Three Up, Three Down: Drivers in focus leaving EchoPark

Posted on February 23, 2026February 23, 2026 by Zack Albert

Sunday’s Autotrader 400 from EchoPark Speedway made for high-banked high drama, but with a familiar race winner in Daytona 500 champ Tyler Reddick. The 23XI Racing driver is now 2-for-2 to open the NASCAR Cup Series season with a chance to make it three straight in Sunday’s road-course show at Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Below Reddick and 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace, the Cup Series standings look like they’ve been through a rock tumbler after two consecutive drafting-track events. Here’s a look at three drivers on the right side of the early season momentum wave and three more in need of a boost after leaving the Atlanta-area track.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

THREE UP ⬆️

1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Started: 34th

Finished: 2nd

What happened: Briscoe made a nearly complete flip-flop of his starting and finishing positions from Daytona, where he set off from the outside of the front row and ended up 36th with a damaged race car. A qualifying washout at EchoPark left him mired deep in the field for Sunday’s start, but he methodically worked his way into contention, even netting stage points with a third-place result after the second stanza. “Even all of the situations that happened,” Briscoe said, “everything kind of worked out in my favor.”

What’s next: Sunday’s outcome provided Briscoe and the No. 19 team with a 22-spot jump to 15th in the Cup Series standings — the largest points leap of any driver leaving the EchoPark track. Briscoe has won twice on road courses in his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career, but he’s seeking his first top-five finish at the Austin circuit.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

2. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 15th

Finished: 4th

What happened: Hocevar’s late-race effort to increase the intensity level at EchoPark grabbed its share of the headlines, but an impressive rally put his No. 77 Chevy in that position. Hocevar recovered after a flat tire at the midpoint of Stage 1, losing two laps and dropping to the back of the pack. Two free passes placed him back in the thick of it, and the 23-year-old talent did the rest.

What’s next: Sunday marked two consecutive events where Hocevar contended late, fueling the thought that a breakthrough Cup win may not be far away for the series’ 2024 Rookie of the Year. If it happens at COTA, it would reverse some recent road-course rough patches; his last six road-racing finishes have been outside the top 10.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

3. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Started: 6th

Finished: 7th

What happened: The 26-year-old driver has launched a steady start to his third full season in the Cup Series, opening with results of (ahem) sixth and seventh. At EchoPark, his No. 38 Mustang caught a piece of a pileup in the 103rd of 271 laps, but went relatively unscathed — more than many could say on such a chaotic day — the rest of the way.

What’s next: Sunday marked the first time Smith has notched top-10 finishes in consecutive Cup Series races, and it leaves him as the only driver outside of the 23XI family with two top 10s this year. At COTA, he has just two Cup Series starts, but ranks as a two-time winner there in Craftsman Truck Series competition.

Ethan Smith | NASCAR Digital Media

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 16th

Finished: 32nd

What happened: A rare unforced error brought an end to the day for the defending Cup Series champion, who dove low into the path of Shane van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Chevrolet on the last lap of Stage 2. SVG went on to rally for a sixth-place result on the 1.54-mile track, but the heavy damage to Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet ended up being terminal.

What’s next: Larson’s first DNF since last May’s Coca-Cola 600 netted him a six-place drop in the Cup Series standings just two races into the year. Six of Larson’s 32 Cup wins have come on road courses, but Circuit of The Americas has presented more challenges for him than others, with four straight finishes outside the top 10 there heading into Sunday’s race.

Ethan Smith | NASCAR Digital Media

2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 3rd

Finished: 36th

What happened: The tables turned in a two-week hurry for Stenhouse, who just last week finished one position short of becoming a two-time Daytona 500 winner. That result gave him a prime third-place starting spot for Sunday at EchoPark after a qualifying cancellation, but he washed out in Stage 2 after his No. 47 Chevy was collected in a multicar thicket.

What’s next: With a small sample size this season, Stenhouse plummeted from fifth to 22nd in the standings after his third DNF in the last four drafting-style races. Strikingly, he has just one top-10 finish in 45 Cup Series road-course starts, and that came at COTA with a seventh-place day in 2023.

