Tyler Reddick Scores First Win in the No. 45 at COTA

The NASCAR Cup Series went down to Austin, Texas for its third trip to the Circuit of the Americas for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. This time around, this race showcased potentially a new era of road course ringers with drivers like IndyCar star Conor Daly driving for the Money Team Racing, Jenson Button making his Cup Series debut in the No. 15 for Rick Ware Racing, Kimi Raikkonen making a return to Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 car, and Jordan Taylor subbing in for Chase Elliott in the No. 9. Jimmie Johnson also made his second start of the season for the Legacy Motor Club. 

As Kurt Busch watched on in the FOX Sports booth, the car he drove a year ago and was supposed to be in this year was wheeled to victory lane by Tyler Reddick. Reddick picked up his fourth career Cup Series win and third on a road course. As he locks himself a spot into the playoffs, he led for 41 of the 75 laps that involved three straight overtime restarts. This was also Reddick’s first win with Toyota and 23XI Racing, as well as the third different driver to win the No. 45 for 23XI. Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace both won at Kansas last season and now Reddick at COTA. Kyle Busch finished second, while Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, and William Byron rounded out the top five.

“It means the world,” Reddick said after the race. “This whole 23XI team has been working so hard all winter long to make the road course program better. Was extremely motivated to come in here and prove that performance, too.”

One driver that was up at the front and contending with Reddick was a current red-hot driver William Byron, who already had two wins this season and led for 28 laps on Sunday. Byron won stage one, while Reddick took stage two. 

Jenson Button led the way for the road course ringers as he finished 18th, Jordan Taylor finished 24th, and Kimi Raikkonen finished in 29th. Jimmie Johnson had a very short day, as on the first lap, he was tagged by a spinning Chris Buescher in a wreck, ending his day with a second-to-last-place finish.

“I mean, the aggression definitely caught me off guard. I think I had more contact today in one race than probably my entire career combined,” Jordan Taylor said after the race. “I honestly didn’t know how the car was still driving straight after at the end, so the cars are strong, Hendrick Motorsports builds us a strong, safe race car and it was fast. Yeah, just disappointed we couldn’t give them kind of the day they deserved.”

The NASCAR Cup Series heads next to Richmond on Sunday, April 2^nd at 3:30 PM EST.