NorCal native Reddick makes NASCAR history with 3rd straight win to start the season

By JIM VERTUNO

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Tyler Reddick’s latest win drove him straight into the NASCAR record books.

Reddick held off hard-charging Shane van Gisbergen over the final 20 laps at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday to become the first Cup Series driver to win the first three races of the season.

Driving a Toyota co-owned by Michael Jordan, the Corning native won the season-opening Daytona 500 and a week later at Atlanta, then won from the pole in the first road course race of the year.

Jordan, the basketball Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion, was with Reddick’s 23XI pit crew exchanging high fives as Reddick crossed the finish line.

“It’s one race, but it was so important,” Reddick said. “It’s so fitting to get three in a row and make history.”

History made for a team and ownership group that has been making a lot of it. They took on NASCAR with a federal antitrust lawsuit. The settlement in December and was considered a major legal victory that secured a permanent franchise-style model and ensured the team would remain in business for the long-term.

They’ve been unbeatable on the race track ever since.

“I’m proud of the team we put together,” Jordan said. He credited co-owner Denny Hamlin, who also is a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, with being the “mastermind” behind its racing success.

“I just put up the money,” Jordan said. “Denny’s done an incredible job building this team.”

Jordan also said he’ll be at the next race in Phoenix to see if Reddick can extend the winning streak that has built a commanding 70-point lead in the drivers’ championship.

Van Gisbergen, who won five of six road course races in 2025, lost his bid for a record-tying sixth consecutive road win. The only road course race the Trackhouse driver didn’t win last season was in Austin.

“Tyler was just amazing,” van Gisbergen said. “You’re always disappointed with second when the expectations are so high.”

Reddick was just too good all weekend in pursuit of history. His 11th career victory was also his second at COTA, a track built for Formula 1, and the first time he’s had multiple victories at a track. He won at COTA in 2023.

It was far from easy, even if Reddick looked like he was in complete control. Van Gisbergen was on his bumper for several laps in the final stage, but never found the pace to pass before falling farther and farther behind over the final six laps.

“I was just trying to minimize mistakes, Shane is so good,” Reddick said.

Jordan, so clutch in his playing days, noted Reddick was cool in the driver’s seat while under immense pressure.

“You see SVG coming back, you get a little nervous, but I think he had him covered the whole day,” Jordan said.

Rough day for rookie Zilisch

Trackhouse Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch came into the weekend with the expectation that he might be the one to end van Gisbergen’s dominance on road courses.

But Zilisch’s weekend began with a surprisingly poor qualifying position of 25th and got worse Sunday when he got spun on the restart for stage two. Zilisch fought back into contention for the win in the final stage, but his race effectively ended when he was spun again in a restart out of a caution with 16 laps to go. He finished 14th.

Bowman had to bail out

Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman had to get out of his car with about 20 laps to go after complaining about being sick.

He was replaced by Myatt Snider, who had been working as a pit spotter for the Fox broadcast. Snider had to scramble to put on his race suit and get in the car.

Keselowski finishes race while still recovering from broken leg

Brad Keselowski had a reserve driver Joey Hand on hand to take over in case his recently broken leg hurt too much. He didn’t need him and was able to finish the race in 20th place.

The RFK Racing driver has been able to race in all three events this season despite breaking his right leg in December. The road course in Austin was a particular concern but of the physical strain through the left and right turns.

Up next

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to oval racing  atPhoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 8. Christopher Bell outdueled Denny Hamlin in Arizona last year to become the first driver to win three races in a row in the NextGen car.