Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Motorsport

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

Tyler Reddick Bubba Wallace Carson Hocevar T Reddick Chevrolet Ford Kyle Larson Ross Chastain Toyota Joey Logano

Tyler Reddick had no right-front fender after a mid-race frontstretch wreck, but that didn't stop him from capturing the checkered flag in a chaotic finish at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta).

It was Reddick's 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace who had the lead on the final restart, and Reddick was the pusher. Carson Hocevar lined up on the outside with Ross Chastain directly behind him.

The wreck-filled race went into double overtime, and after clearing the top lane, Wallace tried to come up in front of Hocevar, who shot the middle with a push from Chastain.

Reddick surged ahead with a push from Briscoe as Chastain sliced under Hocevar to take third place in the final order. Hocevar finished fourth, Daniel Suarez fifth, and Shane van Gisbergen earned a career-best finish on ovals. Zane Smith, Wallace, Ryan Preece, and Ryan Blaney filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Back. To. Back. 🏆🏁 https://t.co/v0quUJuvqN pic.twitter.com/Q7XofOWRpC
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 23, 2026

"That's crazy," said Reddick on the frontstretch. "This place, over the years puts on some amazing racing. Handling matters, but man I don't know, I guess determination outweighs handling. Thank you to everyone coming out -- it's cold. You all motivated us to pull off some crazy stuff like that."

23XI team co-owner Michael Jordan was ecstatic, and could hardly believe that they did it again. "I can't say anything. Tyler did an unbelievable job. Both teams did an unbelievable job. I wanted him to win. I feel bad for Bubba, obviously, because he had an unbelievable day, but Tyler drove his ass off, and I'm very happy for Tyler. I'm very happy for 23XI."

Stage 1

While Tyler Reddick led the field to the green flag, the top spot swapped hands numerous times throughout the 60-lap opening stage. Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott all took turns out front in the first half of the stage.

In the pack, Carson Hocevar dropped from tenth place with a tire issue, hitting the wall twice before diving to the pits and falling a lap down. The pack ran him down and he went two laps down, but got one of those back via the free pass at the end of the stage.

Handling was paramount as early leaders like Keselowski dropped back as they fought loose conditions. Other drivers described their cars as being on a 'knife edge' on the radio.

Wallace hoped to win Stage 1, only to have Cindric pass him on the final lap and take it for Team Penske. Cindric drove through the entire pack after starting in the back of the field to win the opening stage.

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

Stage 2

During the pit cycle, Elliott had a disasterous stop, going too deep into his box before backing up losing all of his track position in an instant.

On the restart, Kyle Larson was in control up front, but Bubba Wallace quickly moved into the top spot. Just like the first stage, the lead continued to shift hands as Larson, Wallace, and Byron all taking turns out front.

The first incident of the day involved Ty Gibbs and Josh Berry, as Gibbs tried to shoot a gap entering Turn 3 and ran out of space. Berry clipped him, and Gibbs slammed the outside wall hard as he collected Berry. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin -- JGR teammates to Gibbs -- both got a small piece of it.

Cole Custer punched it through. 👀 pic.twitter.com/6v5okfZM0F
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 22, 2026

The leaders pitted and most opted for a fuel-only stop to ensure they could reach the end of the stage. The caution also helped Hocevar to get back onto the lead lap via the free pass.

Not long after, 23XI took control from the Hendrick cars with Reddick and Wallace out front. Just then, another multi-car wreck broke out in the middle of the pack. Daytona 500 runner-up Ricky Stenhouse Jr. suffered big damage, as did Riley Herbst, BJ McLeod, and Todd Gilliland. It began with Herbst getting into A. Dillon, sending him spinning down the track along with himself.

While the leaders stayed out, the back-half of the field came down pit road. 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. Another small group took the opportunity to pit, but the leaders remained on track.

A big hit for Kyle Busch in Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/FqAFSibk3D
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 22, 2026

The rest of the stage was non-stop action at the front. Chastain scrubbed the wall while running inside the top five, but the real drama involved his teammate, Van Gisbergen. SVG made a huge run in the final lap of the stage and Larson came down a moment too late, resulting in contact in the battle for third. SVG spun through the infield while Larson slammed the outside wall.

Larson came over the radio, noting that he had no idea SVG was even to his inside. Later, he took full responsibility for the wreck, saying "I just screwed up."

Wallace won Stage 2 in a photo finish over Byron as the caution flew. They were followed by Briscoe, Reddick, Elliott, Hocevar, Preece, Blaney, Keselowski and Chastain.

A wild end to Stage 2. 👀 pic.twitter.com/0yrp6TJnMA
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 22, 2026

Stage 3

It was a group of Fords out front for the restart, taking advantage of quicker stops and some two-tire calls, but it was the JGR duo of Briscoe and Hamlin that took control of the race.

While the leaders went single-file for a bit, it didn't last as the pack remained anxious. Wallace eventually reclaimed the lead, and SVG lost it on his own, spinning back through the infield. That eliminated the need for green-flag pit stops.

While most of the field took two tires or none, a handful decided to give up the track position for four fresh ones.

Chastain was among those who took four, and he quickly marched forward, reaching as high as third behind the Penske duo of Cindric and Blaney.

Back in the pack, Logano squeezed up in front of Hamlin and the No. 11 hit the wall, triggering another multi-car crash. Eventual race winner Reddick was collected, as was Bowman, Zilisch, McDowell, T. Dillon, Buescher were all collected.

Denny Hamlin goes around and triggers a pileup in Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/pEdKXFCsJT
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 22, 2026

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

The ensuing restart was wild, and Wallace tried to hold onto the lead as several drivers, including Hocevar on the freshest tires, attempted to take it from him.

