Rookie Connor Zilisch found midrace trouble in his NASCAR Cup Series debut Sunday, crashing after a collision with Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suárez at Circuit of The Americas.
Zilisch started 14th in the 37-car field in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix and rallied after sustaining damage in a Turn 1, Lap 1 fray after the green flag. The 18-year-old driver, however, could not avoid Suarez’s spinning No. 99 Chevrolet on the 50th of 95 scheduled laps, and his No. 87 Trackhouse Chevrolet veered into a tire barrier in Turn 19.
Both cars were sidelined, with Suárez scored 36th — one spot ahead of Zilisch, who wound up with a last-place result. Both drivers were evaluated and released after mandatory trips to the infield care center.
“Yeah, all I saw was a cloud of smoke, and by the time I saw him, it was way too late to do anything,” Zilisch said. “I saw him spinning off to the left, and I thought he was going to keep going in that direction or stay there. And I guess he flipped back right and started coming towards me. So, yeah, really unfortunate way to end, you know, my Cup Series debut. We were one of the top five fastest cars in the second stage there, I went from outside the top 30 to 14th, and felt really good about our car. We made a lot of gains from practice and qualifying and just unfortunate way to end it.”
Suárez has failed to finish in two consecutive Cup Series races. He ended up 33rd after a crash the previous weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and he said a misstep in one of the 2.3-mile track’s final turns caused the melee.
“I just hit the curb, hit the ground and then it spun me out,” Suárez said. “When you have low air pressure, that’s very easy to do because the car is lower to the ground. I wish I could say it was a big mistake, but it wasn’t. It was just maybe a tire width too far to the left, and I hit the curb and I spun out.”
Zilisch was the victor in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at COTA, notching his second win in that tour. His much-anticipated Cup Series debut was announced back in January, the next step of his rapid progression that includes a full Xfinity campaign this year with JR Motorsports.
Zilisch said the biggest thing he learned was getting a feel for competing against more experienced competition.
“Just how to race against veterans,” Zilisch said. “You know, these guys all are very calculated and smart with the things they’re doing. And I had a lot of fun getting to kind of experience that and learn from a lot of those guys. So definitely a lot to take away from it. But frustrated that it ended this early. I felt really good. I was one of the fastest cars. I felt like I never saw a person that I didn’t think I was better than. So it was really frustrating to end that, and I was still learning, even throughout the race, and really wish I could have gotten to the end of the race to see what we had for those guys.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to its first road course of the 2025 season as drivers will contest 95 laps on the revamped Circuit of The Americas (COTA) layout for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Practice and qualifying on Saturday should give us a fair bit of information to work with, especially in regard to tire falloff and car adjustments. That’s because there were two mini-sessions for each of the two groups, giving teams time to receive feedback and make changes to the car if necessary.
With that, we can see which drivers improved from their first to the second set of tires relative to the field, which is where I’m looking at with my biggest edge.
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NASCAR at COTA Predictions, Picks
*Odds as of Saturday evening
Justin Haley
FanDuel released top-10 lines on Saturday night, and Justin Haley’s +2700 odds immediately jumped out to me.
Haley is a very capable road-course racer who has three top-10 finishes on road courses in his Cup career. While he didn’t have any last year, he was driving for Rick Ware Racing for all the road courses except the Charlotte Roval, and his move back to Spire Motorsports should provide him with a step-up in equipment.
That equipment is capable of some fast speeds at COTA, especially as teammate Carson Hocevar is set to start fourth after a fantastic qualifying effort.
Haley’s qualifying run didn’t go as well, with him firing off 29th, but that’s not the end of the world. COTA is a track that can produce chaos and might do so with more frequency given the shorter layout.
Haley also showed plenty of improvement in practice. Using my FLAGS metric, Haley jumped from 31st in FLAGS in the first session to 21st in the second session. If that’s how he truly runs, that’s a car capable of a midpack run that could find his way inside the top 10 if things get hectic at the end, as they have in the past on the full track layout.
