NASCAR Cup: Reddick repeat at EchoPark Speedway
HAMPTON, Ga. — Call it a Reddick repeat — Tyler Reddick followed up his Daytona 500 win with a win in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway.
Reddick started on the pole Sunday and led 13 times for 53 laps to become the sixth driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to get back-to-back wins to start the season.
While Reddick was the dominant driver of the day, winning wasn’t easy. He crashed on lap 225 — 36 laps to go — and it appeared his race was over after leading just a few laps before.
However, Reddick stayed in the race and worked his way up to the top-five during a 15-lap run and found himself on the inside of row two, giving key help to Bubba Wallace in overtime.
“We were back there in 30th after we got collected with the 11. It was definitely really loose and we were able to make a little bit of adjustment on it with the air and whatnot. I don’t know, they just kept stacking up in the middle and top lanes, and I just found a way to get back in the top five,” Reddick said.
Reddick survived a daring move by Carson Hocevar that put Christopher Bell in the wall and then got help from Chase Briscoe in the following overtime restart to get by Hocevar for the win.
“That’s crazy, ain’t it? How about that? EchoPark Speedway! I mean, this place over the years, it just puts on some amazing racing. Handling matters here but man, I don’t know. I guess determination, always handling,” Reddick said. “Cheers to everyone here. Y’all motivate us to pull some crazy stuff like that.”
Reddick is the first driver since Matt Kenseth in 2009 to win back-to-back official points races to start a NASCAR Cup Series season. Looking on for both of the wins was team owner and man of many talents, Michael Jordan.
“I can’t say anything. Tyler did an unbelievable job. Both teams did an unbelievable job. I wanted him to win. I feel bad for Bubba, obviously, because he had an unbelievable day, but Tyler drove his a-s off, and I’m very happy for Tyler. I’m very happy for 23XI,” Jordan said.
Chase Briscoe finished second after leading three times for 27 laps, notably for 20 laps during the first run in stage three. In the end, he helped Reddick get the win but didn’t have the steam to try and go for a win himself.
“Wish I would have been able to have a bigger run to take it three wide and take the lead, but I just couldn’t do it, for whatever reason,” Briscoe said. “TI would say the one thing that our car lacked all day, was the straightaway speed. It drove good and I could make moves, but it felt like I was slow down the straightaway. Not sure really what else I could have done, truthfully, but still a great result.”
After being the show Sunday, Hocevar had to settle for one position worse than show — fourth — for his second consecutive top-five finish in the spring Atlanta race. The young driver, cut from the same wool of raising hell and praising the driver his daily road truck is modeled after, was unapologetic about his actions.
“I’m sure I owe people apologies but I think we’re all going for spaces and runs and everything. Luckily, all four tires were straight. My toe was knocked out but it still was pretty fast,” Hocevar said. “Now I’m going to go mess up a little bit on the road course. You know, not be a total front contender and then hopefully get back going this up-front type of deal at Phoenix.”
Bubba Wallace, who Hocevar passed before Reddick snuck by, was in some disbelief but didn’t feel too bad afterward.
“I have to go back and see. I didn’t think I moved up that much to allow — to put myself up top, top of three. Unfortunate, but man, what a race car we had today!” Wallace said. “[I told myself all day], ‘This car is so fast. Don’t do anything to jeopardize a good finish.'”
Wallace finished three spots behind Daniel Suarez, who continued the start of his Spire Motorsports tenure with a top-five finish. Suarez now has six finishes of sixth or better in nine starts on the high-banked configuration of Atlanta.
“Honestly, I thought we were in an amazing spot for that last restart. The No. 77 (Carson Hocevar) was leading the top lane and the No. 1 (Ross Chastain) was in front of me. I thought we were in a beautiful spot to make it work. The No. 97 (Shane van Gisbergen) was on my left side and pushed me wide. I felt like that broke down the top lane a little bit. I’m not sure, but I feel like we could have done a little bit better. I feel like we gave that one away because we were in the perfect spot,” Suarez said.
Considering the stats and the momentum, Suarez was still very happy.
