It’s the first road course race of the season for the Cup Series drivers at Circuit of the Americas for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Thirty-nine teams brought cars to the track including last year’s Chicago Street race winner Shane van Gisbergen, Formula 1 and Rolex 24 winner Kamui Kobayashi, and AJ Allmendinger.
The drivers get two 20 minute practice sessions before making a qualifying run. Several of the drivers have had issues keeping their cars pointed in the right direction as they feel out the track. While the drivers have run at COTA before, sections of the track have been repaved and have the feel of a new surface.
With 20 turns over 3.4 miles, the drivers will be very busy inside their cars.
On a road course, drivers are known for trying to flatten out the curves as much as possible. At COTA if a driver goes below the line in the esses, they will receive a penalty. At least two of the wheels must remain on the racing surface when running through the esses. Drivers that go out of bounds during practice and qualifying will have their lap times disallowed.
After round one of practice, Ty Gibbs led the Group A drivers and Ross Chastain led the Group B drivers.
After round two of practice, Ty Gibbs tops the leaderboard from Group A and Alex Bowman is the leader from Group B.
Road course racing means group qualifying. Group A will have a 15 minute session and Group B will get 15 minutes. The top five drivers from each session will move on for a round two of qualifying and have 10 minutes to set the pole.
On his first lap in qualifying, Ty Gibbs set a new track record with a time of 129.197 seconds.
Tyler Reddick followed up with a time of 129.133 seconds to break Gibbs’ record.
Even after slipping around all over the track, Bubba Wallace still put up a time of 129.574 seconds for a third place spot.
The Group A drivers moving on to round two of qualifying are Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Corey LaJoie.
William Byron put down a time of 129.114 seconds to set a new track record.
After a bad practice session, Chase Elliott is currently in the top five.
Kyle Larson was a bit late coming out to qualify after the crew had to change some cracked rotors.
Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez have both had their time disqualified after missing the esses.
In Group B; William Byron, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr.
All 10 of the drivers in round two of qualifying are either Toyotas or Chevrolets; there are no Fords in the top 10.
With a time of 129.636 seconds, William Byron puts his Hendrick Motorsports number 24 car on the pole with Ty Gibbs starting alongside on the front row. He missed the pole by 15 thousands of a second. This is Byron’s fifth road course pole, topping all drivers.
The starting lineup for the EchoPark Grand Prix:
Willaim Byron
Ty Gibbs
Tyler Reddick
Chrisotpher Bell
Corey LaJoie
Ross Chastain
Martin Truex Jr
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Bubba Wallace
Austin Cindric
Shane van Gisbergen
Justin Haley
AJ Allmendinger
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch
Alex Bowman
Carson Hocevar
Daniel Suarez
Chris Buescher
Autin Dillon
John Hunter Nemechek
Kaz Grala
Ryan Preece
Kamui Kobayaski
Todd Gilliland
Michael McDowwell
Ryan Blaney
Harrison Burton
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Josh Berry
Chase Briscoe
Daniel Hemric
Zane Smith
Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Timmy Hill
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, and Timmy Hill will all have to start the race from the back of the field after the crews had to make repairs and adjustments to the cars.
Just 68 laps, stage one and two of the race are just 15 laps each with stage three lasting 38 laps. The drivers can run around 22 laps on a single load of fuel.
On a very windy and cloudy afternoon, William Byron brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and leads the field into the first corner with Tyler Reddick on his bumper.
Drivers are spread out across the track three, four, and five wide. There is a lot of contact between drivers on the track but the track stays green.
Martin Truex Jr and Bubba Wallace come down pit road on lap two for damage to the cars after some on track contact.
Lap two, William Byron has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Harrison Burton spins out but gets moving again.
Leaders are running laps at just over two minutes. COTA is a 3.4 mile road course.
Lap three, William Byron has increased his lead to over a second and a half with Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain rounding out the top five.
There is some damage to Austin Cindric’s car; the hood is bowed up.
Lap four, William Byron has pulled out to a lad of over two and a half seconds on Tyler Reddick; Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
John Hunter Nemechek has been charged with short cutting the esses and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap six, Ty Gibbs passes Tyler Reddick for second; William Byron has a lead of over three seconds.
Lap seven, William Byron continues to increase his lead and is now three and a half seconds out in front of the field; Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Christopher Bell passes Tyler Reddick for third.
Lap eight, Ty Gibbs has closed the gap on leader William Byron to just over three seconds.
Lap nine, William Byron’s lead is now down to under three seconds over Ty Gibbs; Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Lap 10, William Byron’s lead is now down to two and a half seconds over Ty Gibbs; Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain continue to round out the top five.
