TC Daily Pit Stop: Tyler Reddick Beats Shane Van Gisbergen to Win Opening Three NASCAR Cup Series Events of 2026
TC Daily Pit Stop: Monday, March 2, 2026
Tyler Reddick Beats SVG at COTA; Makes History to Start 2026
Tyler Reddick has etched his name in the NASCAR Cup Series history books.
With a victory in Sunday’s DuraMAX Grand Prix of Texas at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Reddick, a native of Corning, California, has become the first driver in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series to win the opening three events of the season.
The potential for a rewriting of the record book was, no doubt, on the mind of the 23XI Racing driver on Sunday, but with that, also came the knowledge that he’d have to defeat Shane Van Gisbergen — the winner of the last five NASCAR Cup Series road course events — to make it happen.
Reddick did not, in any way, shape, or form, succumb to that pressure.
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RACE RESULTS
Shane Van Gisbergen Finally Breaks Through At COTA With O’Reilly Win
Shane van Gisbergen doesn’t do dry spells at road courses. However, going into Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas, the driver had never scored a win at the 2.4-mile road course, whether in O’Reilly or Cup Series competition before.
He changed that with a decisive victory, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Van Gisbergen led a race-high 31 laps in the 65-lap event, and he was able to hold a pretty wheel throughout the duration of the closing laps to polish off a win over Austin Hill by 0.780 seconds.
To finally toss the COTA monkey that had been riding on his back was a major relief for the New Zealand native.
“Yeah, good to finally execute, we had an awesome day,” van Gisbergen said. “Thank you to SafetyCulture and JR Motorsports. The pit crew was awesome, you know, the strategy worked out well.”
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RACE RESULTS
Riggs Holds Off Challenge From Majeski, Rhodes to Win At St. Petersburg
In a thrilling finish to the first-ever street course event in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history, Layne Riggs was able to come out on top as the race winner. But it wasn’t an easy thing to achieve, as the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford was managing a dwindling fuel load, while also trying to keep two drivers — Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes — with faster trucks behind him in the closing laps.
Riggs was able to get it done, and he even had enough fuel in the tank to perform a post-race burnout.
After climbing from his truck after the grueling late-race battle, Riggs expressed his gratitude to Joey Hand, who has been helping him improve his craft on road courses.
The victory is the first of the 2026 season for Riggs, and it’s the sixth win of his 57-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career.
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RACE RESULTS
Other NASCAR Headlines:
Tyler Reif Released From Medical Facility After Treatment for Heat Exhaustion
Corey LaJoie Named Kaulig Racing “Free Agent” Driver For Darlington
Reddick Continues Hot Streak, Takes COTA Pole Seeking 3rd Straight Win
Natalie Decker Continues to Be Authentically Herself Despite Daytona Backlash
Joe Gibbs Racing Adds Spire Motorsports to Lawsuit Against Former Competition Director
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