It’s not a bet that’s likely to win — I have Haley’s top-10 odds at just 8.5% — but that’s far above the 3.6% implied odds we’re getting at 27-1.
The Bet: Justin Haley Top-10 Finish (+2700, FanDuel) | Bet to: +1600
Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick put Toyota on the pole with a blistering qualifying lap, while his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace starts alongside him in second. Reddick should rightly be among the race favorites, as well as the favorite to finish as the top Toyota.
However, things can happen at COTA and should Reddick get caught up in a mess or have a mechanical issue or penalty, there’s a whole host of Toyotas that could step in as top Toyota.
My model has Chase Briscoe right among that group of Toyotas that are in a cluster behind Reddick, along with Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and less so Denny Hamlin and Wallace.
Bell is listed at +400, while Gibbs is listed at +1000, and while Bell and Gibbs should have shorter odds than Briscoe, it should be much closer, especially considering Briscoe was just a fraction of a percentage point behind Bell in pace according to practice FLAGS and ranked one spot ahead of Gibbs.
This is Briscoe’s best road course, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him finish as the top Toyota even if Reddick didn’t have any major issues given the randomness this track can produce.
The Bet: Chase Briscoe Top Toyota (+1600, ESPN BET) | Bet to: +1000
Editor’s note: Projected finish has been updated after Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions.
Christopher Bell punched his ticket to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after emerging late at Atlanta Motor Speedway to win a thriller last week. The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver has had ups and downs on drafting tracks, but an early win allows him to stack more victories and playoff points before the regular season concludes.
Bell could do just that today at Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as the 20-turn, 2.4-mile road course in Austin, Texas, is a track that’s without a doubt in the driver’s wheelhouse.
Looking at COTA in particular, Bell has two top-five finishes in four Cup races there, including a runner-up finish last year. Bell’s average start at COTA is 8.8, which is important given that in 15 of the last 17 road-course races with the Next Gen car, the eventual race winner started in the top eight. On road courses in general, Bell has two wins out of 26 starts, and last season, he scored 141 points via road courses (tied for sixth-most). Finally, he’s also in a three-way tie with Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick for the most stage wins on road courses since the start of 2022 (4).
Even after a career year in 2024, Bell still felt the No. 20 team “left a ton on the table.” This season, he’s already won earlier than he did last year, and aside from a slight dip in 2023, his numbers across the board have improved every year since his rookie season. 2025 could be the year where Bell erupts for multiple wins and has a dominant performance all around.
TYLER REDDICK: Three of Reddick’s eight Cup Series wins have come at road courses. Last season, he led all drivers in points scored on road courses with 160. In the Next Gen car, Reddick has the second most top fives (7), top 10s (12) and led the most laps (197) on road courses. He’ll start P1 after landing the Busch Light Pole Award.
KYLE LARSON: Listing all of Hendrick Motorsports is tempting given how much the organization excels on road courses. But Larson has been the best out of the quartet in recent years; he won twice on road courses last year and was right behind Reddick in points scored on road courses last season (151).
ROSS CHASTAIN: Chastain played spoiler last year in the Cup Series Playoffs, but Sunday is a golden opportunity for the driver of the No. 1 to lock in early. Chastain has an average finish of fourth at COTA — the best out of anyone. Plus, he and Alex Bowman are the only two drivers to net top 10s in all four Cup events at the track.
AUSTIN CINDRIC: Cindric put himself in a position to win each of the last two Cup Series races, and in both races, he’s gone home with a torn-up race car. With a sportscar racing background, he’s a bit of a road-course ringer — earning two top 10s at COTA with a best finish of sixth in 2023.
