NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA: Live updates, highlights, leaderboard

The NASCAR Cup Series goes road racing for the first time in 2024 for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin.

William Byron is on the pole for Sunday’s race, which will be the fourth at the Texas track originally built for Formula One racing.

Last week, Denny Hamlin outlasted Martin Truex Jr. and the rest of the field during a tire-wear race in Bristol. Expect tire wear to matter quite a bit less on Sunday (AKA little to no cording or rubber build-up), though the Truck and Xfinity races on Saturday both showed that new tires are important.

Follow our live race updates, with green flag set for after 2:30 pm CT on Sunday.

PICKS FOR SUNDAY’S RACE: NASCAR COTA predictions 2024: Expert picks for Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas

LAST WEEK: Bristol NASCAR race earned huge TV ratings; most-watched sports event over the weekend

Kyle Busch spins off the bumper of Christopher Bell and will lose several spots. He’s back to 11th after being in 5th.

Didn’t appear intentional, but contact was made.

FWIW, Chase Elliott is back in 22nd after serving his penalty.

A critical mistake for Chase Elliott, who goes wide of the track in Turn 4 and will have to do a pass-through penalty from 5th place.

The current top 10:

1. Ross Chastain
2. William Byron
3. Ty Gibbs
4. Alex Bowman
5. Chase Elliott (pre-pass through penalty)
6. Kyle Busch
7. Tyler Reddick
8. Christopher Bell
9. Chris Buescher
10. AJ Allmendinger

Ross Chastain restarts alongside William Byron as the field cycled back through with pit stops, and Byron locks it up going into Turn 1. Chastain to the lead, with Ty Gibbs following.

Denny Hamlin has won Stage 2 at COTA for his first stage win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Blaney was second. Martin Truex was third. David Gilliland was fourth and Ryan Preece was fifth.

Christopher Bell stayed out and chose not to pit during the first stage to win it by more than 17 seconds. Daniel Suarez was second.

Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric and Austin Dillon rounded out the top five. William Byron, the pole sitter, finished sixth.

Bubba Wallace and Martin Truex Jr. get folded up with Corey Lajoie on the opening lap, and the two Toyota drivers will pit for new tires and a tug or two on a fender. Drivers can pit without losing a lap, but it won’t help track position for two drivers with good starting spots.

Truex’s pit came because of a wheel issue, part of the wheel had shattered off..

Harrison Burton spins on Lap 2 but continues.

William Byron goes a bit wide but leads out of turn 1 on the opening lap, with Tyler Reddick in pursuit.

Underway in COTA!

William Byron won the pole for Sunday’s race, his first of the season.

The top 10:

1. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3.Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

4. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

5. Corey Lajoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

6. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

7. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

9. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

10. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

Find the full starting lineup here.

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA will be broadcast on the radio by the Performance Racing Network. PRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed on GoPRN.com and on NASCAR.com as well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

• Green Flag Time: Approx. 2:30 pm CT on Sunday, March 24
• TV coverage: FOX (coverage begins at 2 pm CT Sunday)
• Radio: PRN (TBD in Nashville)
• Streaming: FUBO (free trial available); FOX Sports app (subscription required); GoPRN.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required).

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix will be broadcast nationally on FOX. Streaming options for the game include the FOX Sports app and FUBO, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

• 2023: Tyler Reddick
• 2022: Ross Chastain
• 2021: Chase Elliott

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