Christopher Bell secured his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2025 season by winning the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. This triumph marks Bell as the first driver since Kevin Harvick in 2018 to win two of the first three races in a season. Bell, who also claimed victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway the previous week, showcased his dominance on the road course, adding an 11th career Cup Series win to his record.
William Byron, the Daytona 500 champion and last year’s COTA winner, finished second in this year’s race. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, who led for a race-high 42 laps, narrowly missed ending his 59-race winless streak. Busch was overtaken by Bell with just five laps remaining and ultimately fell to fifth place after his tires wore out during the final push.
Bell reflected on the intense battle, saying, "Almost deja vu from last year here. These road-course races are so much fun. Kyle (Busch) was leading, and we tried to be so cautious after what happened between us last year. His car started falling off, and ours was still strong. I kept thinking, 'don't beat yourself.' We didn't have the superspeedway last week circled, but we certainly had this road course in our sights."
Busch, whose last victory dates back to June 4, 2023, at World Wide Technology Raceway, expressed frustration over the tire disparity. "We had a really good No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevy to be able to push that hard," he said. "I just wish that maybe we had equal tires to the No. 20 (Bell). I don’t know if that was all the difference. I know he was really fast and he had a good racecar. ... I just didn’t have anything there at the end to compete with those guys."
How Others fared
Tyler Reddick, the 2023 COTA winner and pole sitter for this race, finished third, while Chase Elliott recovered from an early incident to claim fourth place. Bubba Wallace, who started second, initially showed promise by winning Stage 1 after most leaders pitted before the segment ended. However, a penalty and strategic pit stops left him unable to regain ground, resulting in a 20th-place finish.
Ryan Preece claimed Stage 2 by capitalizing on a pit strategy that saw leaders Shane Van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, and William Byron pit two laps before the stage concluded. Despite leading most of Stage 2, Van Gisbergen couldn’t maintain his momentum after a late restart and finished sixth. Preece, however, faded in the final stage and ended up 33rd.
Top 10 Finishers at COTA:
1. (19) Christopher Bell, Toyota
2. (15) William Byron, Chevrolet
3. (1) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
4. (3) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
5. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
6. (6) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
7. (24) Chris Buescher, Ford
8. (17) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet
9. (21) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
10. (10) Todd Gilliland, Ford
Stage 1 Results:
1. Bubba Wallace
2. Joey Logano
3. Shane Van Gisbergen
4. Kyle Busch
5. Chase Elliott
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Kyle Larson
8. Daniel Suarez
9. William Byron
10. AJ Allmendinger
Stage 2 Results:
1. Ryan Preece
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Michael McDowell
4. Kyle Busch
5. Shane Van Gisbergen
6. AJ Allmendinger
7. Bubba Wallace
8. William Byron
9. Christopher Bell
10. Daniel Suarez
Bell’s back-to-back victories have solidified his position as a top contender early in the 2025 season, while Busch’s near-miss highlights the fierce competition in NASCAR’s premier series. Fans can expect more thrilling battles as the season progresses.