“But overall, I’m very, very proud of everyone at Spire Motorsports. I couldn’t be prouder, honestly. This team just continues to fight; continues to show up and continues to get better. They never doubt that we can make the car better. I can’t thank everyone at Chevrolet and the Hendrick Engine Shop for the power under the hood. We just need to keep cleaning a few things up to keep getting better, but very excited for the start of the season,” he said.
TOP 10 (LAP 271): Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suarez, Shane van Gisbergen, Zane Smith, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Ryan Blaney.
STAGE ONE TOP 10 (LAP 60): Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Connor Zilisch, Ryan Blaney.
After the first stage went caution-free, stage two saw four cautions. Multiple cars crashed on lap 83 and again on lap 104 before Kyle Busch crashed on lap 126. Then, after a frantic run to the green-white-checkered, Kyle Larson made a poor block on SVG that took the defending Cup champion out on lap 160.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 160): Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain.
The final stage saw a slew of cautions before it winded its way down to overtime.
Tyler Reddick now has a 40-point lead over 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace:
Next up is Circuit of the Americas for 95 laps around the short course, starting just after 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Here is an archive of the live race updates on the NASCAR Cup Series’ Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway Atlanta.
FINAL STAGE
OVERTIME:
Hocevar: “For our luck last year, can we race the Busch Series length and we’d be really good… Now we’re just really good this year at getting to the whtie flag. I went over to Briscoe and laughed… I saw ti was. Our car was really fast to go from two laps down to fourth. I took every run and don’t think I owe apologies. Thank goodness all four tires were straight, my toe is knocked out. Now I’m gonna go mess up on the road course and then hopefully be the up front type at Phoenix.”
Tyler Reddick wins with a wrecked racecar and becomes the sixth driver to win the first two races of a NASCAR Cup Series season:
- Tyler Reddick: 2026
- Matt Kenseth: 2009
- Jeff Gordon: 1997
- David Pearson: 1976
- Bob Welborn: 1959
- Marvin Panch: 1957
Hocevar on the outside with Chastain on his bumper, Wallace on the inside with Reddick on his bumper.
Carson Hocevar saw a hole in the middle and went for it but it wasn’t big enough for one car to go in. That wrecked Christopher Bell.
Bubba goes inside with Reddick on his bumper, Bell outside with Hocevar on his bumper.
Can finally take a deep breath after that one… Bubba, Bell, Hocevar, Reddick, Chastain, Suarez, Briscoe, Preece, Zane Smith and SVG are the top 10 for overtime.
4 TO GO: Hocevar breaks up the Toyotas. Byron, Gilliland, Custer, Austin Dillon, Logano, Cindric and others wreck after Byron had a tire go down.
6 TO GO: Chastain to third, there is INTENSE racing.
10 TO GO: Christopher Bell for the lead on Bubba Wallace.
13 TO GO: Bubba Wallace to the lead and Hocevar three-wide to third!
15 TO GO: Carson Hocevar with a big three-wide move and up in position.
17 to go: Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell race for the lead.
LAP 238: Joey Logano spins off of turn four after a bump from Carson Hocevar. It looked like Logano came down the track.
LAP 236: Chase Elliott drops to ninth after having to lift totally out of the throttle.
TOP 10 (LAP 226): Cindric, Blaney, Chastain, Elliott, Keselowski, Bell, Logano, Gragson, Wallace, Briscoe. Control of the race has seemingly shifted from Toyota earlier in the race to Ford with 34 laps to go.
LAP 225: Reddick, Hamlin, Byron, Zilisch, McDowell crash on the frontstretch. Reddick the most laps (51) but will likely not win. Hamlin got loose off of turn four, setting of the wreck that also involved Bowman, Buescher and Ty Dillon.
LAP 221: Austin Cindric to the lead over Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski who steamroll Tyler Reddick.
LAP 207: Tyler Reddick has had the best car all day and is back in the mix with 54 laps to go.
115 lead changes through the first two races of the season is the most all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series ever.
11 45 9 12 19 22 24 6 16 2 20 23 17 48 1 42 60 4 10 43 – TOP 20 with 56 to go.
LAP 202 OFF PIT ROAD: Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric. NOTE: Allmendinger was the only driver in the top 10 who took two fresh tires.