CONNOR ZILISCH: The 18-year-old phenom is making his highly anticipated Cup Series debut, and he could easily be a threat. For starters, in both his Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series debuts, Zilisch made a quick impression. His truck debut was at COTA and he won the pole before later wheeling to a fourth-place finish. As for Xfinity, he won the pole and went to Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International — then did the same this weekend in Austin. It’s hard to imagine he could have similar success amongst the sport’s best, but certainly not impossible.
RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE GRAND PRIX
Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. Updated on raceday with practice and qualifying factored in.
AUSTIN, Texas — All week at Circuit of The Americas, the hype and media focus has centered around Connor Zilisch making his NASCAR Cup Series debut on Sunday. But beforehand, the No. 88 JR Motorsports driver went on to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at COTA. However, his teammate Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet, wasn’t going down without a fight.
The two rising stars shared an epic battle from the final stage restart to Lap 61 when Kvapil had a right-front tire go down. The JRM teammates didn’t mind having an aggressive battle for the win, but Kvapil will keep a long memory of how Zilisch raced him in closing moments on Saturday.
“I might have felt a little slighted there,” Kvapil said post-race. “Just seemed like every corner we would just get blasted out of the way. And I mean, it is what it is. All these guys are super aggressive whenever you get to this level, but at the same time, it’s a little bit of a ‘What the heck, man,’ so definitely gonna put that in the back pocket and remember that for next time.”
Kvapil led the field to green on the final stage restart with Zilisch lined up right behind him. Both drivers had a victory on the mind going into Turn 1 as Zilisch pushed the No. 1 Chevy wide into the corner and both JRM drivers lost out on the lead to Austin Hill on Lap 46.
It was not much longer until Kvapil returned to the top spot. On Lap 52, the No. 21 of Hill wheel-hopped heading into Turn 12, which also allowed Zilisch to take second exiting the next corner.
The next two laps, Zilisch hounded Kvapil, roughing him up the very next lap and then finally got past the No. 1 Chevy on Lap 57 when Kvapil locked up his right-front tire, creating a flat spot.
Kvapil gave it one more shot the next lap, throwing a divebomb at Zilisch into Turn 6A, leading to the teammates trading paint. Zilisch held on and Kvapil’s tire went flat a few laps later, sealing his fate with a 23rd-place finish when a possible top-five was attainable.
The Mooresville, North Carolina native didn’t have any hurt feelings with how his teammate raced him. But it was a great measure of how to race each other and battle for wins going forward.
“I would have probably liked it a little better if we didn’t get knocked out of the way a few times,” Kvapil said. “But at the same time, we’re all going for the win and kind of sets the precedent for how we’re gonna race, and we’re all battling hard trying to go for the win here.”
Kvapil made his name as an aggressive short-track racer in late models, which ultimately led him to JRM in the first place. The fact he could take his first Xfinity Series win — in his first road-course appearance nonetheless — would show how much he’s grown as a driver through 13 starts at the national series level.
“It was a hard battle,” Kvapil added. “Though I knew through the esses we were better and I was able to get back to him that one time, but he just, he was able to get away from us.”
Kvapil’s crew chief, Andy Overstreet, praised his driver for unlocking a new level in during their prep for COTA.
“He’s excelled everywhere,” Overstreet told NASCAR.com “But on road courses, like he’ll be the first say ‘I don’t really know what I’m doing,’ but he was consistent. Getting ready for this race, Connor Zilisch was struggling and visually upset because he couldn’t go as fast as Carson through the esses and stuff in our prep. So he showed there that he had to speed, and he just took it and kept getting better and better through practice.
“It’s pretty cool to see the late model driver be up there racing with the kid that’s got millions of laps around road courses.”
Kvapil and the rest of the Xfinity Series stars return to action on Saturday, March 8 (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Phoenix Raceway.