Ethan Smith | NASCAR Digital Media

3. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Started: 25th

Finished: 37th

What happened: Gibbs’ No. 54 was left with little place to go after a four-wide squeeze caused a Stage 2 calamity at the end of the backstretch. The crash meant an early exit for both the 23-year-old driver and Josh Berry, who was also sidelined after completing just 81 laps in the Autotrader 400.

What’s next: Gibbs has solid road-racing chops, and four of his 12 victories in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series came on twisty-type layouts. Summoning some of that road-course savvy will be key to pulling himself out of an early deficit in the Cup Series standings, where he ranks 33rd after two wrecks in two races to start the year.

Ethan Smith | NASCAR Digital Media

Posted on February 23, 2026February 26, 2026 by Staff Report

It’s street-racing time, with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series hitting up the city of St. Petersburg, Florida, on Saturday for an 80-lap contest (noon ET, FOX, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series at Circuit of The Americas | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Circuit of The Americas | Craftsman Truck Series at St. Petersburg

The NTT IndyCar Series venue will make its NASCAR national-series debut, with the street bout being the first of two such events for the Truck Series in 2026, with the other being at Naval Base Coronado in June.

A collection of drivers from other motorsports fields will race on the street circuit, including Dario Franchitti in the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota.

MORE: Weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on FOX Sports

There are 36 race trucks entered for this week’s on-track action.

View the full entry list for the event:

Posted on February 23, 2026February 23, 2026 by Staff Report

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series transitions from two consecutive drafting venues to the left-and-right-turning Circuit of The Americas this Saturday (3 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series at Circuit of The Americas | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Circuit of The Americas | Craftsman Truck Series at St. Petersburg

The 65-lap race in Austin, Texas, will be the first of four road-course races on the 2026 docket for the O’Reilly field, with Watkins Glen International (May 9), Naval Base Coronado (June 20) and Sonoma Raceway (June 27) to follow.

Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen return to do battle in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, wheeling the No. 1 and No. 9 Chevrolets, respectively. Brent Crews additionally makes his O’Reilly debut, with updated NASCAR eligibility requirements allowing the 17-year-old pilot to race on road courses and oval tracks 1.25 miles or shorter before his 18th birthday on March 30.

MORE: Weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on The CW

Forty cars are entered into this week’s event.

View the full entry list for the race:

Posted on February 23, 2026February 23, 2026 by Staff Report

After a pair of drafting-track races to open the 2026 campaign, the NASCAR Cup Series now heads to the left-and-right-turning venue of Circuit of The Americas for a Texas-style road-course bout on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series at Circuit of The Americas | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Circuit of The Americas | Craftsman Truck Series at St. Petersburg

The Austin, Texas, race will be the first of four road-course contests during the 2026 Cup season, with Watkins Glen International (May 10), Naval Base Coronado (June 21) and Sonoma Raceway (June 28) to come later in the season.

Jesse Love will pilot the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet this weekend. The 2025 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion raced five times in NASCAR’s premier series last year, with a best finish of 24th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

MORE: Weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on FOX Sports

Thirty-seven cars are entered into this week’s event.

View the full entry list for the race:

Posted on February 23, 2026February 23, 2026 by Holly Cain

HAMPTON, Ga. — Tyler Reddick was all smiles climbing out of his well-used, noticeably nicked-up No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Sunday night at EchoPark Speedway after claiming his second win in as many NASCAR Cup Series races on the 2026 season.

A week ago, he led only the last lap to earn his first career Daytona 500 win and answered it by leading the most laps and starting on pole position to immediately hoist his second trophy of the season — and 10th of his career — Sunday night in the Autotrader 400 near Atlanta.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

An hour after taking the checkered flag and hoisting his second trophy, the 30-year-old Californian was still shaking his head and proudly contemplating his perfect start to the season.

“Just to start it off that way, knowing how good we’ve been at these other places we have coming up, just really helps the confidence,” said Reddick, who also won at this week’s upcoming venue — Circuit of The Americas — in 2023.

“Keeps me extra motivated, especially, too, during the week to work hard, knowing what great opportunity we have in front of us to start.

