Tyler Reddick Makes History as He Claims the Checkered Flag at Circuit of the Americas

KELSEY CHRISTMAN - STAFF WRITER

Tyler Reddick with Young Fan Before the Race (Logan Riely, Getty Images, Circuit of the Americas, 2026)

Austin, TX. - After claiming victories at both Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway, Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing have been no stranger to victory lane. The questions came quickly if Reddick would have the versatility to continue his success at a road course to become the first driver to win the first three races of a season in a row since 1949. He stepped up to the occasion at a track he has never finished nor qualified below fifth in the Cup Series at. 

Starting on the front row with his second pole of the season, Reddick led 58 of the 95 laps hosted at Circuit of the Americas. While not winning a stage due to pit strategy, he found his way back to the front each time. He did not go unchallenged through the race. Reddick battled Ryan Blaney for a majority of the race and fought hard to keep the No. 97 of Shane Van Gisbergen from tying a record of his own. Reddick was able to claim a nearly four second lead throughout the final laps for the checkered flag. He has a 70 point lead over teammate Bubba Wallace for the current Cup Series Standings. 

While splitting stages may have been the winning strategy, two drivers were able to race through the entire stage to claim stage wins. Ross Chastain finished 35th, but was able to claim ten stage points by winning Stage One and gained an additional point by claiming the Xfinity Fastest Lap. Stage Two led Ty Gibbs to his second career stage win for a total of 15 stage points for the day. 

During the final stage of the race, a driver swap became imminent as Alex Bowman fell ill. During a caution resulting from Ross Chastain losing a wheel, Myatt Snider quickly swapped his role from his role as a pit reporter to a relief driver in the No, 48 Chevy. Snider was able to finish the race saving the team from a DNF.

UP NEXT:

The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Phoenix Raceway where they will share the spotlight with the NTT IndyCar Series as they host a double header. The race will be at 3:30 PM ET and can be found on FS1.