LAP 200: Shane van Gisbergen spins again and has a flat right-rear tire. He lost control on his own. TOP 10: Briscoe, Wallace, Hamlin, Blaney, Byron, Keselowski, Reddick, Elliott, Allmendinger, Bell.
LAP 198: Ryan Blaney leads a lap with a move on his own. Now he’s sliding back and drops to fifth. Bubba Wallace now leads the inside lane.
LAP 187: Shane van Gisbergen is up in the top 10 just 25 laps after doing his best off-roading to keep his car together. What a drive for the Kiwi!
Kyle Larson: “In my brain, I knew the 45 was inside of me and I cleared him and the 97 was out of my distance. I didn’t know he was three-wide and that the 97 had gotten inside the 45. That was my fault. I need to listen more, instead of reacting.”
LAP 177: Chase Briscoe takes the lead from Denny Hamlin.
LAP 171: Zane Smith led a lap before Brad Keselowski took over with a push from Denny Hamlin. Smith is very loose.
LAP 165 OFF PIT ROAD: Ryan Blaney, Zane Smith, Chris Buescher (all on two tires), Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott.
The final stage is 100 laps and ends on lap 260. There have been 38 lead changes among nine drivers:
- Kyle Larson: Five times for 48 laps
- Tyler Reddick: 10 times for 38 laps
- Joey Logano: Four times for 26 laps
- Bubba Wallace: Eight times for 21 laps
- Chase Elliott: Three times for 11 laps
- Brad Keselowski: Three times for 11 laps
- Chase Briscoe: Six laps led
- Austin Cindric: Four laps led
- Shane van Gisbergen: One lap led
STAGE TWO Winner: Bubba Wallace
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 160): Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain.
INSANE Stage 2 finish. William Byron nips Bubba Wallace at the line but Bubba Wallace gets the stage win as the caution flies for Kyle Larson crashing after blocking Shane van Gisbergen in turn 4. SVG went off-roading and kept the car together to keep going.
LAP 156: Kyle Larson leads with Byron second after winding up a huge run.
LAP 150: Three wide for the lead and Ross Chastain gets the wall! Chase Briscoe leads Bubba Wallace now.
LAP 149: Ryan Preece has jumped up 21 spots in 17 laps. Ross Chastain almost cleared Kyle Larson for the lead but lost momentum and dropped to fourth.
LAP 147: Shane van Gisbergen has cracked the top 5.
LAP 142: Kyle Larson has led 38 laps. This is the most laps he has ever led in a single drafting track race in the NASCAR Cup Series.
LAP 140: Tyler Reddick has dropped back in the pack, now seventh.
LAP 137: Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace race door-to-door for the lead. Here comes Ross Chastain for third!
Kyle Busch on Noah Gragson: “Didn’t get the best of exit off of two but when I drifted up the track, he never lifted. You gotta give a guy a second to get collected but that’s kids these days.”
LAP 134: Kyle Larson to the lead again, Tyler Reddick all over him.
LAP 133: Kyle Larson for the lead. He has a push from Bubba Wallace but now Tyler Reddick shoots back to the lead.
LAP 130: Reddick, Wallace, Briscoe, Byron, Larson, Chastain, SVG, Logano, Zilisch, Cindric the top 10. Halfway, race is official!
LAP 125: Kyle Busch has crashed hard, head on into the inside wall on the backstretch. He tried getting in front of Noah Gragson but the move was ill-timed.
LAP 116: Tyler Reddick is out in front and racing teammate Bubba Wallace.
A few teams comprise the top 12: 23XI Racing (Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace), Hendrick Motorsports (Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott), Joe Gibbs Racing (Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin), Team Penske (Joey Logano, Austin Cindric), Trackhouse Racing (Ross Chastain, Connor Zilisch, Shane van Gisbergen).
LAP 110: Eight leaders, 26 lead changes. Three cautions for 23 laps.
LAP 103: Riley Herbst has crashed with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., BJ McLeod, Austin Dillon and others. Free pass goes to Carson Hocevar. Todd Gilliland has a broken toe link.
LAP 102: Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick now race hard for the lead. Here comes Kyle Larson to try and take the lead back.