“I mean, yeah, at some point we could get caught up in a wreck, we could have had a DNF [tonight]. But to start off like this, I think everyone is extremely hungry to just keep pressing onward, whether that’s winning races, winning stages, or just scoring points. We have a great opportunity in front of us to get off to a really good start.”

And not only has Reddick’s No. 45 team seized the day, but the whole 23XI Racing operation is also riding an incredible wave of success to open the season.

Reddick’s victories have given him the early lead atop the championship standings — a sizable 40 points up on none other than his teammate Bubba Wallace, who is also experiencing a most excellent start to the year.

Wallace finished 10th in the Daytona 500 and was leading Sunday night with a lap to go, only to finish seventh in the last-lap shuffle to the checkered flag. Wallace’s 40 laps out front at Daytona were best in the field, as were Reddick’s 53 laps out front at EchoPark.

WATCH: Reddick on winning back-to-back drafting tracks | Wallace on finish | Hamlin on 23XI Racing

Reddick, Wallace and Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota, already upped the game for the entire organization — claiming the team’s very first top-10 sweep: Reddick’s win, Herbst’s eighth-place result and Wallace’s P10 at Daytona.

“It’s very early, but it’s not by circumstance,” said team co-owner Denny Hamlin, who drives the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. “They’re running up front. They’re fast. Again, just doing a lot of the right things. We’re making up for lost time. Last year, we didn’t have the wins that we expected as a race team, but they’re making up for it right now.

“It feels good, certainly, as a car owner knowing that you’ve got a couple of bullets in the gun. When the end of the race didn’t go Bubba’s way, you got another one there to pick it up. That certainly increases your odds of winning a lot of races when you’ve got multiple cars up front like we had tonight.”

Michael Jordan, NBA legend and 23XI Racing co-owner, was absolutely ecstatic after the Daytona 500 victory — celebrating the win with the entire organization and posing for photos cradling the iconic trophy. And he was equally as excited Sunday night at the team’s first back-to-back win.

“The guys worked hard all summer,” Jordan said. “They kept working hard, and this is the fruit of their labor. You know, they put forth the effort, and for us to come out and win the first two races says a lot about our whole team.”

The story only gets better. Although Reddick has admirably won all 10 of his career trophies at different tracks, he has to be considered a favorite to take his first repeat victory when the series competes at Austin’s famed COTA on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule

Reddick now heads to Austin, having equaled an important and rare record by becoming only the sixth driver in NASCAR history to win the opening two races of the season. And as one of the sport’s best at turning left and right, could he become the first ever to win the first three straight?

“Am I going to throw away a second place to do that? Probably not,” Reddick said, considering the possibility with a smile. “But certainly, if at any point during this week I’m running out of reasons to be motivated to get the win, I’ll keep that in my back pocket, for sure. You know, it’s cool to have the opportunity to potentially do things like that, but for me, with where this season started and what I need to do as a driver, it’s all about just doing everything I can and showing up every week being as prepared as I can.

“But yeah, I’ll try and make that a reality.”

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Press Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – TRD U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) announced a long-term commitment to third-generation driver Keelan Harvick, who will continue his development through pavement opportunities as a part of the TOYOTA RACING family.

During the 2026 motorsports season, Harvick will partner with RACKLEY W.A.R. and Kevin Harvick, Inc. to compete in dozens of late model races nationwide, piloting the No. 62 Toyota Camry with ExxonMobil serving as primary sponsor for several of those events.

“I’m really grateful to have this kind of opportunity with Toyota Racing Development,” said Harvick. “To have their support and be able to represent ExxonMobil, it doesn’t get much better. I’m still getting experience, but it’s going to be a privilege to be part of the TRD program and learn from the other drivers.”

The 13-year-old continues to make history with his success across multiple racing series. In December, Harvick became the youngest-ever winner of the Snowflake 125 at Five Flags Speedway. He followed up with a victory in Florence Motor Speedway’s Icebreaker earlier this month, crowning him the youngest winner of that event while also earning his first career LMSC victory. The 2024 INEX Young Lions National Champion made the successful transition from Legends to Late Models as he won four zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model events and two CARS Tour West Pro Late Model Series races in 2025, becoming the first driver to win PLM events in both series in the same season.

