NASCAR Weekend Preview: Circuit of The Americas & Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Tyler Reddick heads to his best track in quest for third straight win

Before last Sunday, five drivers had won the first two races of a season at NASCAR’s highest level. None of the five succeeded in winning a third straight race.

Minus a right-front fender, DAYTONA 500 champion Tyler Reddick drove his No. 45 Toyota to victory at EchoPark Speedway on that Sunday to become the sixth driver to win the first two races of a given season.

It would be foolish not to recognize that Reddick has a realistic chance to claim a record third straight win to start the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season—even with road course mavens Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch in the field for Sunday’s DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Several of his predecessors have come close. Marvin Panch, who won the first two races of the 1957 season—albeit in late 1956—finished third at Titusville in the following race. In the 1959 season, Bob Welborn won at Fayetteville, N.C., and earned the pole position for the DAYTONA 500 by winning the first of two qualifying races.

But Welborn’s hopes for a third straight win died when his engine failed in the Great American Race. He finished 41st.

Driving the famed Wood Brothers Purolator Mercury in 1976, David Pearson won the road race at Riverside, Calif., and the DAYTONA 500 in a ferocious battle against Richard Petty. His bid for three straight ended with an oil pump failure at Rockingham.

In 1997, Jeff Gordon opened the season with victories at Daytona and Rockingham and led the first 65 laps at Richmond before finishing fourth, one lap down, in a race won by Rusty Wallace.

Matt Kenseth, the most recent driver to open a season with two wins, took checkered flags at Daytona and Fontana, Calif., in 2009, only to have his engine expire six laps into the following race at Las Vegas.

It’s serendipitous for Reddick that the third race of the season takes place at 2.4-mile COTA. The track is Reddick’s best in terms of average finish (4.6). That average finish number also is foremost among active Cup drivers.

Only once in five starts at the track has Reddick started or finished outside the top five. That was in 2021 when he ran ninth in his maiden voyage at COTA. Reddick has two poles to his credit at the track (2021 and 2025) and one victory (2023).

Reddick is well aware of the possible record, but that won’t be his only consideration on Sunday.

“I mean, am I going to throw away a second place to do that?” asked the 23XI driver, who leads the series standings by 40 points over second-place Bubba Wallace, his teammate. “Probably not. But certainly, if at any point during this week I’m running out of reasons to be motivated to go win, I’ll keep that in my back pocket, for sure.

“It’s cool to be able… or have the opportunity to potentially do things like that, but for me, with where this season started and what I need to do as a driver, it’s all about just doing everything I can and showing up every week being as prepared as I can.

“So, yeah, I’ll try and make that a reality.”

Standing in Reddick’s way is New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, who won five of the six road course races on last year’s Cup schedule. With the number of road courses reduced to four this year, Van Gisbergen may feel a greater sense of urgency at COTA, where he is winless in two starts.

On the other hand, SVG has shown considerable improvement on oval tracks. He finished sixth last Sunday at EchoPark Speedway in Georgia and is 16th in the Cup Series standings.

“These oval races, we are making big gains, and we weren’t really in position very often to score stage points last year,” said the three-time Australian Supercars champion. “Now we are able to do that in Daytona and Atlanta, and it’s very promising.

“These road courses, we just go and have fun. They are like a holiday for us. We just go and enjoy ourselves and hopefully come away with a lot of points and a great result.” – Reid Spencer

Trackhouse Racing teammates renew their rivalry in O’Reilly Auto Parts race

Before Trackhouse Racing teammates Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch face off in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, they’ll renew their friendly rivalry as heavy favorites in Saturday’s Focused Health 250 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Circuit of the Americas (3 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Zilisch is the defending winner. At age 18, he started from the pole last year and beat Cup driver William Byron to the finish line by 1.639 seconds.

Van Gisbergen raced just three times in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series last year during his rookie season in the Cup Series. On the Chicago Street Course he outdueled Zilisch, who finished second.

At Sonoma Raceway in July, Zilisch turned the tables, beating SVG to finish line by 0.438 seconds. In the rubber match at Watkins Glen, Zilisch and Van Gisbergen tangled in Turn 7 on Lap 65, with Zilisch surviving to win the race and Van Gisbergen falling to 31st.

