NASCAR
Tyler Reddick Tames Atlanta for Back-to-Back Drafting Wins
HAMPTON, Ga. – All 23XI Racing does in 2026 is win. Double overtime from Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway saw Bubba Wallace leading ahead of Tyler Reddick. After Wallace threw an errant block on Carson Hocevar, the Daytona 500 champion was on the preferred inside lane. The No. 45 had enough momentum to clear the pack by the white flag and cruised to another huge win. Taking another victory with Michael Jordan in attendance, Reddick is the first man since Matt Kenseth in 2009 to start a Cup season with two wins.
The 23XI Racing tandem of Wallace and Reddick were by all accounts the class of the field on Sunday. Starting from pole, Reddick led a race-high 53 laps and Wallace was not far off with 46 circuits paced. As with seemingly every race on the new Atlanta surface, carnage happened early and often with several contenders taken out. While Stage 1 ran clean in its entirety, the second segment was stopped four different times by major incidents. This included Kyle Larson wrecking from the front of the pack coming to the stage checkers. Drafting aces Austin Cindric and Bubba Wallace each split the respective stage wins.
There’s contact between Larson and SVG as @BubbaWallace wins Stage 2! pic.twitter.com/mgZdvkmnuI
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 22, 2026
Eventual race-winner Reddick was not immune from being involved in his own trouble. 23XI Racing team owner Denny Hamlin got loose and spun off of turn four early in Stage 3. The No. 45 was one of a few drivers who had nowhere to go and also spun here, causing significant damage to his Toyota.
Contact coming off of Turn 4!@dennyhamlin slides down the frontstretch, and several cars get caught up behind him. pic.twitter.com/zTpPVRecqz
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 22, 2026
Following a brief red flag for another incident, overtime number two went green with Wallace and Reddick alongside Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain. Midway down the backstretch, Wallace went high to block the No. 77 but went too wide, allowing Hocevar and Reddick to gain an advantage. Thanks to Toyota teammate Chase Briscoe pushing, Reddick was able to clear Hocevar and set sail for victory lane once again.
FINAL LAPS: Overtime #2 sees @BubbaWallace throw too big of a block on @CarsonHocevar, allowing @TylerReddick to storm by for back-to-back wins from @EchoParkSpdwy #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/dDIDJ2jSl8
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) February 23, 2026
“That’s crazy ain’t it,” Reddick said. “How about that? EchoPark Speedway! I mean, this place over the years, man, you know, it just puts on some amazing racing. Handling matters here, but man, I don’t know. I guess determination, always handling.”
“Thank you, everybody, for coming out. I mean, it’s cold. Cheers to everyone here. Y’all motivate us to pull off some crazy stuff like that.”
“We were back there in 30th after we got collected with the 11. It was definitely really loose, and we were able to make a little bit of adjustment on it with the air and whatnot. I don’t know, they just kept stacking up in the middle and top lanes. And I just found a way to get back in the top five.”
“I tried to stay committed to somebody, and I don’t know, I didn’t really have a choice. I had to find out if it was going to go out in clean air like that.”
Reddick and Briscoe were the top-two finishers, just ahead of Chastain, Hocevar, and Daniel Suarez. Shane van Gisbergen, Zane Smith, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, and Ryan Blaney were the top-10. Hear a few of these driver’s post-race thoughts below.
.@chasebriscoe was 2nd tonight and says it felt like a lot of fun from behind the wheel, unlike Daytona/Talladega he doesn’t enjoy a ton.
Briscoe also says the wind was an ever-changing factor greatly affecting handling all race. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/2XXJfcynCA
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) February 23, 2026
.@CarsonHocevar says today felt like a video game and he plays a lot of those.
The @SpireMotorsport driver leaves this weekend with a pair of top-fives and was 4th today. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/GUdCexgonW
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) February 23, 2026
.@Daniel_SuarezG rounds out a double top-5 night for @SpireMotorsport and believes this 7 team is only getting better every week. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/lk3KoEENfZ
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) February 23, 2026
.@Jumpman23 congratulates @BubbaWallace on another strong run and near-win in Atlanta.
“Good job” says Jordan. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/YjOf9eKhVH
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) February 23, 2026
.@BubbaWallace: “The Xfinity Toyota was the fastest car in the field, we didn’t win but the team won, again. Good points day!”
Wallace also says what @Jumpman23 told him post-race. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/QTG3XHtplp
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) February 23, 2026
Reddick is only the sixth man to open a Cup season with two wins. He will try and become the first to go 3-0 to start a year next week at COTA. Reddick is a past winner on the technical Austin, Texas circuit, and heads there with peak momentum. The DuraMax Grand Prix goes green Sunday, March 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