Keelan Harvick has won multiple Late Model events, including the Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway last December. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

“Everyone at Toyota and TRD are excited to welcome Keelan into the TOYOTA RACING family,” said Tyler Gibbs, president, TRD, U.S.A. “Keelan has proven himself on-track, and despite his young age, has continued to be wise beyond his years with his professionalism and work ethic off of it. TRD is thrilled to partner with Keelan and his family as Keelan continues to develop his racing craft. We see a bright future ahead for him, and everyone at Toyota is proud to be part of his journey.”

Harvick is part of a celebrated Toyota Driver Development (TD2) program that boasts graduates such as Christopher Bell, Corey Heim and John Hunter Nemechek, who compete in the NASCAR Cup Series with Toyota partner teams. TRD takes an active role in each TD2 driver’s development to help them achieve their goals of long-term success in motorsport with support of partners such as ExxonMobil, JBL, Safelite AutoGlass, SoundGear and Yahoo.

The mutual long-term commitment allows TRD to provide additional opportunities on-and-off the track to encourage and support their personal development. TD2 drivers, along with drivers who compete for Toyota-supported race teams, also have access to the celebrated Toyota Performance Center (TPC), which provides support with physical fitness, sports psychology, recovery and nutrition.

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

HAMPTON, Ga. — Shane van Gisbergen knows his prowess is on road courses. That’s why he’s so keen to raise his floor, so to speak, and improve as an oval racer entering Year 2 as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series racer.

On Sunday, SVG achieved his best oval finish yet with a sixth-place finish in the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway.

If only it were that simple.

MORE: EchoPark results | At-track photos: EchoPark

Driving Chevrolet’s redesigned Camaro ZL1, the New Zealander overcame two separate slides through the frontstretch grass — one of his own doing; one of someone else’s — to charge back through the field in his No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet and notch his first top-10 finish of 2026 and first single-digit result on an oval.

“I think it was good,” van Gisbergen told NASCAR.com. “We’re really still learning the new car. I think it’s a bit different, and we started the race really loose. Couldn’t hardly hang on. Like, I went to the back. I started good, then blew the rear (tires) off, and then Stephen (Doran, crew chief) and the guys made good adjustments. And from the second stage, I could race, and it felt like I had a good day. But got involved in a bit of stuff and made a mistake myself, and got sick of passing cars. But it was awesome fun.”

His first off-roading experience on Sunday came at the conclusion of Stage 2. Coming to the green-checkered flag, Kyle Larson dove from the top lane to the bottom — exactly where van Gisbergen was running in a fight for third. Larson spun, then nosed into the SAFER barrier, while SVG went for a lazy slide through the grass and across EchoPark’s interwoven quarter-mile fronstretch oval. Just 39 laps later, van Gisbergen went for a near-identical trip through the terrain after losing traction while competing just outside the top 10.

Those excursions were just bumps in the road. Van Gisbergen took lessons learned from his two outings at the 1.54-mile Georgia oval last year and improved upon what he and his Trackhouse group found fits him.

“I felt confident here last time we were here, too, so kind of built on that,” van Gisbergen said. “And, yeah, felt comfortable making moves. Got too adventurous sometimes, going three-wide bottom, and then you get no help. But just more and more comfortable with these races the more I do them.”

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Van Gisbergen’s stout effort was no surprise to anyone who also tuned into last week’s Daytona 500, where SVG was a frequent flyer inside the top 10 of the prestigious season-opening race before getting collected in a crash toward the front of the field that left him 30th. Starting the season with such momentum — evidenced by a 16th-place standing in the current points tally — goes a long way inside the Trackhouse shop.

“I think it’s awesome,” van Gisbergen said. “We’ve got a good bunch of people here, and it’s fun prepping during the week, and then at the race track, it’s good vibes. I really enjoy the team I work with, and we’re in a position where we need to accumulate points every week to make this Chase. So last week was pretty disappointing, and then, yeah, great to get sixth today. It’s a huge amount of points. Pissed at myself. I was fourth going into the last corner and let the two guys (Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suárez) inside me. But it’s a pretty good day.”

