The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season already felt hot coming into Circuit of the Americas. By the time Sunday’s DuraMax Texas Grand Prix ended, it had turned historic. Tyler Reddick backed up his wins in the Daytona 500 and the previous week at EchoPark Speedway by taking control at COTA and holding off Shane van Gisbergen to become the first driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the first three races of a season. Reddick started from the pole, led a race-high 58 of 95 laps and won by 3.944 seconds in another statement performance for 23XI Racing.
Key event recap
COTA delivered the kind of race it usually does: speed, strategy, shifting track position and multiple ways for a contender’s day to unravel. Reddick looked like the class of the field for much of the afternoon, but the win was far from automatic. Shane van Gisbergen, the modern road-course benchmark in the Cup Series, charged forward from 13th on the grid and moved into second on the final long run, briefly putting the pressure squarely on Reddick. For several laps, it looked like the closing duel everyone wanted. Instead, Reddick answered with clean exits and superior drive up the hill into Turn 1, gradually stretching the gap and removing any doubt.
The race also had a strong strategy layer underneath the headline battle. Ross Chastain claimed the Stage 1 win after starting on the outside of the front row, while Ty Gibbs grabbed the Stage 2 victory as teams flipped the stages and chased points in different ways. Christopher Bell and Gibbs both turned that strategy into big recoveries, with Bell charging to third and Gibbs finishing fourth for Joe Gibbs Racing’s best overall afternoon of the young season.
There was also late-race attrition and adversity scattered through the field. Ross Chastain’s promising day collapsed when his No. 1 Chevrolet returned to the track without its right-rear wheel, resulting in a penalty and a 35th-place finish. Chase Briscoe’s race ended early with a transaxle failure. Alex Bowman exited after 70 laps due to illness and was relieved by Myatt Snider, while AJ Allmendinger still managed a top-10 finish despite needing medical attention after the race because of a cool-shirt failure in extreme cockpit heat.
Top 10 finishers
- Tyler Reddick
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Christopher Bell
- Ty Gibbs
- Michael McDowell
- Kyle Larson
- Chase Elliott
- Ryan Blaney
- AJ Allmendinger
- Denny Hamlin
Performance highlights
Biggest mover: Shane van Gisbergen went from 13th to second and nearly turned the final run into a classic COTA steal. Even in defeat, he looked every bit like the road-course threat the garage expected.
Most points behind the winner: Ty Gibbs quietly had one of the best days in the field. He won Stage 2, finished fourth and piled up 48 points, trailing only Reddick’s 61 in total output. It was the kind of race that can reset a season.
Quietly strong: Michael McDowell’s fifth-place finish deserves attention. He led five laps late, stayed in the mix all afternoon and delivered his first top five of the season. On a road course, that is not shocking. In the context of the standings and Spire Motorsports’ momentum, it mattered.
Needed rebound: Denny Hamlin started 19th and came home 10th for his first top-10 finish of 2026, while Bell’s third-place recovery gave Joe Gibbs Racing something badly needed after a rough opening two weeks.
Crashes and near-misses
Ross Chastain had speed to be a major factor all day, and his Stage 1 win proved it. But with 20 laps remaining, his race unraveled when he went off course and returned missing the right-rear wheel, drawing a two-lap penalty and dropping him to 35th. Chase Briscoe’s day ended 33 laps early after a transaxle failure, turning a promising start into a last-place finish. Zane Smith also had a messy afternoon, surviving contact earlier before spinning with Connor Zilisch later in the race.
What it means
Reddick is no longer just the hot driver to open the season. He is now the center of it. Winning three straight to start a Cup season had never been done before, and doing it across Daytona, Atlanta and COTA makes the stretch even more impressive because of how different those tracks are. He left Austin with 11 career Cup wins, a second victory at COTA and a massive early points cushion. More importantly, he and 23XI Racing suddenly look like the standard everyone else is chasing.
COTA also hinted at who could be next in line to challenge him. Van Gisbergen was right there on the road course. Bell and Gibbs finally converted speed into finishes. McDowell showed road-course strength again. And Chase Elliott kept stacking another solid day. But on this Sunday, all of it still ran through Reddick. At least for now, 2026 belongs to the No. 45.
