Tyler Reddick goes back-to-back, wins mad Atlanta Cup race with no fender

Tyler Reddick had no right-front fender after a mid-race frontstretch wreck, however that did not cease him from capturing the checkered flag in a chaotic end at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta).

It was Reddick’s 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace who had the lead on the ultimate restart, and Reddick was the pusher. Carson Hocevar lined up on the surface with Ross Chastain immediately behind him.

The wreck-filled race went into double additional time, and after clearing the highest lane, Wallace tried to return up in entrance of Hocevar, who shot the center with a push from Chastain.

Reddick surged forward with a push from Briscoe as Chastain sliced beneath Hocevar to take third place within the ultimate order. Hocevar completed fourth, Daniel Suarez fifth, and Shane van Gisbergen earned a career-best end on ovals. Zane Smith, Wallace, Ryan Preece, and Ryan Blaney crammed out the rest of the highest ten.

“That is loopy,” stated Reddick on the frontstretch. “This place, over time places on some wonderful racing. Dealing with issues, however man I do not know, I assume dedication outweighs dealing with. Thanks to everybody popping out — it is chilly. You all motivated us to tug off some loopy stuff like that.”

23XI crew co-owner Michael Jordan was ecstatic, and will hardly consider that they did it once more. “I can not say something. Tyler did an unbelievable job. Each groups did an unbelievable job. I wished him to win. I really feel unhealthy for Bubba, clearly, as a result of he had an unbelievable day, however Tyler drove his ass off, and I am very glad for Tyler. I am very glad for 23XI.”

Stage 1

Whereas Tyler Reddick led the sphere to the inexperienced flag, the highest spot swapped fingers quite a few occasions all through the 60-lap opening stage. Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott all took seems entrance within the first half of the stage.

Within the pack, Carson Hocevar dropped from tenth place with a tire situation, hitting the wall twice earlier than diving to the pits and falling a lap down. The pack ran him down and he went two laps down, however received a kind of again through the free go on the finish of the stage.

Dealing with was paramount as early leaders like Keselowski dropped again as they fought free situations. Different drivers described their automobiles as being on a ‘knife edge’ on the radio.

Wallace hoped to win Stage 1, solely to have Cindric go him on the ultimate lap and take it for Staff Penske. Cindric drove via all the pack after beginning behind the sphere to win the opening stage.

The order was Cindric, Wallace, Larson, Byron, Elliott, Reddick, Busch, Logano, Zilisch, and Blaney.

Stage 2

In the course of the pit cycle, Elliott had a disasterous cease, going too deep into his field earlier than backing up shedding all of his monitor place straight away.

On the restart, Kyle Larson was in management up entrance, however Bubba Wallace rapidly moved into the highest spot. Similar to the primary stage, the lead continued to shift fingers as Larson, Wallace, and Byron all taking seems entrance.

The primary incident of the day concerned Ty Gibbs and Josh Berry, as Gibbs tried to shoot a spot getting into Flip 3 and ran out of house. Berry clipped him, and Gibbs slammed the surface wall arduous as he collected Berry. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin — JGR teammates to Gibbs — each received a small piece of it.

The leaders pitted and most opted for a fuel-only cease to make sure they may attain the tip of the stage. The warning additionally helped Hocevar to get again onto the lead lap through the free go.

Not lengthy after, 23XI took management from the Hendrick automobiles with Reddick and Wallace out entrance. Simply then, one other multi-car wreck broke out in the course of the pack. Daytona 500 runner-up Ricky Stenhouse Jr. suffered huge harm, as did Riley Herbst, BJ McLeod, and Todd Gilliland. It started with Herbst moving into A. Dillon, sending him spinning down the monitor together with himself.

Whereas the leaders stayed out, the back-half of the sphere got here down pit street. As Reddick and Wallace continued to command the race, Saturday’s Truck winner Kyle Busch spun sideways on the backstretch and slammed nose-first into the wall. One other small group took the chance to pit, however the leaders remained on monitor.

The remainder of the stage was continuous motion on the entrance. Chastain scrubbed the wall whereas working inside the highest 5, however the actual drama concerned his teammate, Van Gisbergen. SVG made an enormous run within the ultimate lap of the stage and Larson got here down a second too late, leading to contact within the battle for third. SVG spun via the infield whereas Larson slammed the surface wall.

Larson came to visit the radio, noting that he had no thought SVG was even to his inside. Later, he took full duty for the wreck, saying “I simply screwed up.”

Wallace gained Stage 2 in a photograph end over Byron because the warning flew. They have been adopted by Briscoe, Reddick, Elliott, Hocevar, Preece, Blaney, Keselowski and Chastain.

Stage 3

It was a bunch of Fords out entrance for the restart, making the most of faster stops and a few two-tire calls, however it was the JGR duo of Briscoe and Hamlin that took management of the race.

Whereas the leaders went single-file for a bit, it did not final because the pack remained anxious. Wallace ultimately reclaimed the lead, and SVG misplaced it on his personal, spinning again via the infield. That eradicated the necessity for green-flag pit stops.

Whereas many of the discipline took two tires or none, a handful determined to surrender the monitor place for 4 contemporary ones.

Chastain was amongst those that took 4, and he rapidly marched ahead, reaching as excessive as third behind the Penske duo of Cindric and Blaney.

Again within the pack, Logano squeezed up in entrance of Hamlin and the No. 11 hit the wall, triggering one other multi-car crash. Eventual race winner Reddick was collected, as was Bowman, Zilisch, McDowell, T. Dillon, Buescher have been all collected.

Cindric and Blaney remained in management as their teammate Logano later spun off the nostril of Hocevar.

The following restart was wild, and Wallace tried to carry onto the lead as a number of drivers, together with Hocevar on the freshest tires, tried to take it from him.

Byron hit the wall in lead pack and reduce a tire. As he tried to get to pit street, he clipped Cindric and crashes, accumulating a number of others. Logano, A. Dillon, Gilliland, Custer, Ware, Hamlin, and Nemechek all received harm.

That pushed the race into additional time, and it was red-flagged for cleanup. On the primary try, Hocevar tried to power it up the center instantly, however ran out of room and wrecked Bell into the surface wall. The aforementioned double additional time restart in the end determined the race, with Reddick going back-to-back to open the 2026 NASCAR Cup season, preserving maintain of the championship lead for 23XI.

Images from Atlanta – Race