Tyler Reddick is set to head into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) having won the first two races of the 2026 season. However, the 23XI Racing driver’s chances to win three straight will open with fierce competition from road course ace Shane van Gisbergen (SVG), rookie Connor Zilisch, and the defending COTA winner Christopher Bell.
SVG, who is arguably the hottest road-course driver in NASCAR today, won the last five consecutive road and street course races in the Cup Series and will look to extend his streak in Austin. Interestingly, the one road event he has not conquered yet is COTA. The Kiwi driver finished sixth last year after leading 23 laps at the shorter circuit, which was a major improvement from his 20th-place finish in 2024. His former Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez also pointed out his added advantage and his secret to success at road courses.
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Zilisch also has a NASCAR O’Reilly win at COTA. He led 26 of 65 laps en route to victory last year. He also took the pole for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race there this Friday, February 27. The No. 8 Trackhouse rookie made his Cup Series debut at COTA last year after finishing well in his first two races of the 2026 Cup season.
Meanwhile, defending COTA winner Bell also has multiple top-5 finishes at the road course. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver held off William Byron and barely kept Reddick at bay in the final laps, finished second behind Byron, and topped the field in 2025. He also finished second behind Byron in 2024 and took third in 2022.
Tyler Reddick leads all NASCAR Cup drivers with the best average finish
Tyler Reddick’s start to the season was remarkable. He kicked off by winning NASCAR’s biggest race, the Daytona 500, before following that up with a gutsy victory at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Reddick fought through a multi-car wreck, lost a front fender, and still powered to the win in double overtime.
That back-to-back start has only been done five times before in NASCAR Cup history, and no driver has converted it into an opening three-race sweep. Tyler Reddick also leads active Cup drivers in average finish and top-five totals at COTA.
Reddick won the race at the 2.4-mile road course in 2023 and has two poles there, including one in 2025. His worst finish at the track was ninth in his first visit in 2021. The Cup Series qualifying at the shorter course is set to start at 11 am ET or 10 am CT on Saturday.
Edited by Tushhita Barua