winner of the Cook Out Southern 500 and if he is successful in defending his victory, he might secure his second regular season title while dethroning Reddick from the top spot.