MORE: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule

That strong start can quickly turn into a better one, too. NASCAR next heads to Circuit of The Americas on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). COTA is the only road course on this year’s Cup calendar where he has made a start but not won a race. He and his No. 97 group are eager to change that this weekend.

“I need to do better on these (oval) weekends and keep scoring those points,” van Gisbergen said. “There’s less road courses in the main season, so for me, it’s all points accumulation, and we’re fighting hard to get stage points and that’s a huge positive. We didn’t really get stage points on ovals last year, so we’re in a lot better position, which is awesome. And the road courses, again, are like holidays for us. Just go and have fun and score as many points as we can.”

Posted on February 22, 2026February 23, 2026 by Mike Hembree

HAMPTON, Ga. — In the swirl of the crazy final laps of Sunday’s Autotrader 400, Chase Briscoe was in the middle of things but lacking enough to be at the front of them.

On a day/night during which every sort of racing move — wise/not so wise, sneaky/blatant, breathtaking/wall-banging — was made, Briscoe followed Tyler Reddick across the line to finish second, one of the two top survivors of one of the best races in recent EchoPark Speedway history.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

The overtime race followed a previous Sunday of chaos and drama at Daytona and was the last of three weekend races that created great theater and rattled the walls at EchoPark.

Crazier than normal for two weeks in a row? “Nah, it’s Daytona and Atlanta,” Briscoe said. “That’s just the product of the beast. No surprise at all.”

Others might have admitted to a little surprise. Bubba Wallace, who appeared on target for a win much of the race and was dropped to eighth in the frantic finish. Christopher Bell, who was knocked off the front row by Carson Hocevar and into the wall after a late restart. Joey Logano, whose wiggle in the middle of the track, wounded his chances — and Denny Hamlin’s.

In the end, Briscoe couldn’t get close enough to Reddick over the closing mile to even think about taking a shot at the leader. “I just didn’t have the straightaway speed or the ability to get there,” Briscoe said. “I had to be really, really calculated with what I did. Even then, I just never had that extra little bit to do something with it.”

The fact that there wasn’t a fender-crunching meeting between first and second place in the shadow of the checkered flag was one of the most unusual moments of the 400-plus miles. It was a relatively sedate run to the finish compared to most of the rest of the race, which was contested on a brutally cold and windy day.

MORE: Moments from Victory Lane

Action during the day matched the tight and unpredictable racing presented in Saturday’s Craftsman Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts series races. EchoPark continues to provide proof that the 2021 reconfiguration of the racing surface was a smart move. Although the Atlanta-area track is grouped with Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway as “drafting tracks,” EchoPark stands apart as a hybrid sort of speedway where passing, for those who enjoy the risk, can be accomplished by a single powerful car instead of a chain of cars drafting.

Some of that kind of passing worked Sunday, and some of it didn’t, with big results. After the race, winning car owner Hamlin, one of the crash victims, called it “carnage city.” For two weeks in a row, if you weren’t involved in a wreck, you were in the tiny minority. At Daytona, 37 of 41 cars were in accidents. At EchoPark, the number was 29 of 38.

“Felt like you have to be really confident here, and you’ve got to be willing to kind of video-game it a little bit,” Hocevar said. “I mean, what we’re doing isn’t fathomable to believe what we’re doing probably five, 10 years ago. Like, this is very different. So yeah, just reminds me of a video game, and I obviously play a bunch of those. I felt like confidence is just really, really big here. A lot of offense, and it worked out for us today.”

The movement in the big pack of front-running cars resulted in a track-record 57 lead changes. Counting Daytona, there have been 122 lead changes, a record through the first two races in any NASCAR season.

MORE: Cup Series standings | Reddick rolls in double OT

On Sunday, the difference between a successful pass and one leading to sliding, spinning race cars generally was the alignment front-to-back of the two competing cars. If Driver A was attempting to set up a pass or push Driver B in the draft, a mismatch of bumpers typically led to predictable chaos that led to other drivers being pulled into the trouble.

