NASCAR at COTA showcased worldwide talent, but Tyler Reddick overcame late chaos to secure win

For the fans, it was a day of watching some worldwide talent in awe as they compete in NASCAR’s top level.

For Tyler Reddick, it was just another successful — albeit stressful — day at the office.

The EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas was an enjoyable and competitive race for the spectators from start to finish. Yet, it was simultaneously dominated by Reddick and his 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota.

Reddick led 41 of 75 laps. The race dragged out seven additional laps because of several late cautions and overtime restarts. He had to hold off the likes of Kyle Busch and William Byron, who won the pole and led 28 laps, in the final stints, but he never faltered and captured his fourth career Cup Series win and first as a driver for Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.

“I really had to dial it up there at the end to get an advantage,” Reddick said. “I was making mistakes on every single restart. I was able to make it a little better there in the end.

“(This win) means a lot. It does – I’m just gassed.”

Byron and Reddick were the class of the field throughout the day. It looked like the young road course ace for Team Penske, Austin Cindric, might be in contention, too, as he started from the second row and led two laps early in the running.

Cindric finished sixth. Byron got fifth but knew he was probably good enough for at least second place.

“Good to get a top five,” he said. “We had a good racecar … I think a top-two racecar, I think, really, with the 45. He was a lot better than everybody, but I thought we were a close second.”

Sunday’s race had many of the usual suspects up front, but several notable drivers were scattered throughout the field.

Jenson Button, the British 2009 Formula 1 World Champion, finished 18th in his NASCAR debut. He was in Rick Ware Racing’s No. 15 Ford, but the car was prepared by powerhouse team Stewart-Haas Racing and sponsored by Mobile 1 — a longtime partner of the driver.

“It was an emotional rollercoaster,” Button said. “First, it was terrible. I mean, I must’ve been last by the end of it. And I was just like, ‘Everyone: Go. I just need to drive and find a rhythm.’ I’ve never gone through a corner too wide so often.

“Normally, if you’re a little bit slow through a corner, nobody tries to overtake you from the outside. Because they’re not going to make it all the way on the next one.”

It was a respectable showing for a driver making his NASCAR debut. And 2007 F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen returned to the Project 91 car from Trackhouse Racing to make a second start after racing at Watkins Glen International last summer.

“I think it wasn’t too bad. We got unlucky with the incidents that happened,” the former F1 driver said. “It was one of those things, unfortunately. Then there were no tires left. They kept coming, getting more restarts and more restarts, so I think after the spin I had, the tires were just done. It’s a shame because when we were there, but then we restarted, and just wrong place, wrong time. It was a case of trying to stay out of the issues in the first corners and every time.

Aside from Button and Raikkonen, other notable racers in the 39-car field included IndyCar’s Conor Daly and Jimmie Johnson. However, both had their days end early when Johnson was involved in a crash on the first lap, and Daly’s No. 50 car suffered a mechanical failure on Lap 17.

The results don’t reflect it, but Jordan Taylor had a weekend to be proud of as Chase Elliott’s substitute in the No. 9 for Hendrick Motorsports. Taylor is a two-time IMSA champion who has successfully raced in GT cars and prototypes but never raced in NASCAR until Sunday.

He qualified fourth on Saturday morning, which immediately got the industry’s attention. That was the best starting position for a driver making his NASCAR Cup debut since the well-known road ringer Boris Said qualified second at Watkins Glen in 1999.

Taylor struggled to maintain position once the green flag waved. After Lap 1, he dropped five places. Early in the race, he nearly took out Erik Jones in Turn 11 as he locked up the brakes and skidded into the corners.

He held his own most of the day, though. When it was all said and done, the No. 9 car finished P24.

“I’d say it was a disappointing day, he said. “I made a couple of big mistakes early on that probably put us back there, but the No. 9 UniFirst Chevy was fast. I need to thank UniFirst and Hendrick Motorsports for giving me the opportunity. We had a good pace, but we just got shuffled back every restart. Tough day.”

Button and Johnson will both make several more starts this season. The drivers, friends away from the track, will race in NASCAR’s inaugural Chicago Street Course race on Independence Day weekend.

They will also be drivers for Hendrick and NASCAR’s Garage 56 project at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Mike Rockenfeller will be the third driver in the lineup, and they will run outside of any classes to showcase the technology and create awareness of stock car racing’s ability to take on the world’s most famous sports car event.

Ross Chastain, who won last year’s Grand Prix at COTA, finished fourth after having a chaotic day that included a spin in the final stage. He leaves the Austin, Texas track as the points leader.

“I thought we were a top-five car all day,” Chastain said. “Thought the 45 had us covered. There was a line of Chevys second through sixth. It was about positioning each other while we were saving fuel, then racing each other; whoever was in front was going to be pretty good.

“I love this place. I love road course racing. But the fight to get better never stops. I know there are things I can be doing better.”