Track: Circuit of The Americas Location: Austin, Texas Track length: 2.3 miles When: Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET Where to tune in: FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Race purse: $11,055,250 Race distance: 95 laps | 228 miles Stages: 20 | 45 | 95 Defending winner:William Byron, March 2024 Starting lineup:Tyler Reddick wins Busch Light Pole
New track layout adds a twist for drivers
With two superspeedways in the books, Circuit of The Americas presents its own wild-card nature to some of the biggest Cup Series stars aiming for a playoff bid. But different ages of asphalt throughout the track and a shortened layout that ups the lap count from 68 to 95 might be the biggest twist. The first four races at COTA were run on the full 3.4-mile circuit and specific changes come in Turns 6A-B, where drivers expect it to be a tough passing zone with possible chances for dive bombs.
The new section will affect how drivers approach their racing line on exit out of the esses (Turns 3-5) and their entry into Turn 6, making it a challenge for how they attack restarts and defend cars from charging through the field. During Saturday’s practice session, drivers were gaining aggressiveness through Turns 6A-B, gauging the best ways to find speed on corner exit, leading to a few locking up their tires. That could ultimately result in less grip during the race.
Last week’s Atlanta winner, Christopher Bell, finished runner-up in this race last year and saw some familiarity in that new section during his Saturday morning track walk.
“We don’t know how 6B and 6A are going to race yet,” Bell said. “It kind of reminds me of that section of Chicago like, maybe [Turn] 5, where it’s really tight there, and we saw a bunch of pile-ups and the track get blocked. So maybe that could happen.
“I went around there the pace car yesterday, like you’re coming off of Turn 6, and whenever you leave Turn 6, like you’re basically center punching this tire barrier. So you have to, like, awkwardly, make the car want to get back right to get your angle right for 6A to get around the tire barrier.”
That tire barrier was added to Turn 6A to essentially serve as a reference point for Cup drivers in the apex of the corner, but an addition came after Friday’s Xfinity Series practice and qualifying sessions when several drivers took notice that it would be possible to roll through the gravel and off the race track.
“I mean, it’s just really a super narrow corner,” Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman added. “So when there was nothing there, it’s just gravel on the inside, and we all would have jumped through the gravel, and there’d be gravel all over the race track on exit there. So certainly something needed to be there.”
Along with the new section, there have been several repaved sections on the circuit, especially through Turns 2-8, which adds another element in finding grip.
“They’ve repaved some sections of this track, but it’s not like repaves that we face on ovals or other tracks that we race at,” 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick said. “A lot of racing takes place on this track throughout the year, even though the surface is new for us. It’s pretty well-worn already.”
Both Bowman and Reddick sit top 10 in points and are usual suspects to watch at COTA, as both have average finishes of fifth or better in four previous events. Reddick has a win on the old layout in 2023, which stands as his most recent road-course triumph. As for Bowman, he’s still searching for a win in Austin after finishing second, third and fourth in the last three years at COTA, respectively.
From atop the pit box…
What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?
The new course layout won’t just affect the drivers — it also adds a wrinkle to crew chiefs’ plans for formulating a winning strategy, requiring them to rethink when to pit. More importantly, the race features a new tire compound that is similar to the Goodyear Eagles used in last year’s playoff race at Watkins Glen International. However, with variously aged asphalt across the course, tire wear could be a key element in the race.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Reddick’s crew chief, Billy Scott, expects that race strategy and decision-making will diverge slightly compared to last year’s notebook.
“I think it’s going to play out differently,” Scott told NASCAR.com on Friday. “More because of the new tire and how the fall-off is, more so than the number of laps changing. I think that part of it is fairly consistent with what it was before. We’re still having stage breaks and all that and a one-stop in Stage 3. So I think it’s just a matter of getting an idea of where the fall-off is and how tires are.
“We’ve got some repaved sections of this track, and, you know the new layout, it’s likely going to be a little bit different than it was at Watkins Glen, but hopefully more fall-off than what we had before.”
The shortened road course and tire wear might just be the recipe that stirs up chaos throughout the field, a change in pace from a race that ran caution-free a year ago — aside from scheduled stage breaks.