At Daytona, the big drafting groups looked much like waves of cars rolling down an interstate, and, despite the high speeds, drivers can find a certain comfort level in the sameness of those packs lap after lap. On Sunday at EchoPark, there was enough movement and dancing within groups of cars to believe that anybody could mount a run to the front at any time.

When those runs didn’t work or when somebody wasn’t paying the right amount of attention, fenders met and cautions flew. But when a single car suddenly popped out of line and made a measured but daring pass with inches to spare, there emerged the kind of racing fans might expect at the tour’s bigger, faster tracks.

At the end of Sunday, winner Reddick had a hurting car, as did team owner Hamlin. Now they race on to Circuit of The Americas (Sun., 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), looking to extend a season that has been, unpredictably enough, magical.

Posted on February 22, 2026February 22, 2026 by Zach Sturniolo

HAMPTON, Ga. — For the second straight year, Carson Hocevar was third coming to the white flag at EchoPark Speedway in overtime.

For the second straight year, the Spire Motorsports driver had to settle for a top-five finish that left him out of Victory Lane.

RELATED: Race results | 2026 schedule

Hocevar took the checkered flag fourth in Sunday’s Autotrader 400, but he was on the front row when the green flag waved in double overtime with two Chevrolet partners in his mirror, leaving the 23-year-old critical of himself for the outcome as his pursuit of Cup win No. 1 continues.

“I mean, I choked,” Hocevar said.

He did recognize that it was a far better result than last week’s Daytona 500, in which he led when the white flag waved until crashing with a late block that plummeted him down the leaderboard.

“We finished single digits, top five,” Hocevar said. “Better result than last week, so excited about that. Came from two laps down and knocked around a little bit to finish fourth, so happy about that.”

Knocked around a little, indeed.

Hocevar’s race exemplified every praise and criticism that comes his way, utilizing his brazen confidence to build runs and carve through traffic while, perhaps, bruising some competitors’ feelings along the way.

His most notable contact came on the first restart on Lap 266, with Hocevar restarting just behind front-row-sitter Christopher Bell. Exiting the quad-oval, Hocevar squeezed between leaders Bell and Bubba Wallace in an effort to take the lead. Instead, that contact sent Bell nose-first into the outer retaining SAFER barrier, crunching the front of his race car while Hocevar scurried to a front-row restart of his own just a couple laps later.

WATCH: Race Rewind

“I haven’t seen it, so I’m gonna keep my mouth shut till I see a replay,” Bell said.

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

With a win on the line, Hocevar saw an opening and was getting help from behind in the form of a Ross Chastain push. That was all he needed to be convinced to take his chance after losing to Bell in a photo finish in last year’s spring race at the 1.54-mile oval.

“I mean, I fit a car in there,” Hocevar said. “I got such a big run and he kind of opened it, and as I got there, I felt like there was a hole. But I got there so fast that I’m sure it was by all means closed by the time I got there. So yeah, I mean, I don’t mean to tear them up obviously, but at the same time, I felt like that move was probably gonna win us the race last year, and it just happened to be the same car.

“I felt like if I got an opportunity, I was gonna shoot for it. And I felt like with the push that Ross gave me, there was a shot there.”

There’s an argument to be made that one moment shouldn’t detract from what was an otherwise positive weekend for the third-year Spire racer. In the words of Kyle Busch, Hocevar was a “great teammate” in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race as Hocevar pushed Busch to the win in a Spire 1-2. On Sunday, Hocevar found himself in dustups with Bell, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, but he ultimately believed he played this race smarter than previous attempts toward Cup glory.

“I feel like I’ve done a good job,” Hocevar said. “You know, I was sitting there riding around for a while and biding my time and felt like I’ve been more patient but more precise. I know Blaney was kind of mad at me because my stuff was really tight, so I do owe him an apology at some point because I think I ran us both in the wall. But I think I’m pretty pleased.”

With more patience and more precision came more confidence, trusting both his car and his abilities to withstand his aggressive inputs with risks a touch more calculated.