All told, Zilisch collected a series-best 10 O’Reilly Auto Parts victories in 2025 with JR Motorsports before graduating to the Cup Series with Trackhouse this year.

NASCAR doesn’t run the full 3.426-mile Grand Prix Course at COTA, preferring to shorten the track to 2.4 miles, eliminating the long backstretch and creating more passing zones.

“COTA is just super-fun, especially since they shortened the course,” said Zilisch. “I really enjoy the shortened course. It has created really good racing and has a short-track type feel to it now.

“You don’t really have straightaways anymore, except for the front straightaway. It’s just so unique. You’ve got a new passing zone now with Turn 6A and that cut-through is a great passing zone. As a driver, you’re doing more, more often. You’re turning more, and you’re in a corner more often. It’s a lot of fun.”

If there’s a series regular who might be able to dethrone the Cup moonlighters, look no further than Sam Mayer, who has four top 10s in as many starts at the track and a best of third last year. – Reid Spencer

Dario Franchitti, Colin Braun return to NASCAR for historic CRAFTSMAN Truck Series street race

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will make history this weekend competing on its first ever street course in downtown St. Petersburg—a new challenge and a new market.

More than 100,000 fans typically fill the grandstands and high rises above the 1.8-mile, 14-turn waterfront course, used by the NTT IndyCar Series for more than two decades and set alongside historic Vinoy Park and the famed St. Petersburg Pier.

Saturday’s 80-lap OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg (12 noon E.T. on FOX, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the first time the series has raced on a street circuit. The drivers say they are excited, even if they don’t know exactly what to expect on this new type of course.

“The first time I got to be on a street course was only about eight months ago (racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) in Chicago, but it was a whole different experience and super unique and I really enjoyed it,” said Kaulig Racing’s RAM Truck driver Daniel Dye, who came to St. Pete earlier this month to help mark the track-build.

“So, to get to do it in my home state of Florida in such a cool place as St. Petersburg, I’m pumped. I love coming to Florida as much as I can—start in Daytona and end in Miami (Homestead) and be here in St. Pete for the third race of the season is pretty cool.

“I’m looking forward to it and been talking to my teammate A.J. Allmendinger,” he said of his team’s NASCAR Cup Series driver, who is considered one of NASCAR’s best-ever road racers.

Another driver to lean on is sports car star Colin Braun, who will be in the RAM team’s No. 25 RAM 1500 “free agent truck” — used throughout the season to feature different star drivers from other series. NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart drove it in the Daytona season-opener, and current NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Dillon raced it in Atlanta last weekend.

Former Indianapolis 500 winner and multi-time IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti will be making his first start in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, driving the No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota. He won the St. Pete IndyCar race in 2011.

He’ll be joined by another famed IndyCar star, former Indianapolis 500 polesitter James Hinchcliffe, who will drive the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Adam Andretti, brother of the late NASCAR star John Andretti and nephew of the legendary Mario Andretti, will be competing in the No. 5 TRICON Garage Toyota after making his NASCAR debut last week at Atlanta.

These drivers will have their hands full competing against a highly-motivated group of championship contenders. Front Row Motorsports’ Chandler Smith, this year’s Daytona winner, leads the standings by 28 points over TRICON Garage driver Gio Ruggiero.

The trucks get their first laps in downtown St. Pete on Friday, with a 50-minute practice at 4 p.m. followed by Kennametal Pole Qualifying at 5:05 p.m. ET. – Holly Cain

 

NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne
The Place: Circuit of The Americas
Track Length: 2.4 Mile Asphalt Road Course
The Date: Sunday, March 1
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,233,037
TV: FOX, 3:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 228.0 miles (95 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 45), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 95)

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Next Race: Focused Health 250
The Place: Circuit of The Americas
Track Length: 2.4 Mile Asphalt Road Course
The Date: Saturday, February 28
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,653,590
TV: CW, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 156.0 miles (65 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 65)

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg
The Place: Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Track Length: 1.8 Mile Asphalt Street Course
The Date: Saturday, February 28
The Time: 12 p.m. ET
The Purse: $789,700
TV: FS1, 12 p.m. ET
Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 144.0 miles (80 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 80)