Byron hit the wall in lead pack and cut a tire. As he tried to get to pit road, he clipped Cindric and crashes, collecting several others. Logano, A. Dillon, Gilliland, Custer, Ware, Hamlin, and Nemechek all got damage.

BIG TROUBLE WITH 4 TO GO! pic.twitter.com/BNmmc5EZzj
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 22, 2026

That pushed the race into overtime, and it was red-flagged for cleanup. On the first attempt, Hocevar tried to force it up the middle immediately, but ran out of room and wrecked Bell into the outside wall. The aforementioned double overtime restart ultimately decided the race, with Reddick going back-to-back to open the 2026 NASCAR Cup season, keeping hold of the championship lead for 23XI.

Photos from Atlanta - Race

RACE

All Stats

Cla	Driver	#	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points	Retirement
1	T. Reddick 23XI Racing	45	Toyota	271	3:32'26.804		10	67
2	C. Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing	19	Toyota	271	+0.164 3:32'26.968	0.164	7	43
3	R. Chastain TrackHouse Racing	1	Chevrolet	271	+0.232 3:32'27.036	0.068	7	34
4	C. Hocevar Spire Motorsports	77	Chevrolet	271	+0.290 3:32'27.094	0.058	12	38
5	D. Suarez Spire Motorsports	7	Chevrolet	271	+0.400 3:32'27.204	0.110	9	32
6	S. van Gisbergen TrackHouse Racing	97	Chevrolet	271	+0.487 3:32'27.291	0.087	10	32
7	Z. Smith Front Row Motorsports	38	Ford	271	+0.553 3:32'27.357	0.066	12	30
8	B. Wallace 23XI Racing	23	Toyota	271	+0.587 3:32'27.391	0.034	7	48
9	R. Preece RFK Racing	60	Ford	271	+0.675 3:32'27.479	0.088	9	32
10	R. Blaney Team Penske	12	Ford	271	+0.699 3:32'27.503	0.024	12	31
11	C. Elliott Hendrick Motorsports	9	Chevrolet	271	+0.828 3:32'27.632	0.129	10	38
12	A. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing	16	Chevrolet	271	+0.859 3:32'27.663	0.031	10	25
13	D. Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing	11	Toyota	271	+0.885 3:32'27.689	0.026	13	24
14	N. Gragson Front Row Motorsports	4	Ford	271	+1.003 3:32'27.807	0.118	10	23
15	C. Buescher RFK Racing	17	Ford	271	+1.161 3:32'27.965	0.158	11	22
16	T. Dillon Kaulig Racing	10	Chevrolet	271	+1.251 3:32'28.055	0.090	12	21
17	B. Keselowski RFK Racing	6	Ford	271	+1.395 3:32'28.199	0.144	10	22
18	J. Logano Team Penske	22	Ford	271	+1.482 3:32'28.286	0.087	13	22
19	J. Nemechek Legacy Motor Club	42	Toyota	271	+1.820 3:32'28.624	0.338	14	18
20	M. McDowell Spire Motorsports	71	Chevrolet	271	+3.925 3:32'30.729	2.105	15	17
21	C. Bell Joe Gibbs Racing	20	Toyota	271	+14.295 3:32'41.099	10.370	8	16
22	C. Custer Haas Factory Team	41	Ford	270	+1 Lap 3:32'34.093	1 Lap	13	16
23	A. Bowman Hendrick Motorsports	48	Chevrolet	269	+2 Laps 3:32'28.939	1 Lap	11	14
24	E. Jones Legacy Motor Club	43	Toyota	269	+2 Laps 3:32'29.339	0.400	11	13
25	T. Gilliland Front Row Motorsports	34	Ford	258	+13 Laps 3:14'00.831	11 Laps	14	12	Accident
26	A. Cindric Team Penske	2	Ford	257	+14 Laps 3:12'58.190	1 Lap	7	21	Accident
27	C. Ware Rick Ware Racing	51	Ford	257	+14 Laps 3:15'35.733	2'37.543	11	10	Accident
28	W. Byron Hendrick Motorsports	24	Chevrolet	256	+15 Laps 3:11'49.025	1 Lap	7	25	Accident
29	A. Dillon Richard Childress Racing	3	Chevrolet	256	+15 Laps 3:11'50.215	1.190	14	8	Accident
30	C. Zilisch TrackHouse Racing	88	Chevrolet	223	+48 Laps 2:41'53.624	33 Laps	8	9	Accident
31	J. Yeley NY Racing Team	44	Chevrolet	220	+51 Laps 2:49'03.957	3 Laps	17		Accident
32	K. Larson Hendrick Motorsports	5	Chevrolet	160	+111 Laps 1:55'21.401	60 Laps	5	13	Accident
33	R. Herbst 23XI Racing	35	Toyota	157	+114 Laps 3:32'42.516	3 Laps	7	4
34	K. Busch Richard Childress Racing	8	Chevrolet	124	+147 Laps 1:30'09.636	33 Laps	5	7	Accident
35	B. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports	78	Chevrolet	111	+160 Laps 1:25'14.191	13 Laps	7	2	Accident
36	R. Stenhouse Jr Hyak Motorsports	47	Chevrolet	103	+168 Laps 1:12'30.703	8 Laps	8	1	Accident
37	T. Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing	54	Toyota	81	+190 Laps 49'45.606	22 Laps	4	1	Accident
38	J. Berry Wood Brothers Racing	21	Ford	81	+190 Laps 49'45.617	0.011	4	1	Accident
View full results