Tyler Reddick Overcomes Damage to Claim Historic Consecutive Season Victory at EchoPark

Tyler Reddick celebrated with the No. 45 23XI Racing team on-track after his second victory in a row this season at EchoPark Speedway. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)

HAMPTON, Ga. – Victory is sweet and last week’s Daytona 500 winner Tyler Reddick tasted the joy of winning for the second week in a row as he triumphed over two overtime attempts at EchoPark Speedway. 

Despite sustaining damage in a Stage 3 crash, Reddick rallied back to the front of the field and held off his teammate Bubba Wallace to take the checkered flag in the Autotrader 400. He achieved this with raw speed and determination, all with the No. 45 Pinnacle Toyota Camry missing the right front fender.

“Handling matters here, but, man I don’t know, I guess determination outweighs handling,” Reddick said to FOX Sports’ Regan Smith post-race. “We were back there in 30th after we got collected with the 11 (Denny Hamlin) and it was definitely really loose, and we were able to make a little bit of adjustment on it.

“I don’t know. I mean, they just kept stacking up in the middle and top lanes and I just found a way to kind of get back in the top five. I tried to stay committed to somebody and I don’t know, I didn’t have a choice. I had to find out if it was gonna go out in clean air like that.”

Reddick’s charge to the checkered flag was fueled by fellow Toyota driver Chase Briscoe pushing him to the end, making Reddick the first driver to win the first two races of the Cup Series season since Matt Kenseth in 2009.

Pairing up with fellow manufacturer drivers was key in the draft at both Daytona and EchoPark. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)

After what seemed like an eternity of rain that washed out Cup qualifying and threatened Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races, Sunday’s Cup lineup was determined by last week’s Daytona 500 finishing order. This put Reddick on the pole for a brisk, blustery day in the Peach State. 

As the field battled loose conditions for much of the race, the lead changed hands a record 57 times. Reddick led a race-high 53 laps, with Kyle Larson and Wallace leading 48 and 46 laps, respectively. Despite leading the most laps that he has ever led at a drafting track, misfortune struck Larson as he sustained heavy damage in a Lap 160 incident with Shane van Gisbergen, putting him out of contention for the win. 

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Briscoe also led laps, 27 in total, and finished second after surging from 34th to the front of the field. When asked if there was anything he could have done to take the lead from Reddick, Briscoe had no answers.

“I don’t know. I mean, honestly, I felt like I was doing everything that I could and even [in] all the situations that happened, everything kind of worked out in my favor. I just couldn’t ever get a big enough run down the straightaway to really do anything with our Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Toyota.”

Kyle Larson holding off 23XI Racing Toyota teammates Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace in Sunday’s Autotrader 400. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)

Toyotas and Fords dominated the front of the pack all day, with the 23XI teammates of Reddick and Wallace swapping the lead for numerous laps and the RFK Racing and Team Penske Fords jumping in on the action as well. However, as the checkered flag waved, the Chevrolets of Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez made an appearance in the top five. 

With two of the most hungry and aggressive drivers in Hocevar and Chastain at their disposal, the Chevrolets made great strides at the front of the pack. However, it was not enough as the Toyotas prevailed. 

“I went over to Briscoe and I just kind of laughed. I thought it was a great spot on the top and everything and then, I look in my mirror and I’m like, ‘Alright, perfect. He’s gonna come to me,’ and they start going left,” Hocevar said in his post-race interview. “I was confused for a second and then I looked to my left and I realized there was another Toyota and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s not gonna push me.’”

Chase Briscoe tailed fellow Toyota driver Tyler Reddick as Carson Hocevar made aggressive moves towards the front of the field at EchoPark Speedway. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)

At the end of the day, less than 10 cars managed to escape the carnage of the eight cautions thrown besides the stage breaks. 11 cars were collected in the “Big One” with four laps to go when William Byron got loose and came down the backstretch, turning Austin Cindric and crashing into Todd Gilliland and Cody Ware, among others. 

In overtime attempt #1, Christopher Bell was turned into the outside wall by Hocevar in his hunt for his first career Cup Series win. Despite his willingness to take risks on multiple occasions throughout the race, Hocevar was shuffled back from the front row and finished fourth behind Chastain. Chastain’s former Trackhouse Racing teammate Suarez rounded out the top five in his new Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet.

Rounding out the top 10 were van Gisbergen in a strong effort towards his first oval win, Zane Smith, Wallace, Ryan Preece and Ryan Blaney. Hometown hero Chase Elliott finished 11th after a loose condition spoiled a consistent top 10 performance. 

Next week, the NASCAR Cup Series visits their first road course of the 2026 schedule at Circuit of the Americas. TV coverage begins on Sunday, March 1 at 3:30 PM EST on FOX and HBO Max.

Race Results