Autotrader 400: Tyler Reddick goes back-to-back, wins EchoPark Speedway thriller

HAMPTON, Ga. — 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick did not need his right-front fender to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway, as the driver of the No. 45 Pinnacle Toyota made his way back through the field to take the checkered flag in the Autotrader 400 in double overtime.

With back-to-back victories in the 68th Daytona 500 and now the Autotrader 400, Reddick becomes the first driver since Matt Kenseth to win the first two races of a Cup Series season. Reddick also became just one of six drivers ever to accomplish that feat, joining Kenseth (2009), Jeff Gordon (1997), David Pearson (1976), Bob Welborn (1959) and Marvin Panch (1957).

“That’s crazy, isn’t it?” Reddick said. “This place over the years — it just puts on some amazing racing. Handling matters here, but I guess determination outweighs handling. Thank you, everybody, for coming out. It is cold, but cheers to everyone here. Y’all motivated us to pull off some crazy stuff like that.

“We were back there in 30th when we got collected with the 11 (Denny Hamlin),” Reddick added. “The Pinnacle Camry was definitely really loose. We were able to make an adjustment on it with air, and I don’t know. They just kept stacking up in the middle and top lanes, and I just found a way to get into the top five. I tried to stay committed to somebody, and I didn’t have a choice. I had to find out if it would go in the front like that.”

The 23XI driver now leads the points standings with 125 total points, 40 points ahead of teammate Bubba Wallace.

Reddick seemed to be out of it after being involved in a caution with his team co-owner, Denny Hamlin and others earlier in the race. The damage sustained in the wreck did not slow down Reddick, as he powered to his 10th career Cup Series victory.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe wound up second in his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota after starting 34th. Briscoe was the third car in line on the bottom row on the final overtime restart, but found a way to stay with Reddick and earn a hard-fought runner-up finish.

“Honestly, I felt like I was doing everything that I could,” Briscoe said. “Even all of the situations that happened — everything kind of worked out in my favor. I could never get a big enough run down the straightaway to really do anything with our Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Toyota. I was obviously able to push the 45 (Tyler Reddick) to the win. I wish I would’ve been able to have a bigger run to go three-wide and try to take the lead, but I just couldn’t do it for whatever reason. I would say the one thing our car kind of lacked all day was the straightaway speed. It drove really good, and I could make moves. It just kind of felt slow down the straightaways, so not sure what else I really could have done, but still a great result. We will go on to COTA next week and see if we can be one spot better.”

Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain showed tons of speed throughout the final stage of the Autotrader 400. Although he did not lead a lap, the driver of the No. 1 Wendy’s Chevrolet was knocking on the door for the lead and win until the very end, but he came home third.

“I needed the No. 19 (Chase Briscoe) to not push the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) into Turn 1 there, but he followed him because that was his best bet,” Chastain said. “And then the No. 45 pulled us down the backstretch like supersonic. That was insane how fast that car with the damage pulled the lane down the backstretch. We were all wide open, and we couldn’t gain anything.

“We needed to be turning better with our No. 1 Wendy’s Chevy today. We were just a little too tight in traffic, and then even in clean air, we were scrubbing the fronts too much. We were never quite good enough to get control of the race. We’re always trying to cycle forward. Brandon McSwain (crew chief) made some great calls from the pit box.”

Results from the 2026 Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway are listed below:

Other Race Facts

Carson Hocevar was a name that was talked about throughout the race, as the driver of the No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet was two laps down on Lap 42, then fought all the way back to the lead heading to the white flag. Hocevar, who finished second in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday, ended up fourth as the quest for his first career Cup Series win will have to wait another week.

“I was really happy with this No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet,” Hocevar said. “Our car was really fast to go from two laps down to getting stage points and finishing fourth. Overall, it was a good points day for us. I was taking every run I could. I’m sure I owe people apologies, but I think we’re all battling for spaces and runs. At the end, all four tires were straight. My toe was knocked out, but it was still pretty fast. Pretty excited about a strong start to the season.”

Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports teammate Daniel Suárez and Chevrolet teammate Shane van Gisbergen finished fifth and sixth, respectively, after both being involved in earlier cautions. The sixth-place finish for van Gisbergen was his best Cup Series finish on an oval.

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace was the driver to watch for the final 25 laps of the race. After finishing second in Stage 1 and winning Stage 2 for the second week in a row, Wallace remained up front. He led from Lap 247 until the second overtime restart on Lap 270, where he admittedly went too far up the track and missed a block on Hocevar, causing him to fall out of contention.

Wallace remained inside the top seven until a block by Hocevar pinched him into the wall, causing him to fall back to finish eighth. Wallace’s stage points and multiple top-10 finishes to start the season have him second in the Cup Series standings (85 points), behind his teammate Reddick.

“Yeah, I’m just pumped that Toyota got to Victory Lane,” Wallace said. “I need to go back see. I didn’t think I moved up that much to allow — to put myself in the top of three. Unfortunate, but what a race car we had today. I learned a lot from Rajah (Caruth) yesterday. He had a bad fast car, and he finished second the first stage and won the second stage, just like me, and I was like this car is so fast. Don’t do anything to jeopardize a good finish. I hate that we didn’t get the win, but all-in-all, I appreciate Xfinity — man what could have been. We will go on to COTA — pray for me there (laughter). We will go have some fun.”

Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith finished seventh to earn his second straight top-seven finish to start off the 2026 season. The 2022 Craftsman Truck Series champion sits fifth in the Cup Series standings, leading all other Ford drivers.

“My Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford Mustang didn’t start out great,” Smith said. “It had speed, but it was a lot to manage, and then as we got through the race we just kept working on it and I felt like we made big gains at one point in time, and then we got to the front row and I had a loose left-rear tire after we took right side tires, so I have no idea how that happened. I’m just glad we didn’t wreck because it was a handful, and then after that I had a little right-front damage, but was able to charge back up through the field and have a shot at it somewhat. My gut told me to take the bottom there and it was looking really good for a second, but I just needed a little bit more help. I’m proud of everyone.”

According to NASCAR Insights, Joey Logano set a new record by leading at least one lap in 20 consecutive races at drafting-style tracks.

The 123 lead changes in the first two races are the most all-time through the first two races in Cup Series history. The 57 lead changes during the 2026 Autotrader 400 were also the most ever in a race at EchoPark Speedway.

GRID RANKING

The 2026 GRID Ranking is the 10th year of the world’s premier motorsports ranking system and will be released on Sunday, April 5, 2026.

The official ranking includes drivers participating in seven racing series (NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, Formula E, WRC, Supercars, MotoGP). Each driver earns GRID Ratings, which help determine their seeding in the GRID Ranking.