AUSTIN, Texas — Michael Jordan knows something about three-peats. Now his NASCAR driver, Tyler Reddick, does too.
Reddick became the first driver in NASCAR history to win the first three races of a season, leading Jordan and 23XI Racing to another victory Sunday at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas road course.
As if winning the season-opening Daytona 500 and again last week at Atlanta wasn’t enough, Reddick won the pole position in Austin and held off the incredible Shane van Gisbergen, who had won five straight NASCAR road course races, in the final laps.
Van Gisbergen had to settle for second at the only Cup Series road course at which he has not won, and his bid to tie Jeff Gordon with a record sixth consecutive road course victory came up one spot short.
“It’s time for change. It’s time for change,” Jordan told FOX Sports on Reddick becoming the first driver in NASCAR’s 78-year history to start a season with three wins.
“Tyler came in with the most pressure with the chance to win three in a row — that’s the hardest one to win. And he kept to his strategy. And, man, the guys put together a great car and I think Billy (Scott, crew chief) did an unbelievable job in calling the race.
“He beat some good competition,” Jordan said of van Gisbergen. “I mean, you see SVG coming back there, you get a little nervous, but I think he had it covered pretty much the whole day.”
Yes, Reddick did have them covered, starting on the pole and leading a race-high 58 laps. That performance now puts his name alone in the NASCAR record book as the only driver to go 3-for-3 to start a season.
More takeaways:
SVG falls short of own record win
If it’s a road course, that means the spotlight is on Shane van Gisbergen, and Sunday was no exception. But while he had a fast car and all-important track position — he started the final stage in fourth — Reddick was just better than van Gisbergen over the closing laps. The expected charge from van Gisbergen just never fully materialized. Reddick was largely in complete control and his margin of victory was a little over four seconds.
“It’s weird to be disappointed to be second, still a great points day,” van Gisbergen said.
In fact, it was a very great points day for van Gisbergen. By finishing second, combined with his stage points, he accumulated the third-most points in the field. And that total got him up to fifth in the overall standings. Although just three races into the 26-race regular season, this is exactly the start he needed if he is going to make a run at a Chase berth.
— Jordan Bianchi
Connor Zilisch’s Turn 1 troubles continue
Once again, rookie Connor Zilisch showed speed at COTA. And once again, he found trouble in Turn 1. Twice.
Just like a Turn 1 spin last year, Zilisch got turned around at the top of COTA’s steep hill again Sunday, rallied back to a top-five spot and then got spun again. Neither accident, however, could be considered his fault. He was more a victim of circumstances that come with speeding into a tight turn where drivers are frequently bouncing off one another.
Still, Zilisch rallied to finish 14th, flashing the talent that has him hyped as one of NASCAR’s most promising young drivers in some time. The downside is that he remains
mired toward the bottom of the point standings (in 32nd) instead of being able to take a chunk out of the deficit he faced after wrecking on superspeedways in the first two weeks.
— Jeff Gluck
Austin track limits
Drivers consulted with NASCAR on Friday to help track officials decide where to place bundled packs of tires, which have become all the rage in NASCAR road course racing since the Mexico City race last season.
One year ago, NASCAR placed a single tire bundle at COTA to deter drivers from cutting one corner. But officials still struggled to police the track limits, as drivers found a loophole where NASCAR wasn’t policing Turn 6 with its cameras — and they all started cutting the course without penalty midway through the race when it went unflagged.
NASCAR in general does not want to police track limits like F1, which issues warnings and penalties for those leaving the track. But COTA largely lacks natural track limits (sand, gravel or other deterrents for leaving the designed course), and NASCAR typically allows cars to run anywhere they can go without hitting a wall.
The tire bundles seem to be the best solution, although it’s not necessarily a safe one. Ross Chastain, one of the drivers consulted on the matter, said he was told the tire bundles weigh 1,000 pounds each.
Drivers were divided on how much damage hitting one head on would do, but no one ended up doing so all weekend (though Josh Berry tank-slapped one early in Sunday’s race).
The drivers like the tire packs for two reasons: First, it takes the close calls out of NASCAR’s hands. Second, drivers couldn’t see exactly where they were in relation to the apex of the corner when following directly behind another car.
“I’m an advocate for the barriers because it’s so hard to know exactly where you’re at without them,” Michael McDowell said. “You shortcut the track one time and that’s your entire race (gone). Knowing where that limit is keeps everybody tidy, it keeps it policed.”
— Gluck
Sunshine and smiles
Though exact attendance figures were not released, track officials said they had their largest NASCAR crowd in six years of racing at COTA.
Ticketbuyers came from 47 states and 10 countries, underscoring the “destination race” vibe created by Austin’s cool factor and COTA’s international fame as a home for so many major racing series (including Formula 1 and MotoGP, which returns here later this month).
It probably didn’t hurt that the weather forecast was ideal (low 80s), but Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR seem to have a good thing going with this unusual arrangement — since COTA isn’t owned by either company.
Most races take place at either NASCAR- or SM-owned tracks, with only Indianapolis (privately owned), Pocono (privately owned), Gateway (privately owned), Bowman Gray (city-owned) and San Diego (military base) as “independent” tracks.
COTA falls into that category as well, with SM doing essentially a track rental and serving as the promoter. What once was a one-year experiment now seemingly has a chance to become a Cup schedule mainstay.
— Gluck
Bowman replaced by Snider
An ill Alex Bowman couldn’t make it the distance, forcing Hendrick Motorsports to put a relief driver in the No. 48 car with 25 laps remaining. While a team needing a second driver isn’t uncommon, the circumstances surrounding this change were unusual.
Chase Briscoe, who also drives for Hendrick, was out of the race with a mechanical issue, but because he drives a Toyota, he couldn’t swap into Bowman’s Chevy. That prompted the team to tab Myatt Snider, who races part-time in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. What made it so unique was that Snider was working Sunday in a behind-the-scenes role for the FOX Sports telecast and hadn’t raced in a NASCAR nationals series race since last fall.
But a change in how drivers qualify for the Chase playoff has increased the emphasis on drivers earning as many points as possible, necessitating that Hendrick do whatever it could to get the No. 48 car back to allow Bowman to score as many points as possible. NASCAR’s rules state that whichever driver starts the car is the driver of record with any points earned going to them.
Although Snider didn’t gain Bowman any additional points, this further underscores the degree teams will now have to undertake with every point carrying such importance.
— Bianchi