Bell Achieves Second Consecutive Cup Series Victory with Win in Austin

Christopher Bell turned his prediction into reality at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday, securing back-to-back wins in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time in his career during the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who had won at Atlanta Motor Speedway just a week before, had specifically identified the 2.4-mile Texas circuit as an ideal opportunity for another victory. Bell fulfilled that forecast, beating William Byron by 0.433 seconds after an intense battle in the final part of the race.

"We definitely had this race marked," Bell said after securing the eleventh win of his career in the Cup Series. "Last week was a superspeedway. We didn’t have that one marked."

Final attack secures the victory

Bell's path to victory required overcoming Kyle Busch, who controlled much of the race by leading 42 laps. The decisive moment came on lap 90 when Bell, benefiting from fresher tires after a late caution period, made his move exiting the last corner.

"When Kyle was up front, I was trying to be very cautious," Bell explained, referring to last year's incident when he spun Busch at COTA. "I wanted to pass him cleanly."

After taking the lead, Bell had to fend off Byron's advances during the final five laps. The Daytona 500 champion raced against Bell respectfully despite being "so damn close" to capturing his second win of 2025.

"I felt like once he got free, his car was very loose, and he gave me a couple of opportunities," Byron said. "We've always raced very well together, so I didn't want to move him blatantly."

Reddick, who started from pole, secures podium position

Tyler Reddick, who started from pole position and led the first eight laps, completed the podium in third place. The 23XI Racing driver maintained a strong pace throughout the 95 laps of the event on the challenging circuit with 17 turns.

Chase Elliott delivered perhaps the most remarkable performance of the day, recovering from an incident on the first lap to finish fourth. After contact from Ross Chastain sent Elliott spinning in Turn 1 and damaged his car, crew chief Alan Gustafson orchestrated a comeback through strategic pit stops and repairs.

"It was just a crazy day," Elliott reflected. "Alan and the guys did a great job fixing it and getting it so close."

Busch falls in the final laps after controlling intermediate stages

Busch, who seemed destined for victory after leading much of the final stage, finished fifth following the contact with Bell during their battle for the lead.

"I would have liked to have a bit more at the end," Busch said. "I think maybe the two-lap fresher tires that the 20 had made the difference."

Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman, and Todd Gilliland completed the top ten.

Zilisch's promising debut ends early

The Cup Series debut of 18-year-old Connor Zilisch, fresh off winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday at COTA, ended prematurely when he collided with his Trackhouse Racing teammate, Daniel Suárez, on lap 50.

Zilisch had impressively moved up from 33rd to 14th after early issues when he got caught up in the Elliott-Chastain incident on the first lap.

"All I saw was a cloud of smoke," Zilisch explained. "We were one of the five fastest cars in the second stage. It’s just an unfortunate way to end."