Round 3 of the NASCAR Cup Series at Circuit of the Americas began with Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain locking out the front row after Reddick stormed to pole position in qualifying. The American was chasing something never achieved in the modern era — three wins from the first three races of a Cup Series season.
Fresh off victory in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen lined up 13th, ready to carve his way forward across the 95-lap contest.
Under clear Texas skies, the field exploded into Turn 1 three-wide. Chase Briscoe dived to the inside and snatched the early lead, slamming the door shut on Reddick through Turns 6 and 7 while Chastain loomed large behind.
Further back, van Gisbergen wasted no time. In one sweeping corner, he dispatched three cars, picked off another before the lap was done, and rocketed from 13th to ninth in a single tour. By Lap 6, he was seventh, having cleared William Byron and Ty Gibbs with clinical precision.
At the halfway mark of Stage 1, the Trackhouse Racing driver was up to fifth after muscling past Michael McDowell and pole-sitter Reddick, who was sliding backwards through the pack.
As tyre management gave way to outright pace in the closing laps, Ryan Blaney surged to the lead after Briscoe’s early aggression punished his tyres. Pit strategy soon shuffled the order, and when Blaney pitted with three to go, Chastain inherited the lead.
Chastain claimed the Stage 1 win, but van Gisbergen’s charge to second signalled he was a genuine contender.
Blaney and Reddick led the field to green for Stage 2, but chaos erupted immediately. Trackhouse youngster Connor Zilisch was spun at Turn 1 after contact from Daniel Suarez, sending cars scattering in avoidance.
After pitting between stages, van Gisbergen restarted 16th and once again went on the attack.
Ten laps in, he had sliced his way back to eighth. With eight laps remaining in the stage, he was fourth, though 7.4 seconds off Reddick’s lead. Reporting struggles with left-rear grip and lateral stability, an issue that would plague him all afternoon, the Kiwi fought to keep himself in contention.
Late pit stops shuffled the order once more. Ty Gibbs grabbed the Stage 2 victory, with van Gisbergen rounding out the top ten after rejoining 11th following his stop.
Van Gisbergen launched the final stage from the second row in fourth. A breathtaking four-wide run through Turn 1 saw him settle into fifth as the field sorted itself out.
Reddick reasserted control out front, but the race was far from settled.
With 25 laps remaining, van Gisbergen pitted for the final time, still battling that persistent left-rear issue. A caution with 21 laps to go — triggered by Chastain sliding into the gravel after losing a wheel — reset the field and set up a grandstand finish.
On the restart with 17 to go, Reddick and Blaney led them away, van Gisbergen poised just behind. Another Turn 1 tangle eliminated Zane Smith and Zilisch, but up front, it became a duel. Van Gisbergen powered into second and latched onto Reddick’s bumper.
With 11 laps to go, the pair broke clear by 2.5 seconds. The Kiwi hovered within three-tenths of a second, stalking the race leader. The pressure was immense.
But with six laps remaining, the tyre struggles finally took their toll. Grip faded. The gap stretched. Reddick edged away.
In the closing laps, Reddick was unstoppable — charging to a commanding four-second victory and etching his name into the record books as the first driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the opening three races of a season.
Van Gisbergen crossed the line in a hard-fought second place, having driven the wheels off a car that never quite gave him the balance he needed. Left-rear grip and lateral stability had been a constant battle from Lap 1 to Lap 95, yet he still pushed Reddick to the brink in the closing stages.
Christopher Bell completed the podium, while Gibbs, McDowell, Larson, Elliott, Blaney, Allmendinger and Hamlin rounded out the top ten. It was a statement drive from the Kiwi — aggressive, relentless, and executed with precision, even if the ultimate prize slipped away.
The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to Phoenix Raceway for Round 4 and a doubleheader event with IndyCar, scheduled for Monday 9 March at 8:30am NZST.
Header Image: James Gilbert/Getty Images
