Kyle Busch came agonisingly close to snapping his 59-race NASCAR Cup Series victory drought at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Sunday but suffered late heartbreak after Christopher Bell came out on top in a dramatic four-way battle to make it back-to-back wins this season.
Busch had looked incredibly strong throughout the race in his #8 Chevrolet and led the field with just six laps to go. However, he was under huge pressure from Bell behind, as well as William Byron and Tyler Reddick , and it eventually told.
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Busch began to lose his car through the corners, losing position to his rivals one by one before admitting over the radio that his right rear tyre had ‘gone’.
This left Bell, Byron and Reddick vying for the victory, with all three stars racing hard to the line but ultimately finishing in that order.
Busch would eventually fall to P5 as he nursed his car home, with Chase Elliott pipping him for fourth spot on the last lap.
Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman and Todd Gilliland rounded out the top-10 in a thrilling race at COTA.
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NASCAR Cup Series COTA results
Position
Driver
Car No.
Team
Manufacturer
1 Christopher Bell #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2 William Byron #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3 Tyler Reddick #45 23XI Racing Toyota
4 Chase Elliott #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
5 Kyle Busch #8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
6 Shane van Gisbergen #88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
7 Chris Buescher #17 RFK Racing Ford
8 Noah Gragson #4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
9 Alex Bowman #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Todd Gilliland #34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
11 Michael McDowell #71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
12 Ross Chastain #1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
13 Carson Hocevar #77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
14 Chase Briscoe #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
15 Brad Keselowski #6 RFK Racing Ford
16 Justin Haley #7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
17 Riley Herbst #35 23XI Racing Toyota
18 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet
19 Ryan Blaney #12 Team Penske Ford
20 Bubba Wallace #23 23XI Racing Toyota
21 Denny Hamlin #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
22 John Hunter Nemechek #42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
23 Cole Custer #41 Haas Factory TeamFord
24 Joey Logano #22 Team Penske Ford
25 Austin Cindric #2 Team Penske Ford
26 Josh Berry #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
27 Erik Jones #43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
28 Ty Dillon #10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
29 Zane Smith #38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
30 AJ Allmendinger #16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
31 Cody Ware #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
32 Kyle Larson #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
33 Ryan Preece #60 RFK Racing Ford
34 Ty Gibbs #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
35 Austin Dillon #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
36 Daniel Suarez #99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
37 Connor Zilisch #87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
NASCAR Cup Series COTA Stage 2 results
Position
Driver
Car Number
Team
Manufacturer
1
Ryan Preece
#60
RFK Racing
Ford
2
Ryan Blaney
#12
Team Penske
Ford
3
Michael McDowell
#71
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet
4
Kyle Busch
#8
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
5
Shane van Gisbergen
#88
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
6
AJ Allmendinger
#16
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet
7
William Byron
#24
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
8
Bubba Wallace
#23
23XI Racing
Toyota
9
Christopher Bell
#20
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
10
Daniel Suárez
#99
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
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NASCAR Cup Series COTA Stage 1 results
Position
Driver
Car Number
Team
Car Manufacturer
1
Bubba Wallace
#23
23XI Racing
Toyota
2
Joey Logano
#22
Team Penske
Ford
3
Shane van Gisbergen
#88
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
4
Kyle Busch
#8
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
5
Tyler Reddick
#45
23XI Racing
Toyota
6
Kyle Larson
#5
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
7
Daniel Suárez
#99
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet
8
William Byron
#24
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
9
AJ Allmendinger
#16
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet
10
Chase Briscoe
#19
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
NASCAR Cup Series at COTA FAQ's
How many laps is the is the NASCAR COTA race?
Circuit of the Americas is a 2.356-mile road course. The scheduled distance of 228 miles will take 95 laps to complete.
What date is the 2025 NASCAR COTA race?
Sunday, March 2nd.
What time is the 2025 NASCAR COTA race?
The NASCAR COTA race is at 3:30 PM ET.
What channel is the NASCAR COTA race on?
The NASCAR COTA race will have TV coverage from FOX. The race can be heard on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio 90.
Where is the NASCAR COTA race located?
The NASCAR COTA race takes place at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
How many miles is the NASCAR COTA race?
The NASCAR COTA race is 228 miles or 366.93 kilometers long.
When was the first NASCAR COTA race run?
2021 was the first year the NASCAR COTA race was held at Circuit of the Americas.
Who was the first winner of the NASCAR COTA race?
Chase Elliott won the first NASCAR COTA race in 2021, claiming his twelfth Cup Series victory in doing so.
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