Christopher Bell Goes Back to Back with Win at COTA

Getty Images - Meg Olphant

AUSTIN, TX – RIS – Christopher Bell held off William Byron and Tyler Reddick to win the Echo Park Automotive Grand Prix NASCAR Cup Series race.  It was his second consecutive win.  Daytona 500 winner William Byron finished second in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Polesitter Tyler Reddick placed third, with Chase Elliott fourth and Kyle Busch — who led a race-high 42 laps — completing the top five finishers.

Busch had the best car at the Circuit of the Americas for most of the race, but his bid to end his Cup Series winless streak came up short on Sunday.

 Bell won consecutive Cup Series races for the first time in his career, emerging in the final stage and surviving a door-to-door battle with Busch in a stellar finish.

Chase Elliott overcame an awful start as he was spun around in the very first turn after the green flag, but persevered and finished fourth

Bell led eight of the 95 laps in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, with his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota taking the checkered flag by a 0.433-second margin of victory. Bell’s first win at the Austin, Texas road course was the 11th of his Cup Series career.

Rookie Connor Zilisch finished last in his Cup Series debut. The 18-year-old driver — who won in Saturday’s Xfinity Series event — continued after his No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet sustained damage in a Lap 1, Turn 1 jam-up that also collected Denny Hamlin and Elliott. Elliott was the victim of a first turn dive by Trackhouse driver Ross Chastain, whose No. 1 Chevrolet clanked into Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy, forcing it to spin and drop to the back of the 37-car field.

Friday’s winner in the Xfinity race, Connor Zilisch, was not so lucky in the Cup Series race. Zilisch exited early after Trackhouse teammate Daniel Suárez spun in the 50th lap, collecting Zilisch’s car and sending it careening into the tire barrier at Turn 19. Suárez was scored 36th and Zilisch 37th in the final rundown; both drivers were evaluated and released after a trip to the infield care center

The race was the Cup Series’ fifth at the Lone Star State circuit, but the first on a shorter 2.3-mile configuration — reduced from the full-course 3.41-mile layout used in previous events.

The Cup Series now heads to Phoenix for the next race on Sunday, March 9th.

Unofficial Results: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, March 2, 2025 - Circuit of The Americas - Austin, TX - 2.4 - Mile Paved
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 19, Christopher Bell, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota, 95, , 9, 2, 8, 5, 42, Running
2) 15, William Byron, No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet, 95, 9, 7, 1, 1, , 41, Running
3) 1, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 The Beast Toyota, 95, 6, , 2, 9, , 39, Running
4) 3, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 95, 5, , , , , 39, Running
5) 8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet, 95, 4, 4, 6, 42, , 46, Running
6) 6, Shane Van Gisbergen #, No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 95, 3, 5, 5, 23, , 45, Running
7) 24, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 95, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 17, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Rush Truck Centers Ford, 95, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 21, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 95, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 10, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 95, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 16, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 95, , 3, 1, 3, , 34, Running
12) 9, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light For the Love of Texas Chevrolet, 95, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 4, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet, 95, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 18, Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 95, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 26, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Castrol Ford, 95, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 29, Justin Haley, No. 7 Group 1001 Chevrolet, 95, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 31, Riley Herbst #, No. 35 Chumba Casino Toyota, 95, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 22, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Rate Chevrolet, 95, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 25, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Duracell Ford, 95, , 2, , , , 27, Running
20) 2, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Mobil 1 Toyota, 95, 1, 8, 1, 4, 1, 30, Running
21) 11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota, 95, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 33, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, 95, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 30, Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas/Bonanza Ford, 95, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 23, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 95, 2, , , , , 22, Running
25) 36, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 95, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 35, Josh Berry, No. 21 Freightliner Ford, 95, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 32, Erik Jones, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota, 95, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 34, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet, 95, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 20, Zane Smith, No. 38 TitleMax Ford, 95, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 12, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, 95, 10, 6, 2, 2, , 13, Running
31) 37, Cody Ware, No. 51 Arby's Ford, 95, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 7, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 95, 7, , , , , 10, Running
33) 28, Ryan Preece, No. 60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 95, , 1, 1, 3, 1, 14, Running
34) 13, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 95, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 27, Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Chevrolet, 80, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 5, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, 50, 8, 10, , , , 5, Accident
37) 14, Connor Zilisch*(i), No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet, 49, , , , , , 0, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (*) Must qualify on time, (#) Rookie

Total Race Length: 95 Laps, 228 Miles
Time: 3 Hrs, 7 Mins, 20 Secs
Average Speed: 73.025 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.433 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 23, 22, 88, 8, 9, 45, 5, 99, 24, 16
Stage 2 Top 10: 60, 12, 71, 8, 88, 16, 24, 23, 20, 99

Comments: Christopher Bell won the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, his 11th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following car dropped to the rear for the reason indicated: No. 38 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 4 for 15 laps;
Laps: 22-25 (Stage 1 Conclusion [10]);
47-49 (Stage 2 Conclusion [None]);
51-54 (No. 87, 99 incident turn 19 [5]);
79-82 (No. 3, 11 incident turn 6A [5]).