LAP 93: Kyle Larson takes command of the lead. William Byron and Tyler Reddick are behind him. Connor Zilisch just got the rookie treatment, hung out to dry, as Chase Briscoe is moving forward.
OFF PIT ROAD (LAP 89): Larson, Reddick, Byron, Logano, Chastain, Zilisch, Cindric, McDowell, Wallace, Briscoe. SVG, Keselowski, Jones, Nemechek, Custer, Yeley and Ware stay out — but now they pit.
LAP 89: Christopher Bell is pitting to repair the damage. He has been instructed to turn the car off and the crew is told to not lose more than one lap. Everyone is at the fuel window to make it to the end of the stage.
Good news from a FOX media relations rep:
LAP 82: Kyle Larson shoots out in front. CRASH JOSH BERRY AND TY GIBBS. Denny Hamlin got some damage. That all started after Christopher Bell made a three-wide move on Gibbs and Berry. Gibbs hit hard.
LAP 79: Carson Hocevar is now just one lap down. The top 10 is: Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Austin Cindric, Connor Zilisch, Noah Gragson, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano.
LAP 72: Bubba Wallace takes the lead from Kyle Larson with help from William Byron.
LAP 65: Ryan Blaney was speeding on pit road.
Chase Elliott overshot his stall on entry and dropped back to 31st after being up front coming to pit road.
Off pit road: Larson, Byron, Wallace, Gragson, Busch, Reddick, Logano, Zilisch, Berry. Keselowski, Preece, SVG, McLeod and Erik Jones stayed out at first and now pit to top off on gas as much as possible.
The second stage is 100 laps and ends on lap 160. The first stage saw 18 lead changes — a track record in the first 60 laps at this track.
STAGE ONE Winner: Austin Cindric
STAGE ONE TOP 10 (LAP 60): Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Connor Zilisch, Ryan Blaney.
LAP 60: Bubba Wallace missed a block on Austin Cindric, handing Cindric the lead and the stage win.
LAP 59: Bubba Wallace to the lead. He is bringing Austin Cindric with him.
LAP 57: Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott for the lead with Bubba Wallace peeking.
LAP 54: Kyle Larson to the lead and leaves teammate William Byron on the inside to join teammate Chase Elliott on the outside. Hendrick 1-2-3 for a moment but here comes Tyler Reddick back. Connor Zilisch is up in the top 10!
LAP 52: Carson Hocevar had led the pack but Chase Elliott got by him and started the fall backward. He may have worn out his tires trying to fight to get his lap but now he rallies back again on the inside.
LAP 45: Carson Hocevar is trying to get one of his laps back on his own with fresh tires. He is out in front of leaders Chase Elliott and Joey Logano who race for the lead with Elliott jumping out. If Hocevar stays where he is, he will go back to one lap down.
LAP 38: Joey Logano goes to the lead. Berry, Cindric, Byron, Reddick, Blaney, Elliott, Keselowski, Stenhouse and Zane Smith round out the top 10.
Biggest movers after 34 laps, according to FOX: Cindric +23, Bowman +18, Zilisch +17, Briscoe +14, Blaney +13. Reddick back to the lead as Keselowski throws a big block on Elliott.
LAP 30: Brad Keselowski hangs out Tyler Reddick and shuffles him back. Now Carson Hocevar has a tire issue. Hocevar is now multiple laps down after the issue.
LAP 29: Tyler Reddick back to the lead. Chase Elliott rallies to the inside of Brad Keselowski.
LAP 24: Brad Keselowski takes the lead as Josh Berry looks to the inside.
LAP 15: Michael McDowell lost the handle on his car and nearly caused an incident with Denny Hamlin, Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen. Everything cleared up quickly and the race stays green with no one sideways or in the wall.
TOP 7: Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Josh Berry, Chase Elliott, Riley Herbst.
Joey Logano has made NASCAR history:
LAP 3: Tyler Reddick had the lead. However, Joey Logano caught a big draft off of him and did a slingshot by him. Reddick repeats it a lap later.
LAP 1: Joey Logano leads over Tyler Reddick.
The first stage is 60 laps and ends on lap 60.
Fuel window is 70-74 laps. Pit road speed is 45 mph. The average race time is three hours, 16 minutes and 18 seconds.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com