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NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA leaderboard, highlights: William Byron wins EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix

Nick Gray and Tom Kreager, Nashville Tennessean
·7 min read

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 p.m. 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

Checkered flag: William Byron holds off Christopher Bell for win No. 2 in 2024

William Byron holds off the hard-charging Christopher Bell to win at COTA. Bell clawed to within a second on the final turn, but needed an extra lap.

The top 10:

  1. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

  4. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

  6. AJ Allmendinger, No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

  7. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

  8. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

  9. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

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

FULL RESULTS: Who won NASCAR Cup race in COTA? Winner is William Byron, plus full results

Lap 65: Christopher Bell to 2nd

Christopher Bell passes teammate Ty Gibbs for second place with three laps to go. Bell is within three seconds, but has been anywhere from eight-tenths of a second to a full second better than the leader.

Lap 60: Ty Gibbs to 2nd, and Christopher Bell is coming

Ty Gibbs outbrakes Alex Bowman in Turn 1 to complete the pass with 8 laps to go. Christopher Bell is by far the best car on the race track and is now 5.7 seconds behind leader William Byron. Is Bell a factor for the win? Is there enough time?

Lap 56: William Byron in control

William Byron's lead is more than three seconds ahead of teammate Alex Bowman. That, of course, is the same order they ran to finish the Daytona 500 last month.

Their teammate Chase Elliott spun while running in 11th and is now back to 19th. It'll be another frustrating result for NASCAR's most popular driver, barring some change in circumstances.

Here comes Ty Gibbs in third, closing in on Alex Bowman.

Lap 46: After stops, give the edge to William Byron and Alex Bowman

The field hasn't completed cycled through, but William Byron will eventually lead once it does. Alex Bowman pitted a couple laps sooner than the rest of the leaders, and he will be second. Ty Gibbs will be 3rd, and Ross Chastain will be 4th barring a caution.

The FOX broadcast reported that Chastain's stop was three seconds slower than Byron's stop. It appeared that Chastain's crew was slow on both rear tires.

Lap 43: William Byron back into the lead

William Byron spends a full lap alongside Ross Chastain, battling for the lead. They get back around to Turn 1, and Byron clears Chastain for the lead. Final (?) pit stops upcoming.

Good run so far for Justin Haley, who runs 9th in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford.

Lap 40: Kyle Busch spins, continues

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.

Lap 39: Chase Elliott penalized for track limits violation while in 5th

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

Lap 34: Ross Chastain takes advantage of William Byron mistake on the restart

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.

Lap 30: Denny Hamlin holds off Ryan Blaney for Stage 2 win

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.

Lap 15: Christopher Bell wins Stage 1

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.

Lap 2: Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr. pit early

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.

Lap 1: Green flag!

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 on the pole; full NASCAR Cup Series in COTA starting lineup

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.

NASCAR race radio coverage: How to listen to NASCAR Cup race at COTA

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA will be broadcasted 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.

NASCAR Cup Series COTA race TV schedule, start time

  • Green Flag Time:  Approx. 2:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 24

  • TV coverage:  FOX (coverage begins at 2 p.m. 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.

Recent NASCAR Cup Series winners at COTA

  • 2023: Tyler Reddick

  • 2022: Ross Chastain

  • 2021: Chase Elliott

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA: Live updates, highlights, leaderboard