Winners and losers from NASCAR's first road course of 2026 at COTA

March 2, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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23XI Racing and Tyler Reddick have managed to do what has never been done before, winning the first three races of a new NASCAR Cup season. Shane van Gisbergen finished second, and Christopher Bell was third.

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The race was fairly clean, with only one natural caution and only one car failing to reach the checkered flag. However, there was still plenty of drama, and even a mid-race driver change! Let's take a look at some of the biggest winners and losers from the Circuit of the Americas:

WINNER: Tyler Reddick bests SVG and makes history in COTA

Watch: Reddick's reaction: Three-peat 'means the world to me'

For the third consecutive week, Reddick was celebrating with his 23XI Racing team and co-owner Michael Jordan in Victory Lane, and we all know MJ loves a three-peat. The driver of the #45 Toyota became the first driver in the entire history of NASCAR to win the first three Cup races of a new season. Earnhardt, Petty, Gordon -- no other driver has accomplished what Reddick just did. And he had to face SVG at a road course to win this race, a driver who hasn't lost a road course race in the Cup Series in a full year. Reddick now leads the championship by a shocking 70 points after just three races.

LOSER: Zilisch's Sisyphus-esque day leaves him with little to show for it

Connor Zilisch, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Connor Zilisch entered COTA last among full-time drivers in the championship standings, and the rookie was in desperate need of a good day. It didn't help that after winning the pole for Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly race, he had to battle brake issues all day before getting wrecked out of a top five position in the final laps. Well, Sunday wasn't much better. Zilisch started 25th, made his way to the top five via strategy, and then got spun out in Turn 1 on a restart. He then did it all over again, marching back through the field, reaching as high as fourth for the final restart of the race. And then? He got spun out in Turn 1 on a restart again. A battered Zilisch still fought his way all the way back up to 14th in the final run, but it was of little comfort after having to pass most of the field three times while being denied a chance to contend for the win.

WINNER: SVG loses the race, but gains big in the championship

Watch: SVG: 'It's weird to be disappointed with second'

Van Gisbergen himself said it was 'weird' to be disappointed with a runner-up finish, which officially ended his streak of five consecutive road/street course wins. However, he also scored 45 points, which will go a long way in helping him to potentially make The Chase later this year. SVG jumped from 16th to fifth in the points standings, and is now leading the Trackhouse trio in the championship as he faces several weeks of tricky ovals.

LOSER: Ryan Blaney sticks with Reddick before fading in the final run

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske

We were on the fence about this falling into the 'loser' category, but while Reddick dominated most of the race, Blaney was in his shadow for a good portion of it, and even led most of Stage 1 himself. However, despite restarting on the front row for the final restart, Blaney was unable to take the lead, and ended up getting passed by several cars (some with fresh tires) during the final stint. He got muscled out of the way by both Bell and Larson, and fell back to eighth by the time the checkered flag flew. It was still a good day, but it could have been so much more for the #12. The good news? Phoenix is next, and Blaney is always a threat there...

WINNER: Myatt Snider was smart to bring his racing helmet to COTA

DRIVER CHANGE. @MyattSnider jumps in for a sick Alex Bowman with 21 laps to go at COTA. He was spotting on pit road for our own @JamieLittleTV prior to climbing in. pic.twitter.com/lQsdnWhRmm
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 1, 2026

Snider started Sunday by working as a pit spotter for NASCAR on FOX, helping the broadcast's pit reporters in their information-gathering duties. Well, he ultimately ended the day by driving a Hendrick Motorsports car in a NASCAR Cup Series race. The 31-year-old is a proven winner in the NASCAR O'Reilly Series, but he hasn't raced in any of the top three divisions this year, and he had never raced a Cup car before COTA. And yet, when Alex Bowman was forced out of his car due to illness, Snider was right there, helmet in hand, and he finished the race for HMS. Bowman gets all the credit in the record books, but kudos to Snider for rising to the occasion and being ready to jump at the unexpected opportunity.

LOSER: Ross Chastain wins stage in otherwise costly day

Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing

The good news for Chastain is that he won Stage 1 and secured the fastest lap bonus point. The bad news is that those two things made up 11 of the 13 total points he scored at COTA. After a solid top ten run throughout most of the day, Chastain lost a right-rear wheel after his final pit stop and triggered the only natural caution of the race. The two-lap penalty that followed left him with a 35th-place finish, and will result in a two-week suspension for his jackman and a tire changer in the coming days. A costly error by the #1 Trackhouse team, spoiling what was a strong weekend.

WINNER: AJ Allmendinger battles heat exhaustion to T10 finish

All good. pic.twitter.com/mG7EeQ0YkT
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) March 2, 2026

Bowman wasn't the only driver struggling on Sunday. While Allmendinger wasn't sick, he was overheating after his cool suit failed. Even still, he soldiered on to a ninth-place finish, moving up inside the top ten in the championship before collapsing on pit road. He was taken away via stretcher, and quickly given fluids. Thankfully, the 44-year-old recovered soon after and was promptly released from the infield care center.

LOSER: Chase Briscoe is the only DNF

Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

After a runner-up finish at Atlanta one week ago, Briscoe was looking strong once again at COTA, only for a mechanical gremlin to derail his day. A broken transaxle in the rear of his car forced him behind the wall, and the #19 JGR Toyota was the only car that failed to reach the checkered flag on Sunday. He finished 36th, scoring just a single point. Also, he got lost on the way back to the garage...

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Winners and losers from NASCAR&#39;s first road course of 2026 at COTA