2026 DuraMax Texas Grand Prix Recap: Reddick Makes It Three Straight at COTA
Sunday, March 1, 2026
Tyler Reddick won his third consecutive race to open the 2026 season, pulling away at COTA while the field dealt with illness, mechanical failures, and a track that doesn’t forgive mistakes.
The Short Version
Tyler Reddick led 59 of 95 laps and won by nearly four seconds over Shane Van Gisbergen at Circuit of The Americas. Three wins in three races to start the year. The race had its share of attrition — Chase Briscoe’s promising run ended early with a mechanical failure, Alex Bowman had to hand the car to a relief driver — but Reddick was untroubled from start to finish.
What Happened
Reddick started from the pole and Chase Briscoe shot three-wide into turn 1 on the opening lap to grab the early lead. It looked like Briscoe might have a say in this race — he started third, led early, and had pace. But lap 62 ended that. His No. 19 Toyota retired with a mechanical issue after running as high as third. Another early exit for a driver who’s had an up-and-down start to the season.
Ross Chastain won Stage 1, which was notable because his afternoon fell apart completely after that — a five-minute-plus pit stop on lap 74 buried him and he finished two laps down.
Ty Gibbs won Stage 2 and ran well enough to finish fourth overall. At a road course where Toyota’s setups tend to shine, seeing three Toyotas in the top four wasn’t a surprise.
The middle portion of the race belonged to Ryan Blaney. The No. 12 Ford ran second for a long stretch and challenged Reddick on lap 55 with contact through turn 15. Blaney couldn’t get it done cleanly and ultimately finished eighth, but he was right there.
Two drivers had to deal with more than just the race — Alex Bowman felt ill enough by lap 73 that Myatt Snider took over the No. 48. Erik Jones complained of feeling ill at lap 52 but kept driving. AJ Allmendinger finished ninth and then needed medical attention on pit road after the race. Hot, demanding circuit, long afternoon.
The caution on lap 75 for Chastain losing a wheel in turn 19 reset the field, but it didn’t matter. Reddick restarted alongside Blaney and cleared him off turn 1. From there it was a matter of managing the gap.
Van Gisbergen came on strong in the final stage and brought it home second — his best Cup result of the young season. For a driver who knows road courses better than most, COTA was always going to be a track where he’d show up.
The Defining Moment
The lap 79 restart. Reddick inside, Blaney outside. If Blaney gets the position there, this is a different race. Instead, Reddick cleared him off turn 1 and Van Gisbergen moved into second, and that was the order at the finish. One clean restart, season in hand.
The One That Got Away
Chase Briscoe. He’s had a difficult opening to the season and this was another swing-and-miss on a day he had the tools to compete. Running in the top three at lap 62 before the mechanical issue is the kind of result that stings — you can see what might have been. He’ll regroup, but three races in and the results aren’t there yet.
Numbers That Matter
- Winner: Tyler Reddick (No. 45, 23XI Racing, Toyota)
- Margin of Victory: 3.944 seconds
- Starting Position: 1st (pole)
- Laps Led: 59 of 95
- Cautions: 3 for 10 laps
- Lead Changes: 14 among 9 leaders
- Notable DNFs: Chase Briscoe (lap 62, mechanical)
Take
Three wins in three races. That’s not a hot streak anymore — that’s a statement. Reddick is driving the best NASCAR of his career right now and it’s not close. He’s won at a superspeedway, a high-banked oval, and a road course. Three completely different race tracks, three completely different skill sets required. He’s finding a way at all of them.
What makes this interesting is how he’s winning. He’s not just surviving — he’s leading laps, controlling races, and executing in the closing stages. The 23XI Racing team is giving him clean pit stops, and Reddick is doing the rest. This is a car and driver that are locked in right now.
Van Gisbergen finishing second continues to show what he can do on road courses. He’s building his Cup Series career in pieces, and when the track suits him, he belongs up front. COTA suits him. This is the kind of result that matters for a driver still establishing himself in the series.
The road course attrition — illness, mechanical issues, one driver needing medical attention post-race — was a reminder that COTA is genuinely demanding. Ninety-five laps in March heat takes something out of everyone. The drivers who made it through clean finished well. The ones who didn’t, didn’t.
Notes
- Connor Zilisch ran as high as 5th late in the race after recovering from a lap 25 spin. He finished 14th — a solid recovery for a rookie.
- Jesse Love ran as an invitational driver in the No. 33 and finished 27th, a clean if unremarkable day.
- Reddick flagged a loose left rear wheel on the radio around lap 25 but chose not to pit. The problem resolved itself. That’s either composure or luck — probably both.
- Kyle Busch noted that COTA is his best track by average finish since joining Richard Childress Racing. He backed it up with a 12th-place finish.