No doubt about it, the ending to last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) was messy. A rash of late yellow flags prolonged the finish of what had been a mostly clean race. Each time NASCAR tried to complete the event, race control was forced to throw a yellow either for a multi-car wreck in turn 1 or from debris getting scattered across the track. It took three attempts at overtime before Tyler Reddick was finally able to capture the checkered flag.
It is tempting to walk away from Sunday’s (Mar. 27) race thinking that the multitude of overtime attempts spoiled the event. Indeed, the late race restarts and the calamity that ensued from them impacted nearly every driver in the field in some way. But it would be a mistake to assume that the final finishing order at COTA was strictly a product of chaos. Amidst all the pushing and shoving through the closing laps, the race’s fastest drivers still ended the day at the front of the pack.
Consider how, on speed alone, COTA likely would have been a two-horse race. Reddick wound up leading 41 of 75 laps on his way to victory. Polesitter William Byron was the other driver whose car was a cut above the rest. He led for 28 laps, meaning that Reddick and Byron combined to lead 92% of the race. The two of them were pulling away before the caution on lap 57 when Brad Keselowski broke an axle. That was when the late race chaos really began. Yet through all the restarts, Reddick and Byron were able to stay up front and continue the race against themselves and a handful of other leaders. Being up front throughout the race put them in a position to restart ahead of the field and avoid the chaos in the back of the pack.
In the end, both drivers got the finishes they deserved. Though Byron slipped back to fifth by the time he crossed the finish line, it was still a good result and a strong bounce back performance from the No. 24 team after a rough outing at Atlanta Motor Speedway the week before. Reddick was able to survive every single challenge Byron and the other leaders threw at him. He was rewarded with his first win driving for 23XI Racing and his fourth career victory, all of which have come within the last nine months.
“This whole 23XI team has been working so hard all winter long to make the road course program better,” Reddick said. “I was extremely motivated to come in here and improve that performance, too.”
While Reddick and Byron did a great…
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