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, thinks most teams will play it safe with a three-stop strategy, but the gamble for a possible two-stopper is on the table. The main factor between two or three stops will be where the cautions fall, Fugle mentioned that the redesign in Turns 6A and 6B could either lead to bent fenders or showcase a driver’s brilliance behind the wheel.
“I think that it could go two ways,” Fugle told NASCAR.com. “You know, it could be a trigger spot for some accidents, or it could be a spot where it singles it out and makes for some good racing. So time will tell. I probably give a little bit of both. There’ll be some times where urgency makes some wrecks that shouldn’t be there. And there’ll be some riding time where it kind of makes it a little technical and spread out a little bit.”
Get out front quickly and stay there. According to Racing Insights, the driver who led the most laps has won all three COTA races in the Next Gen era. This emphasizes why qualifying is extremely important when it comes to road courses: the fewer cars you have to overtake, the better your chances are of winning.
He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …
CHRIS BUESCHER. The No. 17 RFK Racing driver has finished eighth in the last two COTA races and has 13 top 10s on road courses since the start of 2022, which leads all drivers during that span. He has a road course win on the résumé (Watkins Glen, 2024) too, and after missing out on a playoff bid last year, this could be a good chance for Buescher to lock in early.
Fantasy update
Most of the elite road course drivers in the Cup Series stepped up during a pair of practice sessions at COTA. Shane van Gisbergen is an absolute must for your lineup, sweeping the practice sessions by nearly three-tenths of a second in first practice and more than a half second in final practice. The only changes in my lineup were dropping Ty Gibbs and William Byron in favor of AJ Allmendinger and Daniel Suárez. (Dustin Albino)
Speed reads
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix | Read more
• The greatest thing since ‘Sliced Bread?’: What to expect from Connor Zilisch’s Cup Series debut | Read more
• Dialing up road-course ringers: Drivers share mixed feelings on Allmendinger, SVG | Read more
• Feeling hot, hot, hot: Fatherhood brings new mentality for Bubba Wallace’s strong start | Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Rewind the tape on every Cup race at COTA | Watch races
• Paint Scheme Preview: These hot-rods are bigger and bolder, deep in the heart of Texas | View gallery
AUSTIN, Texas — It’s hard to put Connor Zilisch off his game as the 18-year-old road-course prodigy proved once again in winning Saturday’s Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Circuit of The Americas.
A commitment line violation couldn’t do it. Sent to the rear for pitting when pit road closed suddenly for the race’s second caution, Zilisch restarted 32nd after the first stage break and drove through the field, taking the lead from Carson Kvapil on Lap 56 of 65 at the 2.4-mile, 17-turn circuit.
Hard contact with the Toyota of Corey Heim couldn’t do it. Fighting for position in the final stage, Zilisch slammed into Heim, knocking him off course. The wheel-to-wheel contact damaged the right-front fender of Zilisch’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and caused a serious tire rub under hard braking.
Hot pursuit from Carson Kvapil couldn’t do it. After making what proved to be the winning pass, Zilisch had to fend off his teammate until Kvapil’s right front tire went flat on Lap 60. That gave Zilisch all the breathing room he needed as he nursed his car to the finish line.
Runner-up finisher William Byron trimmed a four-second lead to 1.639 seconds at the finish but couldn’t mount a challenge over the closing laps.
As a result, the pole winner had his second career Xfinity Series victory, adding to his maiden win in his first start in the series last summer at Watkins Glen International.
“That was way harder than I wanted it to be,” said Zilisch, who scored the much-needed victory after respective finishes of 27th and 34th in the first two races of the season at Daytona and Atlanta. “I did not drive a clean race at all … I was kind of mentally fogged halfway through that race.
“I made way too many mistakes … I was glad we were able to fight back.”
Byron was driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that won last year’s Xfinity race at COTA with Kyle Larson behind the wheel.
