Tyler Reddick won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, becoming the first driver in history to start out a season with three consecutive wins. The victory was Reddick’s second at COTA and the 11th overall in his Cup Series career.
“It means the world,” Reddick said of his new NASCAR record. “It’s so fitting, we get going at the end there and I’m leading and there’s SVG, the guy I’ve been trying to beat for awhile now. To be able to outlast him there and hold on for the win is just…it’s incredible.”
Reddick held off five-time defending road course winner Shane van Gisbergen and 2025 COTA winner Christopher Bell, the second and third-place finishers respectively. Though he showed speed all day, van Gisbergen was unable to close the gap and make a move for the lead in the closing laps. Bell’s newer tires allowed him to get as high as third but no further.
Reddick’s historic third straight victory is as unforeseen as it is momentous. Five other drivers entered theird third race of a season able to do what Reddick did; none were successful. Marvin Panch was the closest, finishing third after two wins to open 1957. The last time a race team opened the season with three wins was Petty Enterprises in 1963: two from Jim Paschal and one from Richard Petty.
Reddick himself entered 2026 hoping to rebound from a winless 2025. If it he hadn’t already done so after the Daytona 500 or EchoPark Speedway, it’s safe to say he has now.
Reddick Navigates to Victory
After starting on the pole, it initially appeared that Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota wasn’t the car to beat. Chase Briscoe got out to an early lead before being caught by Ryan Blaney, who won Stage 1. After that, Ty Gibbs executed pit road timing strategy to take Stage 2.
As historic as Tyler Reddick’s threepeat is, runner-up Shane van Gisbergen narrowly missed a historic accomplishment of his own. If van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Chevrolet was able to get to the lead, he’d have tied Jeff Gordon’s all-time record of six consecutive road course victories. The last Cup Series road race not won by van Gisbergen was the 2025 COTA race – the track remains the only active road course where van Gisbergen hasn’t won.
“It’s always a disappointment when your expectations are so high,” van Gisbergen told PRN after the race. “But that’s the kind of points day we need.” Coming into the weekend 16th in points, van Gisbergen leaves COTA in fifth.
By winning Sunday Reddick has grown his already-substantial lead in the points standings. He has a 70-point cushion over 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace, with Chase Elliott 72 points back in third. Stage 2 winner Ty Gibbs was the biggest mover in the points standings, jumping 16 positions to 17th following his fourth-place finish.
“He had a chance to win three in a row, that’s the hardest one to win,” 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan told FOX after the win. “He kept to his strategy. The guys put together a great car.”
Myatt Snider’s Moment to Shine
In one of the more bizarre occurrences in recent NASCAR history, Myatt Snider made his Cup Series debut after starting the day out as a pit spotter for FOX’s Jamie Little. Snider was tapped to drive the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after Alex Bowman fell ill and had to exit the race on Lap 73. Snider has only made two starts at COTA in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and made only five O’Reilly starts in the entirety of 2025.
Part-time NASCAR driver Brad Perez shared a humorous interaction on X, in which Snider texted him mid-race asking for advice on braking points. He emphasized that he needed an answer “As soon as you can”.
— bread perez (@bradxperez) March 1, 2026
Snider ran three full seasons in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series from 2020 to 2022. Since then, he’s made a handful of starts each season, but has largely stepped away from a full-time racing career in favor of various media roles. James Gilbert/Getty Images
Tests of Endurance
Alex Bowman wasn’t the only driver who needed relief on Sunday. AJ Allmendinger was seen lying on the ground after the race’s conclusion. He was later shown being taken away on a stretcher, his cool-suit having apparently stopped working. Kyle Larson voiced similar complaints during the race, and Erik Jones told his team he was feeling unwell in the final stage.
Rookie Connor Zilisch completed his first full NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA, having won there in the 2025 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. After starting 25th, Zilisch made good progress navigating through the field but spun twice on Turn 1 in restarts. Despite being in the top-five under green flag conditions, Zilisch was forced to settle for 14th.
Further back in the field, Brad Keselowski endured discomfort from a recently broken leg throughout the entirety of Sunday’s race. With road course ace Joey Hand on standby in case the pain became overwhelming, Keselowski stayed in his No. 6 RFK Racing Ford and finished an impressive 20th.
Race Results
