Tyler Reddick made NASCAR history by winning the 2026 Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). This was his third straight win to start the season. The driver for 23XI Racing started from the pole position and led 58 of the 95 laps. In a thrilling finish, he held off road course expert Shane van Gisbergen.
After a restart with 17 laps to go, Reddick took control of the last stage and pulled away from van Gisbergen by almost four seconds. Van Gisbergen faded late in the race while trying to win his sixth straight road course race. Christopher Bell moved up to third place on new tires, Ty Gibbs moved up to fourth place after winning Stage 2, and Michael McDowell finished fifth. There were nine leaders in the race, 14 lead changes, and only one caution that wasn’t during a stage. Ross Chastain lost a wheel late in the race, which dropped him to 35th place.
- After a winless 2025, Reddick’s Chumba Casino Toyota Camry team, which Michael Jordan co-owns, got their road course strategy just right.
Van Gisbergen was angry in second place, but he praised Reddick’s “immaculate” drive even though his own Safety Culture Chevy was very strong. - Connor Zilisch spun out twice in Turn 1 and finished 14th, and AJ Allmendinger needed medical help after the race because his cool suit broke down (ninth place).
Reddick is now a full race ahead of second place in the championship standings, making 23XI’s start even better.
