23XI Racing star Tyler Reddick is among the 2026 ESPY Award nominees, getting the nod ahead of NASCAR rivals Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson, the reigning Cup Series champion

The shortlist for the awards was revealed this week, with Reddick nominated in the 'Best Driver' category alongside some big names. The 23XI star will be up against F1 world champion Lando Norris, current F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli, and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou.

The 2026 ESPY Awards will be held on Wednesday, July 15th at the David H. Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center in New York City, where Reddick and the other nominees will find out who has won the prize.

Aside from the 'Best Driver' award, no other motorsports personnel were nominated in any other category.

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While Reddick is the only NASCAR driver to feature, some are not happy about it, including Denny Hamlin's podcast producer, Travis Rockhold.

As we saw earlier this year with the debate surrounding the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Rockhold is never afraid to air his opinion, and he did just that on X in response to the news.

"Clearly they just look at wins for the season. This is stupid. Do better
@ESPYS," he wrote, quote-tweeting the announcement of the nominees.

Now, given that Reddick tops the Cup Series in 2026 so far, has the most wins, and won the Daytona 500, it's hard to argue that he is undeserving of the nomination.

However, Rockhold's argument is that the body of work should not only be 2026, but back to the last ESPY Awards in 2025, over which time Hamlin has the better body of work.

While Reddick marginally edges him so far this year, Hamlin made it to the championship four in the Cup Series last season, and, were it not for a late race caution, would have cruised to the title.

Reddick, meanwhile, was winless throughout 2025 and was eliminated from the playoffs in the Round of 12.

Either way, Reddick is the one to get the nomination, and we're sure both drivers care far more about what's happening on track this season, than off it.

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