Lead Changes: 20 among 9 drivers;
T. Reddick 1-8;
S. Van Gisbergen # 9-17;
T. Reddick 18;
B. Wallace 19-22;
S. Van Gisbergen # 23-24;
K. Busch 25;
S. Van Gisbergen # 26;
K. Busch 27-34;
S. Van Gisbergen # 35-42;
A. Allmendinger 43;
R. Preece 44-46;
M. McDowell 47-49;
K. Busch 50-53;
A. Allmendinger 54;
K. Busch 55-68;
C. Bell 69-70;
S. Van Gisbergen # 71-73;
K. Busch 74-81;
W. Byron 82;
K. Busch 83-89;
C. Bell 90-95.

Unofficial NASCAR Cup Series Points: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) William Byron, 24, 3, -1, 116, 0, 0, 1, 0, 5
2) Ryan Blaney, 12, 3, 1, 114, -2, 2, 0, 1, 1
3) Tyler Reddick, 45, 3, 0, 111, -5, 3, 0, 0, 0
4) Christopher Bell, 20, 3, -8, 95, -21, 16, 2, 0, 10
5) Chase Elliott, 9, 3, -5, 95, -21, 0, 0, 0, 0
6) Bubba Wallace, 23, 3, 1, 94, -22, 1, 0, 1, 1
7) Alex Bowman, 48, 3, -2, 87, -29, 7, 0, 0, 0
8) Michael McDowell, 71, 3, -6, 85, -31, 2, 0, 0, 0
9) Kyle Busch, 8, 3, -14, 81, -35, 4, 0, 0, 0
10) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, 3, 2, 80, -36, 1, 0, 0, 0
11) Austin Cindric, 2, 3, 7, 80, -36, 0, 0, 0, 0
12) Chris Buescher, 17, 3, -4, 77, -39, 3, 0, 0, 0
13) Joey Logano, 22, 3, 2, 77, -39, 0, 0, 1, 1
14) John Hunter Nemechek, 42, 3, 7, 76, -40, 1, 0, 0, 0
15) Carson Hocevar, 77, 3, 0, 72, -44, 4, 0, 0, 0
16) Kyle Larson, 5, 3, 10, 71, -45, 1, 0, 1, 1
17) Denny Hamlin, 11, 3, 4, 67, -49, 4, 0, 0, 0
18) Shane Van Gisbergen #, 88, 3, -16, 63, -53, 4, 0, 0, 0
19) Todd Gilliland, 34, 3, -3, 63, -53, 0, 0, 0, 0
20) Ross Chastain, 1, 3, -1, 62, -54, 1, 0, 0, 0
21) Riley Herbst #, 35, 3, 3, 60, -56, 2, 0, 0, 0
22) Erik Jones, 43, 3, 5, 56, -60, 4, 0, 0, 0
23) Justin Haley, 7, 3, -3, 52, -64, 4, 0, 0, 0
24) Ty Dillon, 10, 3, 5, 48, -68, 4, 0, 0, 0
25) AJ Allmendinger, 16, 3, -2, 43, -73, 5, 0, 0, 0
26) Brad Keselowski, 6, 3, -7, 43, -73, 0, 0, 0, 0
27) Noah Gragson, 4, 3, -9, 42, -74, 1, 0, 0, 0
28) Austin Dillon, 3, 3, 8, 41, -75, 1, 0, 0, 0
29) Daniel Suarez, 99, 3, 4, 38, -78, 3, 0, 0, 0
30) Ryan Preece, 60, 3, 0, 38, -78, 0, 0, 1, 1
31) Zane Smith, 38, 3, 3, 35, -81, 3, 0, 0, 0
32) Jimmie Johnson, , 1, 8, 34, -82, 1, 0, 0, 0
33) Josh Berry, 21, 3, 2, 34, -82, 0, 0, 1, 1
34) Cole Custer, 41, 3, -1, 31, -85, 3, 0, 0, 0
35) Ty Gibbs, 54, 3, 6, 29, -87, 2, 0, 0, 0
36) Corey Lajoie, , 2, 4, 21, -95, 8, 0, 0, 0
37) Cody Ware, 51, 3, 0, 10, -106, 11, 0, 0, 0
38) JJ Yeley, , 1, 0, 1, -115, 9, 0, 0, 0
39) Martin Truex, Jr., , 1, 0, 1, -115, 0, 0, 0, 0
40) Justin Allgaier(i), , 1, 0, 0, -116, 1, 0, 0, 0
41) Bj Mcleod(i), , 1, 0, 0, -116, 0, 0, 0, 0
42) Connor Zilisch(i), 87, 1, 42, 0, -116, 0, 0, 0, 0
43) Anthony Alfredo(i), , 0, 1, 0, -116, 0, 0, 0, 0
44) Chandler Smith(i), , 0, 3, 0, -116, 0, 0, 0, 0
45) Helio Castroneves, , 1, -1, 0, -116, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Chase Briscoe, 19, 3, 1, -28, -144, 28, 0, 0, -10
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Unofficial NASCAR Xfinity Series Points: Focused Health 250
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Austin Hill, 21, 3, 0, 122, 0, 0, 1, 4, 9
2) Jesse Love, 2, 3, 1, 109, -13, 13, 1, 0, 5