Lap eleven, Christopher Bell has caught Ty Gibbs and is challenging for second.
Lap 12, William Byron’s lead is down to under two seconds over Ty Gibbs.
Several of the drivers come down pit road for service; short pitting the end of stage one.
Chase Briscoe has to serve a penalty for short cutting the esses.
Tyler Reddick is the first of the front runners to make a green flag pit stop.
Lap 13, Willim Byron now has a lead of just a second and a half on Ty Gibbs.
Leaders come down pit road; Christopher Bell is the new leader.
Tyler Reddick locked up the tires coming off of pit road.
With a lead of over 17 seconds, Christopher Bell wins stage one for his second stage win of the year.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Christopher Bell
Daniel Suarez
Michael McDowell
Austin Dillon
Ricky Stenhouse
William Byron
Ty Gibbs
Tyler Reddick
Ross Chastain
Daniel Hemric
Pit road is open and drivers come in for service; but Chrisotpher Bell and Michael McDowell stay out on the track.
After staying out of the track, Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 19 with Michael McDowell alongside. Bell holds off William Byron to stay in the lead.
The top five are Christopher Bell, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Michael McDowell, and Ty Gibbs.
Lap 20, Michael McDowell has dropped to ninth place after restarting the race in second place.
Christopher Bell has a half second lead on William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
William Byron passes Christopher Bell for the lead.
Bubba Wallace spins out after contact from Brad Keselowski, but the track stays green. FOX Sports reported at the start of the race that Wallace has yet to finish a race at COTA.
Lap 21, William Byron has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Josh Berry spins out; the track stays green.
Kyle Larson spins out after some contact from Christopher Bell.
Lap 23, Michael McDowell comes down pit road for service; leaving Christopher Bell as the only driver that has yet to make a pit stop.
Lap 23, Ty Gibbs and Ross Chastain battle for third. William Byron has a near two second lead on Tyler Reddick.
Lap 24, William Byron has a lead of over two seconds on Tyler Reddick; Ty Gibbs, Ross Chastain, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Christopher Bell finally comes down pit for for his pit stop. Kyle Busch is now the fifth place driver.
Daniel Suarez has to serve a pass through penalty for speeding on pit road.
AJ Allmendinger passes Kyle Busch for fifth.
Kamui Kobayashi and Ricky Stenhouse make contact but the track stays green.
Shane van Gisbergen has to serve a passthrough penalty for speeding on pit road.
Lap 27, William Byron has a lead of over three seconds on Tyler Reddick; Ty Gibbs, Ross Chastain, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 28, Tyler Reddick comes down pit road from second place.
Several more drivers come down pit road for service.
With three laps remaining in stage two, William Byron has pulled out to a lead of over four seconds on Ty Gibbs; Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap 28, leader William Byron comes down pit road for service; along with more top five drivers. Denny Hamlin is the new leader.
Denny Hamlin wins stage two for his first stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Blaney
Martin Truex Jr
Todd Gilliland
Ryan Preece
Brad Keselowski
John Hunter Nemechek
William Byron
Daniel Hemric
Josh Berry
Michael McDowell has a steering issue in his car.
Lap 32, all 39 of the drivers are still on the track and on the lead lap.
Michael McDowell brings his car down pit road and the hood goes up.
Drivers come down pit road for service on lap 32. Several of the drivers are reporting some issues with their cars.
William Byron resumes the lead after pit stops and brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 34. Drivers are spread out four and five wide across the track. Ross Chastain takes the lead with Ty Gibbs in second; William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
William Byron and Tyler Reddick battle forthird.
Ryan Preece gets turned around but the track stays green.
Daniel Hemric and Josh Berry come down pit road with damage to their cars after some on track contact.
Lap 35, Ross Chastain leads the race but is getting pressure from Ty Gibbs; William Byon, Tyler Reddick, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Lap 36, Ty Gibbs and Ross Chastain battle for the lead. In a clip, Melon Man’s fellow drivers name him the hardest driver to pass.
Lap 38, Ross Chastain has a lead of nearly a second and a half on William Byron; Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
After all of his earlier on track issues, Bubba Wallace is in the top 20.
Michael McDowell is back on pit road.
Chase Elliott has to serve a pass through penalty for short cutting the course.
Lap 40, Ross Chastain has a near one second lead on William Byron; Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 40, Ryan Blaney spins out but gets the car moving again and the track stays green.
Chase Elloitt serves his penalty.
Kyle Busch spins out after contact from Christopher Bell.
Ross Chastain has a lead of over half a second on William Byron; Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Shane van Gisbergen reports a gear issue, saying that he has lost first gear.
