Tyler Reddick makes NASCAR history, more NASCAR COTA winners and losers
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Tyler Reddick made NASCAR Cup Series history on March 1 at COTA.
Reddick became the first driver in Cup history to win the first three races of the season after holding off Shane van Gisbergen to win the DuraMax Grand Prix.
The No. 45 led the field for most of the day, doing well to manage small gaps in front of Ryan Blaney and van Gisbergen over the final 60 laps.
Reddick's lead with 11 laps to go was measured in car lengths ahead of van Gisbergen, but the No. 45 pulled out to a 3.9-second margin of victory by the checkered flag.
Here are the winners and losers from the NASCAR COTA race:
NASCAR COTA winners and losers as Tyler Reddick wins again
Winner: Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick set on the pole, led the most laps and held off the sport's best road-racer to win his third in a row.
"Wow," Reddick said on the radio after taking the checkered flag. "What a start."
I'll say. Reddick's lead in the points standings is already more than a full race to second and more than 100 points to the Chase cutline.
Co-owner Michael Jordan was at the track again and celebrated again with his 23XI Racing team. Jordan confirmed on the FOX broadcast that he'll be back in the pit lane next week at Phoenix.
Reddick's Phoenix track record isn't the best, with two finishes in the 20s there last year. But that's nothing a career-best hot streak can't fix.
Winner: Ty Gibbs
Few drivers passed as many cars as Ty Gibbs did at COTA.
Gibbs stayed out when others pitted before the end of the second stage to win Stage 2, then drove back up the field after pitting during the stage break.
Gibbs put on new tires before the restart with less than 20 laps to go, driving from 17th to 4th in the final run for a well-earned top-5 finish.
The youngest Joe Gibbs Racing driver showed good speed all day long, and he needs to pile up these kinds of finishes. Easier said than done, but Gibbs has the equipment to be a factor like he was at COTA.
Loser: Alex Bowman
The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has had an awful start to 2026.
Bowman opened by finishing 40th at Daytona and 23rd in Atlanta, involved in crashes in both drafting races.
Coming to COTA, Bowman's track history provided some optimism; The No. 48 was 5-for-5 for top-10 finishes at COTA, including three top-five finishes.
The day definitely did not go to plan. Bowman had an early pit-road penalty for an uncontrolled tire to push him down the order.
Bowman struggled to move up the rest of the race, and he was feeling unwell by the time of the final pit stops with 25 laps to go. Bowman needed medical assistance after exiting his car, and Myatt Snider drove the No. 48 as a substitute driver to a 36th-place finish.
Bowman and the No. 48 have always excelled more on team execution moreso than raw speed and ability. The execution has not been anywhere close to good enough through three weeks, and Bowman has a points hole to make up already.
Loser: Chase Briscoe
Briscoe has sandwiched last week's runner-up finish with two finishes outside the top 30 following a transaxle issue with 33 laps to go.
The No. 19 was inside the top five most of the day, taking the lead early on but hanging with Reddick, SVG and Ryan Blaney.
But Briscoe slowed on Lap 63 with smoke trailing the car. He drove to the garage area, and was out for the race with a 37th-place finish.
Next week, the series heads to Phoenix, a track where Briscoe has won in his Cup career. He needs a good and calm race weekend out west.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR COTA winners and losers as Tyler Reddick makes NASCAR history