“My car was just kind of floppy in the short run, and I had to try to take care of it,” said Byron, who will defend his win in the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday. “I just tried to stay with it there in the long run … I had fun. It was a good workout.
“It was good to get back into the rhythm of things, pushing the car. I think it’ll help me for (Sunday).”
Zilisch is looking forward to Sunday, too. He’ll make his Cup Series debut in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“It’s been a fun weekend, but we’ve got a big race tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that as well,” said Zilisch, who will start 14th.
Sam Mayer ran third on Saturday, with Austin Hill, last week’s Atlanta winner, finishing fourth. Hill charged from fourth to first after a Lap 46 restart when Zilisch and Kvapil ran wide into Turn 1.
But Hill’s lead was short-lived. When he overdrove Turn 6a on Lap 52, Kvapil shot past him into the lead, and Zilisch followed into second.
Four laps later, Zilisch had the lead for good, though Kvapil made it a contest until his tire deflated.
Christian Eckes finished fifth. Jesse Love, Taylor Gray, Ross Chastain, William Sawalich and Blaine Perkins completed the top 10.
The Xfinity Series returns to action next Saturday, March 8, for the GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Zilisch as the race winner.
See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
AUSTIN, Texas — In Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, John Hunter Nemechek will start to get the true measure of his performance.
Nemechek and Ryan Blaney are the only two drivers to score top-10 finishes at both Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway this season. Fifth in the Daytona 500 and 10th a week later, Nemechek is tied for sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with Kyle Larson.
Success on drafting tracks, however, doesn’t always translate to speed at other venues, and Nemechek is eager to see how his No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota performs at COTA on Sunday.
“I think that the first two races for us this year were about survival and putting ourselves in good spots to have good finishes and have shots to contend for a win,” Nemechek said. “I think that for us, coming into COTA, there’s a lot of unknowns. I feel like last year, we really struggled at road courses. That’s probably one of the areas that we lacked speed the most, and the cars didn’t drive very well, didn’t have very much speed.
“It just wasn’t very good for us. But, with the changes over the offseason (with new crew chief Travis Mack and major turnover on the crew), there’s a lot of new personnel and a lot of new ideas. Different cars, I would say — hopefully, faster race cars than we had last year. I’m looking forward to seeing where we stack up as far as the road course program goes and how much improvement and gains we’ve made over the offseason.”
On Friday, Nemechek indulged in a sort of “branding” different from typical sponsor relations. He went shopping for boots and burned his initials into the leather with a branding iron.
AUSTIN, Texas — How good is Bubba Wallace feeling, sitting fifth in points after two solid superspeedway performances and a second-place qualifying effort at Circuit of The Americas?
“I don’t know, just lucky, I guess,” Wallace joked after qualifying behind his 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“Just putting in a lot of work, both for myself and the team, and it’s all starting to click,” Wallace added.
“I don’t know why I’m not over the moon excited about starting second on a road course. It just feels wonky to me. I’m not sure. But we did it, we executed, we were faster than the rest of the guys except for one,” he said, while grinning as Reddick walked into the media center for his post-qualifying presser.
Despite being involved in the Lap 197 wreck in the 2025 Daytona 500 and finishing 29th, Wallace opened Speedweeks with a valuable Duel win and scored crucial stage points at two drafting tracks that are right in the No. 23 driver’s wheelhouse. He even netted a ninth-place finish at Atlanta, signaling that the Mobile, Alabama, native is off to a hot start to kick off this year’s campaign.
But showing speed at a road course is new for Wallace, who has yet to record a top-10 finish in four visits to the Austin circuit. Plus, after being 26th fastest after the first practice session, it seemed Wallace’s road course woes would douse his flame. But not for nothing, Wallace is getting red-hot and building on his momentum week-to-week.
“I think my biggest thing is we put in a lot of work in the last month for this place,” Wallace said. “So I think it’s just pushing the envelope and trusting and believing in yourself and believing in the process.”
