Tyler Reddick beats Van Gisbergen to earn historic COTA NASCAR Cup win

Tyler Reddick simply cannot be stopped. Even Shane van Gisbergen at a road course wasn’t quite enough to deny him, as Reddick earned his third consecutive win to open the 2026 NASCAR Cup season.

Reddick is the first driver in the entire history of NASCAR to win the first three races of a new season — Daytona, Atlanta, and now COTA. 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, is also the first team to win the first three races of the year since Petty Enterprises did it way back in 1963.

He further cements himself atop the championship standings with Sunday’s win, crossing the finish line about four seconds clear of van Gisbergen.

“It means the world,” said Reddick. “It’s so fitting. We got going at the end of the race, I’m leading and there’s SVG – the guy I’ve been trying to beat for a while now. To be able to outlast him there and hold on for the win is just incredible. Just really proud of everyone on 23XI. We worked really hard, and we did not like getting beat like that at road courses. It’s one race, but it’s so important, so fitting to be able to get three in-a-row and make history.”

Behind Reddick and SVG, Christopher Bell finished third, Ty Gibbs fourth, and Michael McDowell fifth. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, AJ Allmendinger, and Denny Hamlin filled out the remainder of the top ten. 

Stage 1

Briscoe took Reddick and Chastain three-wide into Turn 1 at the very start, taking the lead early. The field kept it clean with no incidents as Blaney, who showed great long-run speed in practice, ran Briscoe down. He took the lead and set sail, pulling out to several seconds over the field.

After starting 13th, van Gisbergen cut through the field, surging from 13th to third. As the end of the stage drew near, several drivers opted to short-pit, sacrificing stage points for track position. Blaney was among them, handing the Stage 1 win to Chastain.

Chastain was followed by teammate van Gisbergen, and then McDowell, Buescher, Allmendinger, Gibbs, Bowman, Elliott, Hocevar, and Hamlin.

Stage 2

Blaney regained the lead as the rest of the field pitted, with van Gisbergen leading them off pit road. Chastain lost five positions after a brief stall.

Van Gisbergen restarted back in 15th, but he had slightly fresher tires than the cars now ahead of him.

On the restart, Zilisch went spinning through Turn 1 after a bump from behind by Suarez. Soon after, Gragson went for a spin between Turn 6a and Turn 6b. 

Out front, Reddick took control of the race for the first time since starting from pole.  He led until pitting with three laps to go in the stage, flipping it in order to position himself for the race win. 

Josh Berry also went for a spin mid-pack, but he continued on without the need for a full-course caution.

During pit stops, Bowman was issued a pass-through penalty for an uncontrolled tire. Austin Dillon also spent an extended time on pit road due to a broken shifter.

As the rest of the leaders dove to pit road, it cleared the way for Gibbs to win the stage. He was followed by Allmendinger, Suarez, Gilliland, Reddick, Wallace, Blaney, Custer, Byron, van Gisbergen.

Stage 3

Reddick held the lead over Blaney, while van Gisbergen slotted into fifth on the restart. In the back of the field, Erik Jones went for a spin, but was able to et back rolling.

At the backend of the top ten, Larson and Bell were making heavy contact in a heated back-and-forth battle for position.

Briscoe abruptly slowed with 32 laps to go, as something broke in the rear-end. He had a top five run going. He became the first car to go to the garage during Sunday’s race.

Reddick pitted from the lead with 26 laps to go, followed by Blaney. Van Gisbergen followed them one lap later.

Suddenly, everything changed as Chastain spun off track due to a loose wheel that became disconnected. NASCAR threw a caution, and the Stage 1 winner was held for two laps. There will also be additional penalties next week.

During the first natural caution of the race, a handful of cars pitted, but Reddick, Blaney, van Gisbergen, and Zilisch led another group of drivers who stayed out on older tires.

Also, Bowman climbed out of the car as he was feeling ill, and Myatt Snider finished the race for him in the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

On the restart, van Gisbergen passed Blaney for second while his teammate Zilisch got spun in Turn 1 for the second time in the same race. Zane Smith was also involved, upending his day.

Back in the pack, Busch got into teammate Jesse Love, which ended up sending Buescher spinning at the exit of the final corner.

With fresh tires, Bell muscled his way up to third, but it was van Gisbergen vs. Reddick for the lead. The Kiwi got close, but he was unable to mount a proper attack on the championship leader. He finally faded, and the #45 23XI Racing Toyota drove off into the sunset.

The race went green to the end, even as Carson Hocevar spun on the final lap, costing himself a handful of positions.

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– The Motorsport.com Team

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