It’s Tyler Reddick’s world, and we’re all just living in it right now. Following back-to-back race wins in the season-opening Daytona 500 and last weekend at EchoPark Speedway, Tyler Reddick rocketed to the pole position for Sunday’s DuraMax Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
Reddick turned a fast lap time of 1 minute, 37.760 seconds (88.380 mph) during the group qualifying session, which was enough to secure him the top starting spot by nearly one-and-a-half-tenths-of-a-second.
Starting Lineup: NASCAR Cup Series DuraMax Texas Grand Prix
Prior to qualifying, Reddick felt he had a good chance at the pole, as he always excels at qualifying on road courses, but claiming he had a shot at the pole added some additional pressure. He pulled through anyway.
“I maybe shouldn’t have called my shot earlier, but some pressure comes with that. Yeah, you know, I love going fast, and road courses are a lot of fun in qualifying,” Reddick said. “Just proud of everyone’s effort here on the 23XI Chumba Casino Toyota Camry was fast at Daytona and it seems fast here to start this one off. I don’t know where Shane [Van Gisbergen] is starting, but got to try to get as much of a head start as I can and stay ahead of him all day.”
The driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE won this event in 2023, and he’s seeking a couple of potential historic marks in Sunday’s race. If Reddick can pick up the race win at Circuit of the Americas, he’ll become the first driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the opening three races of a season. And with a win, Reddick would also become the first-ever two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner at the 2.4-mile road course in Austin, Texas.
Reddick will start alongside Ross Chastain, another former COTA race winner. Chastain had what looked to be a potential pole-winning run going until he locked up his brakes heavily late in his lap. Still, Chastain held on for the second starting spot with a lap time that was 0.137 seconds off the top time set by Reddick.
Chase Briscoe will start from the third position, and he’ll be joined in the second row of the starting grid by Ryan Blaney, who was second-fastest in Saturday’s practice session and showcased the best overall long-run speed of anyone in the field.
Chase Elliott will start from the fifth position in his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, and Michael McDowell, who was the fastest driver in practice, will start from the sixth position.
A.J. Allmendinger, Christopher Bell (the defending winner of this race), Ty Gibbs, and William Byron rounded out the top-10 qualifiers for Sunday’s event at COTA.
Other notable qualifiers in the field include Carson Hocevar, who qualified 12th, Shane van Gisbergen, who starts 13th, and Connor Zilisch, who will roll from the 25th starting spot on Sunday.