So, is there a specific change that has given Wallace the much-needed boost for his eighth year full time at the Cup level? Perhaps entering fatherhood has shifted his mentality under the helmet. His teammate and fellow father, Reddick, has seen a change in Wallace’s approach.
“Fatherhood will change you in ways you don’t expect,” Reddick said. “I think he’s got a good approach right now and am excited to see how he continues to grow and change at being a dad and how that affects racing for him. He seems like he’s in a good place right now.”
Wallace even took the time to answer a call from his wife during his media availability — which is understandable for most married men.
“We were just talking, wife [Amanda], there you seen it talking about the baby and talking about something else, and it’s crazy how you have to compartmentalize things, so it’s cool,” Wallace explained.
It’s only two races into the year, but Wallace is certainly showing another side of him and time will tell how the first few weeks of 2025 carry him into Sunday’s race.
“I mean, it’s nice to be on a consistent roll, knowing that it could change and could be wiped out in a moment. You just have to keep it at bay and be ready for what’s next,” Wallace added. “Ever since I’ve been a part of 23XI they’ve highlighted my weaknesses, and they put the ball in my court. So I appreciate all the tools and resources. But, I think we’ve gotten better. I will say tomorrow is a total different story.”
AUSTIN, Texas — Tyler Reddick led 23XI Racing to a front-row lockout for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Chased by teammate Bubba Wallace during the Group 2 session of time trials, Reddick turned a lap at 88.094 mph in his No. 45 Toyota to top Wallace by 0.224 seconds for the top starting spot in the third NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2025 season.
The Busch Light Pole Award was Reddick’s second at COTA, his first of the season and the 10th of his career, four of which have come on road courses.
“Going into (Turn) 1, I’m like, ‘Dang, I wish that he (Wallace) would have gapped himself a little bit more,’ because I felt like I was messing his lap up, for sure,” said Reddick, who won the 2023 Cup Series race at COTA and has an average finish of 5.0 at the track.
“Talking to him after the fact, his focus was to go out and follow me and kind of see what I was going to do and try to mimic it. Certainly, he’s on the path to getting better at the road courses.
“He’s learning and if he keeps it up here soon, I’ll be having to try to battle him head-to-head for these poles. It’s been really nice to see his growth and him improve and embrace the way we have to do things…”
Chase Elliott qualified third on his second lap at the 2.4-mile road course, which has been shortened this year, resulting in a race that will feature 95 laps instead of the 68 run last year.
Carson Hocevar posted the fourth fastest lap, followed by fellow Chevrolet drivers Daniel Suárez, Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain. Todd Gilliland was 10th in the fastest Ford.
Connor Zilisch qualified 14th in anticipation of his first Cup Series start.
Van Gisbergen fastest in practice
On a revised track layout at Circuit of The Americas, NASCAR Cup Series drivers practiced in two separate 20-minute practice sessions split into two groups. Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen was fastest in both practice sessions, topping the leaderboard at 87.409 mph in Practice 2.
William Byron (86.892 mph), Carson Hocevar (86.853 mph), Ryan Blaney (86.801 mph) and Alex Bowman (86.742 mph) rounded the top five.
Chase Elliott (86.702 mph), Kyle Larson (86.641 mph), Kyle Busch (86.626 mph), Daniel Suárez (86.622 mph) and Ross Chastain (86.573 mph) completed the top 10 in Practice 2.
In the first session, van Gisbergen’s No. 88 Chevrolet set the quickest time at 87.401 mph, holding off Bowman (87.146 mph) and Trackhouse teammate Connor Zilisch (87.025 mph).
Larson (86.701 mph) and AJ Allmendinger (86.684 mph) rounded out the top five.
Austin Cindric (86.642 mph), Suárez (86.576 mph), Noah Gragson (86.487 mph), Ty Gibbs (86.316 mph) and Chastain (86.309 mph) completed the top 10 in Practice 1. Both practice sessions were incident-free.
