Tyler Reddick wins Atlanta Cup race in double overtime, extending 23XI’s historic season start

Back-to-back wins open the 2026 Cup season for 23XI Racing

Tyler Reddick won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, rallying from crash damage and surviving a chaotic finish that required double overtime. The victory followed Reddick’s win in the Daytona 500 one week earlier, giving 23XI Racing consecutive Cup wins to open the 2026 season and extending a rare early-season streak in modern NASCAR.

Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota prevailed in a late sprint that featured multiple restarts and heavy traffic on Atlanta’s 1.54-mile high-banked layout. He finished ahead of Chase Briscoe, with Ross Chastain third and Carson Hocevar fourth after the final overtime run.

A recovery drive after a multi-car crash

Reddick’s path to Victory Lane required overcoming significant adversity. He sustained front-end damage in a nine-car incident on lap 224 of a scheduled 260, yet remained competitive through the closing laps and the overtime sequences. The win was recorded as the 10th of his Cup career.

The result also placed Reddick in a historically limited group of drivers to win the first two races of a Cup season. NASCAR’s modern era has seen only occasional instances of a season-opening sweep, reflecting the competitive parity created by contemporary rules packages and the randomness common to drafting-style events.

Atlanta’s reprofiled track again delivers volatility

The February race at EchoPark Speedway produced extensive pack racing and frequent lead changes. NASCAR timed 57 lead changes, an indicator of the constant position swapping typical of Atlanta’s post-2022 configuration, which was rebuilt to promote drafting and multi-groove runs similar to superspeedway racing.

Austin Cindric won the first stage after a long green-flag run early that stood out for its lack of cautions. The middle portion of the race was less orderly, as multiple incidents collected large groups of cars and reshuffled the competitive order.

Key moments and notable finishes

• Bubba Wallace, Reddick’s 23XI teammate, led entering the final restart but faded in the lane shuffle and finished eighth.
• Defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson hit the outside wall late in the second stage after contact, ending a contending effort.
• Chase Elliott, who was in the mix late, finished 11th after recovering from earlier setbacks, including a pit-road issue.

“Tyler did an unbelievable job,” Michael Jordan said after the race, while also noting Wallace’s performance before the final reshuffle.

What’s next on the schedule

The Cup Series moves to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, March 1, marking the first road course event of the 2026 season and a sharp contrast to the drafting-heavy style that defined the opening two races.