Tyler Reddick rebounded from a crash to become the first driver in 17 years to win the opening two races of a NASCAR Cup Series season, taking victory in double overtime on Sunday at Echo Park Speedway.
A week after his Daytona 500 win, Reddick delivered another headline moment for 23XI Racing and co-owner Michael Jordan, surviving a late scramble and finishing ahead of Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar on the 1.54-mile oval.
Bubba Wallace, also a 23XI driver, led going into the final restart but was shuffled back to eighth in a race that set a record with 57 lead changes.
“Tyler did an unbelievable job,” Jordan said. “I feel bad for Bubba because he had an unbelievable day. But Tyler drove his — off. I’m very happy for Tyler, very happy for 23XI.”
Reddick’s latest win was his 10th in NASCAR’s top series, and it came despite front-end damage to his No. 45 Toyota sustained in a nine-car crash on Lap 224 of a scheduled 260. He became the sixth driver to open a Cup season with consecutive victories, and the first to do it since Matt Kenseth in 2009.
Chase Elliott finished 11th after running in the mix for a top five for much of the day before a late moment in traffic cost him ground. Elliott’s afternoon included a recovery drive after he overshot his pit stall under caution on Lap 64, leaving him to rally from 32nd.
Austin Cindric took advantage of a long green flag run to begin the race and won the opening stage after starting 30th. The first stage ran 61 green flag laps without a caution, the second straight year the first stage in the February race at the venue has been caution-free, an unusual outcome for a track that has developed a reputation for chaos since its 2022 reconfiguration into a high-banked drafting oval.
The caution count climbed in the second stage, with three yellow flags in a 40-lap span that collected 16 cars and ended the days of Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch. The 160-lap middle segment finished under caution after reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson hit the outside wall following contact with Shane van Gisbergen.
Busch’s race ended early, and the former champion was furious about contact from Noah Gragson on Lap 125 as they exited Turn 2. Both drivers are from Las Vegas, but Busch made clear that shared hometown status meant nothing in the moment.
“He didn’t give me an opportunity to make sure I was straight before hitting me or get into me gently to try and get the momentum back,” Busch said. “He just drove right through me.”
The Cup Series heads next to the Circuit of the Americas for the first road course of the 2026 season on Sunday, March 1.
