Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is the host of the first of four non-oval races on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, after the season opened up with consecutive superspeedway races at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway).
The 2026 season saw a number of changes as it pertains to non-oval tracks, with three of the six on the 2025 schedule removed and a new one added.
Although COTA has been on the schedule since 2021, the current layout has only been used once. NASCAR got away from the Austin, Texas venue’s full 20-turn, 3.41-mile (5.488-kilometer) road course and instead opted for the 17-turn, 2.4-mile (3.862-kilometer) course a year ago, and that is the layout that is being utilized in 2026 as well.
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick took the pole position for Sunday’s 95-lap DuraMAX Grand Prix by posting the top lap time in Saturday’s group qualifying session, and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain joined him on the front row.
A full starting lineup can be found here.
Follow along with our DuraMAX Grand Prix updates from COTA.
NASCAR Cup Series at COTA: Race updates
NASCAR Cup Series at COTA: DuraMAX Grand Prix Stage 1 results
1 – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
2 – Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
3 – Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
4 – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
5 – A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
6 – Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
7 – Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
8 – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
9 – Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
10 – Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
NASCAR Cup Series at COTA: DuraMAX Grand Prix Stage 2 results
1 – Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2 – A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
3 – Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
4 – Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
5 – Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
6 – Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
7 – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
8 – Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
9 – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 – Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
NASCAR Cup Series at COTA: Full DuraMAX Grand Prix results
Rank
Driver
1
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
2
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
3
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
5
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
6
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
7
Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
8
A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
9
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
10
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
11
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
12
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
13
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
14
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
15
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
16
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
17
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
18
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
19
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
20
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
21
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
22
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
23
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
24
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
25
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
26
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
27
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
28
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
29
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
30
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
31
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
32
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
33
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
34
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
35
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
36
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
37
Jesse Love, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
The fourth race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Straight Talk Wireless 500, which is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 8. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don’t miss any of the action from the desert!