With 27 laps remaining in the race, all of the drivers need to make one more pit stop in order to make it to the end of the race.
William Byron battle with Ross Chastain for the lead but so far, the Melon Man has held Byron off.
Ross Chastain reports that it is easy to slide the tires in the braking zones.
Lap 42, William Byron and Ross Chastain continue to battle for the lead.
Lap 43, William Byron finally gets around Ross Chastain for the lead in turn one.
Drivers begin making their final green flag pit stops.
Brad Keselowski spins out amid a cloud of smoke. The track stays green.
The battle continues as Ross Chastain comes up to battle with William Byron; Ty Gibbs is right behind them.
Michael McDowell is back on the track but is six laps down with his steering issues.
Lap 44, green flag pit stops continue.
The top five are William Byron, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell.
Lap 44, leaders come down pit road for service. Ty Gibbs takes the lead.
Ross Chastain had a slow stop and came out in 16th after coming down pit road from second.
Lap 45, Ty Gibbs comes down pit road for service. Tyler Reddick takes the lead.
Ricky Stenhouse has to make a passthrough penalty for short cutting the course.
Lap 46, Tyler Reddick comes down pit road for service. Christopher Bell is the new leader.
Lap 48, leader Christopher Bell comes down pit road for service and gives the lead over to Martin Truex Jr who has yet to make a pit stop. Shane van Gisbergen, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin have not made their pit stops yet.
Lap 50, Denny Hamin and Shane van Gisbergen come down pit road for service.
Erik Jones was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 51, Martin Truex Jr comes down pit road and gives the lead back to William Byron. Truex’s crew has trouble on the pit stop.
With 16 laps remaining in the race, all of the drivers have made their pit stops.
William Byron leads the race with teammate Alex Bowman in second; Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, and Ros sChastain round out the top five.
Kamui Kobayashi gets turned around again after contact from Josh Berry, but the track stays green.
With just 15 laps remaining in the race, the sun finally peaks out. William Byron has a lead of nearly three seconds on Alex Bowman. Christopher Bell has passed Ross Chastain for fifth.
Chase Elliott gets turned around but gets moving again.
Just 12 laps remain in the race, William Byron has a lead of nearly four seconds on Alex Bowman; Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Christopher Bell is running laps faster than the leader.
There are 35 cars on the lead lap with all 39 drivers still on the track.
Ten to go, William Byron holds a lead of nearly four seconds on teammate Alex Bowman; Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Nine laps to go, Michael McDowell brings his car down pit road again with continuing steering issues.
Wiliam Byron holds the lead but his lead is down to just under three seconds on Alex Bowman; Ty Gibbs, Chrisotpher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Brad Keselowski gets turned around again but gets the car righted and going again.
Lap 60, Alex Bowman and Ty Gibbs battle for second with Gibbs taking the spot. Willliam Byron’s lead is back up to over three seconds.
Just seven laps to go, William Byron has a lead of nearly three and a half seconds on Ty Gibbs; Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Christopher Bell battles with Alex Bowman for third and takes the spot.
Brad Keselowski takes his car down pit road.
Six to go, Christopher Bell has cut the gap to leader Wiliam Byron to under five seconds.
Four to go, William Byron has a lead of three and a half seconds. Christopher Bell has caught up to second place driver Ty Gibbs.
Three to go, William Byron holds on to the lead as the battle between Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell continues.
Christopher Bell passes Ty Gibbs for second. The gap to the leader is two and a half seconds.
William Byron takes the white flag with Christopher Bell less than two seconds back.
Pole sitter William Byron becomes the first repeat winner of 2024 with the first road course win of the season for career win number 12.
William Byron burns it down on the track and continues the burnout against the wall to melt the tires. There’s a small fire from the rubber on the track.
Corey LaJoie is exhausted and laying down next to his car. NASCAR is taking him to the care center to get checked out. He is not alone, several of the drivers are sitting by their cars exhausted.
The unofficial results of the EchoPark Grand Prix:
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Alex Bowman
Tyler Reddick
AJ Allmendinger
Ross Chastain
Chris Buescher
Kyle Busch
Martin Truex Jr.
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
Justin Haley
Kyle Larson
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
Shane van Gisbergen
John Hunter Nemechek
Carson Hocevar
Ryan Preece
Corey LaJoie
Austin Dillon
Todd Gilliland
Kaz Grala
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kamui Kobayashi
Harrison Burton
Daniel Suarez
Erik Jones
Brad Keselowski
Noah Gragson
Josh Berry
Timmy Hill
Daniel Hemric
Michael McDowell