3) Sheldon Creed, 00, 3, -1, 108, -14, 1, 0, 0, 0
4) Sam Mayer, 41, 3, 4, 94, -28, 14, 0, 0, 0
5) Justin Allgaier, 7, 3, -1, 90, -32, 4, 0, 0, 0
6) Sammy Smith, 8, 3, 5, 87, -35, 3, 0, 0, 0
7) Jeb Burton, 27, 3, -2, 85, -37, 2, 0, 0, 0
8) Taylor Gray #, 54, 3, 5, 75, -47, 10, 0, 0, 0
9) Christian Eckes #, 16, 3, 11, 74, -48, 1, 0, 0, 0
10) Harrison Burton, 25, 3, -4, 73, -49, 1, 0, 1, 1
11) Carson Kvapil #, 1, 3, -2, 68, -54, 5, 0, 0, 0
12) William Sawalich #, 18, 3, 5, 68, -54, 0, 0, 0, 0
13) Ryan Sieg, 39, 3, 1, 68, -54, 0, 0, 0, 0
14) Jeremy Clements, 51, 3, -7, 64, -58, 4, 0, 0, 0
15) Josh Williams, 11, 3, 4, 64, -58, 0, 0, 0, 0
16) Connor Zilisch #, 88, 3, 16, 61, -61, 3, 1, 0, 5
17) Daniel Dye #, 10, 3, 6, 60, -62, 1, 0, 0, 0
18) Dean Thompson #, 26, 3, -2, 59, -63, 1, 0, 0, 0
19) Matt DiBenedetto, 99, 3, -9, 56, -66, 3, 0, 0, 0
20) Nick Sanchez #, 48, 3, -5, 55, -67, 1, 0, 0, 0
21) Ryan Ellis, 71, 3, 1, 54, -68, 1, 0, 0, 0
22) Leland Honeyman, , 2, -10, 50, -72, 4, 0, 0, 0
23) Brennan Poole, 44, 3, 4, 49, -73, 1, 0, 0, 0
24) Blaine Perkins, 31, 3, 7, 48, -74, 1, 0, 0, 0
25) Josh Bilicki, 91, 3, 0, 45, -77, 3, 0, 0, 0
26) Anthony Alfredo, 42, 3, 4, 42, -80, 3, 0, 0, 0
27) Aric Almirola, , 1, -9, 39, -83, 3, 0, 0, 0
28) Joey Gase, , 2, -7, 38, -84, 1, 0, 0, 0
29) Brandon Jones, 20, 3, -1, 32, -90, 6, 0, 0, 0
30) Jordan Anderson, , 1, -6, 30, -92, 2, 0, 0, 0
31) Alex Labbe, 07, 1, -31, 28, -94, 2, 0, 0, 0
32) Patrick Emerling, , 1, -6, 27, -95, 1, 0, 0, 0
33) Caesar Bacarella, , 1, -4, 24, -98, 3, 0, 0, 0
34) Ryan Truex, , 1, -1, 20, -102, 4, 0, 0, 0
35) Kris Wright, 5, 3, 1, 20, -102, 0, 0, 0, 0
36) Garrett Smithley, , 2, -2, 19, -103, 1, 0, 0, 0
37) Parker Retzlaff, , 2, -2, 18, -104, 1, 0, 0, 0
38) Kyle Sieg, 28, 3, 6, 16, -106, 2, 0, 0, 0
39) Nick Leitz, , 1, -2, 15, -107, 1, 0, 0, 0
40) Justin Bonsignore, , 1, -2, 12, -110, 3, 0, 0, 0
41) CJ Mclaughlin, , 1, -2, 12, -110, 0, 0, 0, 0
42) Greg Van Alst, , 1, -2, 11, -111, 1, 0, 0, 0
43) Austin Green, 32, 1, -43, 11, -111, 0, 0, 0, 0
44) Mason Massey, , 1, -3, 9, -113, 2, 0, 0, 0
45) Mason Maggio, , 1, -3, 6, -116, 3, 0, 0, 0
46) Carson Ware, , 1, -3, 5, -117, 1, 0, 0, 0
47) Sage Karam, 53, 1, -47, 5, -117, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Preston Pardus, 50, 1, -48, 1, -121, 4, 0, 0, 0
49) Baltazar Leguizamon, 35, 1, -49, 1, -121, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) William Byron(i), 17, 1, -50, 0, -122, 1, 0, 1, 0
51) Ross Chastain(i), 9, 1, -51, 0, -122, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Riley Herbst(i), 19, 1, -52, 0, -122, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Corey Heim(i), 24, 1, -53, 0, -122, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Carson Hocevar(i), 14, 1, -54, 0, -122, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Brad Perez, , 0, -55, 0, -122, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) JJ Yeley(i), , 0, -11, 0, -122, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Thomas Annunziata, , 0, -57, 0, -122, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series