MORE: Cup Series standings

Through two races, that’s paying off in the points standings, leaving Hocevar and his No. 77 Spire Motorsports team fourth in the driver standings, 51 points behind series leader Tyler Reddick heading into next Sunday’s race at Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, HBO Max).

Posted on February 22, 2026February 22, 2026 by Holly Cain

HAMPTON, Ga. — Tyler Reddick answered his Daytona 500 victory a week ago with a dramatic double overtime comeback win Sunday evening in the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway, marking the first time in nearly two decades a driver has won the first two races of the NASCAR Cup Series season.

Even though Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota’s right-front fender was damaged in an earlier incident, he was able to persevere, zigging and zagging and making a strong move to the front on the very last lap. He finished a mere 0.164 seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe, a fellow Toyota driver who gave Reddick the crucial winning push to get ahead of his 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace and the Chevrolets of Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Reddick’s work makes him only the sixth driver in NASCAR history to win the opening two races of the year. NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth was the last to do so in 2009.

Reddick, who started from the pole position after a rainout of Saturday’s qualifying and led a race-best 53 of the 271 laps, jumped out of his damaged Toyota Camry to retrieve the checkered flag. He paused to take a long look at the right-front damage – and missing fender – then smiled and wondered aloud how he pulled the victory off after being collected in a nine-car accident only 40 laps from the end of the scheduled distance.

“That’s crazy, how about that EchoPark Speedway?” the 30-year-old Californian yelled to the packed grandstands. “This place over the years, it just puts on some amazing racing. Handling matters here, but I don’t know, I guess determination outweighs handling.”

His team co-owner, NBA legend Michael Jordan, was equally as jubilant with Reddick’s rebound.

“Tyler did an unbelievable job, both teams did an unbelievable job,” Jordan said, also referring to Wallace, who led 46 laps but finished eighth in the final all-out push to the checkers.

“I wanted one of them to win, I feel bad for Bubba because he had an unbelievable day, but Tyler drove his ass off,” Jordan continued. “I’m very happy for Tyler and very happy for 23XI.

“The guys worked hard all summer, and they never gave up. This is the fruit of their labor, and for us to come out and win the first two races says a lot about our team.”

SHOP: Winner’s gear

Reddick’s crew chief Billy Scott revealed post-race that the temperatures were so cold – 39 degrees at the checkered flag – that it was difficult to fully repair the car after the accident, and the team had to resort to heavy tape on the front end of Reddick’s damaged No. 45. Team co-owner and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin said of Reddick’s car, “It looked like carnage city.”

Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain and Spire Motorsports teammates Hocevar and Daniel Suárez rounded out the top five behind Reddick and Briscoe.

In another phenomenal comeback story, Chastain’s Trackhouse teammate Shane van Gisbergen finished sixth – his best oval finish in his two years in the series – even after the former Australian Supercars Series champion was caught up in two of the yellow-flag incidents on the day.

Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith, Wallace, RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney rounded out the top 10 in a race where 12 cars finished within a second of the race winner. Nine of the race’s 14 leaders led double-digit laps.

It was all indicative of the competitive nature now expected and delivered by this high-banked 1.54-miler that races like the famed Daytona and Talladega superspeedways.

Drafting partners are important, and the young driver Hocevar said he just couldn’t entice anyone to draft with him late. So, he took off by himself, passing three cars in one daring move in the final lap of regulation to position himself up front. However, he made contact with 2025 race winner, Christopher Bell, on the first overtime restart, drawing the final caution.

That put Hocevar alongside Wallace on the front row for the final green flag. Wallace got the jump on the start and held the point until making a move high on the track that allowed Reddick to come from below and blow past them both.

With his Atlanta win, Reddick now leads his teammate Wallace by 40 points atop the championship standings.

“It’s really fun to be a part of 23XI right now,” Jordan said, grinning.

MORE: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to its first road course of the season next week for the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Austin’s famed Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell is the defending race winner.

Note: Inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed with no issues, confirming Reddick as the winner. The Nos. 23 and 60 cars will return to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media