The 2026 DuraMax Texas Grand Prix presented by RelaDyne

The first road course of the season is here, and it's in Austin, Texas. COTA has hosted many racing events, including a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Don't forget about Tyler Reddick, who won the first two races of the season, and would break a record if he wins this one. If you think about it, he won the 2023 race here, and there is still a chance he could reach success here again today. Well, let's find out.

Stage 1 was very uneventful, and the only interesting things that happened was Ryan Blaney making a pit stop as SVG tried to work his way up the order. Overall, Ross Chastain would come out on top in the first stage, with SVG in 2nd and Michael McDowell in 3rd.

On the stage 2 restart, with Blaney in the lead, Connor Zilisch locked up into the sharp turn 1, and spun his Chevy around. We continued without seeing a yellow, as Tyler Reddick worked up to the lead, with SVG in 8th. During pit stops, Alex Bowman received a penalty for an uncontrolled tire, while Josh berry spun but continued on. Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs would stay out and win the stage.

As Zilisch continued to work through the pack, Chase Briscoe had a rear-end issue, which would ultimately end his chances of a good finish. The leaders completed their pit stops with any chaos, but Bowman reported on the radio he wasn't feeling well, and he drove his no. 48 to garage where Myatt Snider would hop in to resume the race. Shortly after, a caution was thrown for a lost wheel on Chastain's car. 

As we continue, SVG tries to take the lead from Reddick, but to no avail. And with five to go, Reddick was stretching his lead more, and more, and more. With one to go, there was no catching the 45 car, as we would break a record and become a part of NASCAR history.

Wow, just, wow. Is anybody going to be able to catch Reddick at this point? I guess we can start calling him "The Flying Californian"? Nah, that doesn't sound right. (If you watch F1 you'll know what I mean.) Let's see what he can do next week in Phoenix.