Christopher Bell Goes Back-to-Back with Win in COTA Thriller

While the biggest storyline entering the weekend may have been the NASCAR Cup Series debut of 18-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch, all anybody will be able to talk about leaving Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Sunday will be the conclusion of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.

Christopher Bell crossed under the start-finish line with the victory in Sunday’s maiden road course event of the 2025 season, earning his second consecutive victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, and the 11th of his career.

The fight to the end of the race was a hard-fought one, with Bell taking on several challenges from William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch over the course of the race’s final 15 laps, which provided one of the best road course showdowns in NASCAR Cup Series history.

After making his way into contention during the final stage, Bell was able to use his two-laps-fresher tires to hound Kyle Busch throughout much of the race’s final green-flag run, before finally making the pass for the lead on the Richard Childress Racing driver with six to go – as the tires began to wear on the No. 8.

RACE RESULTS: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA

Once the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was successful in getting the race lead, Busch quickly dropped off the leading trio, fading back into the clutches of those behind, and watching his chances at breaking a 59-race win streak evaporate, after leading a race-high 42 laps.

Then, it came down to close-quarters racing between Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron, all of whom were able to avoid a catastrophe in the closing laps, keeping all of their vehicles pointing the right direction – despite some close calls – and allowing the No. 20 to just barley hold off the No. 24 and No. 45.

“That was almost a deja vu of last year. I had the track position at that time. Man, these road course races are just so much fun.”

“Whenever Kyle was leading, I was just trying to be so cautious. Obviously, we know what happened last year. I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to pass him clean. He was just doing such a good job at running his race, and he could get off the corners just good enough that I couldn’t get inside of him. But there I started peeking a nose, and he bobbled and allowed me to get out front. Whenever I did, I’m, like, Okay, just don’t beat yourself. Those were about the five or six sloppiest laps I’ve ever run.”

Byron, winner of the 2025 DAYTONA 500 and last season’s NASCAR Cup Series event at COTA, finished in the runner-up spot, 0.433 seconds behind the eventual race-winner. It’s the third straight top five at the Austin, Texas road course for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

Tyler Reddick continued an impressive string of results at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), finishing third-place after being involved in the late-race battle for the victory. Chase Elliott, who came to pit road during the race’s final caution with 15 laps to go, drove through the pack with fresh tires to finish in fourth.

Kyle Busch, after leading the most laps and looking like one of the fastest cars all afternoon, rounded out the top five in the No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

Shane Van Gisbergen had a strong showing on Sunday afternoon, leading 23 laps, the second-most behind Kyle Busch, but a decision to split the final stage evenly on two sets of tires lost him track position, which was never able to be recovered when the race’s fourth and final caution was displayed.

Chris Buescher brought home a solid seventh-place result as the highest finisher from Ford Performance, with Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson in eighth – after running as high as fifth place in the race’s closing laps. Alex Bowman rebounded from a long and stressful day to finish ninth, after at least one spin and track limits violation.

Todd Gilliland finished 10th, putting two drivers from Front Row Motorsports inside the top 10.

The event, in 95 total laps, featured 20 lead changes among nine drivers, tied for the most lead changes on a road course in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series.

Connor Zilisch, making his NASCAR Cup Series debut in a fourth entry for Trackhouse Racing, had an interesting afternoon in Austin, Texas, getting caught in a first-lap scuffle with Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs that cut his right-front tire. The 18-year-old phenom drove back through the pack, as high as 14th place, before he clobbered his teammate Daniel Suarez as he spun in front of him, effectively ending both of their afternoons.

Leaving Circuit of The Americas (COTA), William Byron holds the NASCAR Cup Series points lead by two markers over Ryan Blaney. Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Chase Elliott completed the top five in point standings after three races.

Next, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway for a 312-lap contest at the one-mile racetrack in Avondale, Arizona. Coverage of the event will be on Sunday, March 9 at 3:30 PM ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

-Photo credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images