Reddick Leads 23XI’s Dominance with a Front Row Sweep at COTA Qualifying

In a thrilling qualifying session at Circuit of The Americas, 23XI Racing took the top spots in the NASCAR Cup Series. Tyler Reddick claimed the pole position, with his teammate Bubba Wallace right beside him.

Reddick, who won at COTA in 2023, clocked an impressive lap at 88.095 mph. He shared his excitement about the day, saying, “I was worried I might have messed up his lap, and he felt the same about me. It was a surprising session; the pace was different from what we expected. Everyone at 23XI worked hard on our Toyota Camrys, making big strides from practice one to practice two.” He added, “I’m just really glad about how today turned out. It’ll give us a great advantage for the race.”

This marks Reddick’s fifth race at COTA, where he’s started fourth or better each time. Wallace achieved a personal best by qualifying second, with a lap speed of 87.894 mph. He acknowledged Reddick’s guidance, saying, “When we get to road course races, we all lean on Tyler. He gives us some solid advice. I thought I might have interfered with his lap, but I’m thankful for the teamwork at 23XI. We’ve made significant progress in our Mobil 1 Toyota, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of the race.”

Unfortunately, rookie Herbst had his first qualifying lap disqualified due to track limits, which would have placed him third. Instead, Chase Elliott secured the third spot with a lap of 87.842 mph after recalibrating his strategy. Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top five, clocking in at 87.858 mph and 87.732 mph, respectively.

In the next slots, Shane van Gisbergen finished sixth, followed by Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Todd Gilliland. Denny Hamlin and AJ Allmendinger qualified 11th and 12th. Connor Zilisch, making his Cup Series debut, secured 14th place.

The defending champion, William Byron, qualified 15th. Several notable names found themselves further down the grid: Christopher Bell came in 19th, Joey Logano 23rd, and Brad Keselowski 26th. Herbst ended up in 31st, while Josh Berry and Austin Cindric placed 35th and 36th, respectively. Cody Ware rounded out the field in 37th.

With 37 teams set to compete in Texas, the excitement is building for the race. Fans can catch the action at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.