On the one hand, Connor Zilisch showed that he can come through the Cup Series field when he had to do it twice on Sunday. But he also left COTA unsatisfied after being inside the top five late and feeling like it was one of the best races he's driven:

Tyler Reddick winning the first three races of the season is something that one of his car owners, Denny Hamlin, doesn't believe he'll see again in his lifetime.

The SVG road course streak has been snapped at five. " ... just following Tyler, his driving was immaculate, and his car was very good, too. I tried but didn’t quite have enough."

Cup Series points after COTA:

Tyler Reddick put a new page in the NASCAR history book Sunday at Circuit of The Americas with his third consecutive Cup Series victory to start the season.

Tyler Reddick's quest to become the first driver in history to win the first three races of the season will start from the front of the field:

Justin Allgaier knows what his numbers are and how he's been in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. (Seriously, go look.) But they've never mattered to him. And having exceeded his expectations so many times, Allgaier says: "I think 2026 is a year of fun."

Michael McDowell and Ryan Blaney were the quickest pair in Cup Series practice Saturday morning:

Brad Keselowski said this morning that he has no intentions of getting out of his car this weekend. Keselowski, still healing from a broken femur, knows it's not going to be easy, but that "it's time to go race."

A new feature-length documentary on the Daytona 500 is coming to Prime Video, while the first two seasons of the Full Speed series are now available on the streaming service:

The first hearing in the lawsuit between Joe Gibbs Racing and Chris Gabehart/Spire Motorsports took place on Friday. It went much longer than expected as the two sides argued over a non-compete clause that would bench Gabehart for 18 months as JGR seeks a temporary restraining order:

In a 16-page declaration after being sued by Joe Gibbs Racing, former competition director Chris Gabehart tells his side of the story and makes some claims of his own against the company:

Connor Zilisch is expected to be the guy to go toe-to-toe with Shane van Gisbergen on the road courses. It'll be a tall task. Can he do it? “I feel like I have the speed to do it; I just need to be able to run a perfect race to be able to beat him."

Joe Gibbs Racing has amended the complaint it filed against Chris Gabehart last week to now include Spire Motorsports as a defendant. Additionally, Gibbs wants a restraining order to stop Spire from employing Gabehart and using the stolen information:

Shane van Gisbergen won five of the six road-course races last season, and drivers are still working to close the gap. But they're not hiding their frustration either. “It drives me nuts going to a road course and getting just dusted by Shane."

Justin Allgaier is enjoying his career more these days. He doesn't care about numbers. His phone doesn't ring for the Cup Series. And 2026? It's about fun. We're digging deep this week: 🍎 bit.ly/4tSyKpp 🟢 bit.ly/4kWoIPY 💻 bit.ly/4qNLjiR

The definition of locked in has a new meaning and a picture of Tyler Reddick next to it as the 23XI Racing driver is undefeated to start the NASCAR Cup Series season. “So far, something has felt different this year.”

EchoPark Speedway report:

Kyle Larson took the blame for crashing himself and Shane van Gisbergen at the end of the second stage. The unexpected cut to the bottom from the top had Larson admitting, "I need to listen more, I guess, and not just react off what I feel sometimes."

Daniel Suarez was once again in the picture as things wound down at EchoPark Speedway, and he thought he was "in an amazing spot" with three Chevys lined up on the outside lane. But then he felt they gave it away by not committing fully to each other:

Carson Hocevar was "shocked" when Bubba Wallace ended up blocking too far right, which gave him the opening that he needed. Unfortunately, it was an opening that Tyler Reddick also took, and whereas Reddick had a teammate, Hocevar was without helpers:

Bubba Wallace threw an untold number of blocks Sunday. It was the last one that didn't work. “I think I created a hole and allowed those two to get underneath me. Unfortunate. Man, I thought we had it, but that’s racing. It ain’t over until it’s over."

Cup Series points after EchoPark Speedway:

Brad Keselowski still seems to be taking a one-week-at-a-time approach as he races while recovering. But he also knows next weekend is a big challenge. “I’m going to get through this weekend and see how it goes before making a decision on COTA.”

Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano are on the front row for Sunday's race:

Panini America has released the instant cards for last weekend's winners in Daytona. Here is the purchasing link: www.paniniamerica.net/panini-insta...

From last night in Cup Series inspection: * Austin Dillon's car failed twice, resulting in car chief Ryan Chism being ejected and the team will lose pit selection for this weekend.

Spire Motorsports has hired Chris Gabehart with his title being Chief Motorsports Officer. The role will encompass overseeing more than NASCAR, as the organization is involved in multiple racing series.

Chris Gabehart is "forcefully and emphatically" denying the claims that he calls "frivolous" and "retaliatory" that Joe Gibbs Racing has made against him in a lawsuit filed earlier this week.:

From Friday: The house fire that claimed the life of Dennis Hamlin has been ruled accidental, but the cause is unknown

Monday’s podcast episode is headed for editing. (And I know I’m biased but it’s really good.)

“There have been times in the race car that I’ve made the mistake of thinking about the business side while in the car staging. That’s cost me several bad judgment calls ..." Ron Capps now has to figure out how to juggle adding a mentee this year:

Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart, alleging a "brazen scheme" to steal its information and trade secrets.

Daytona 500 numbers:

"You're going to have to make it to where handling matters." "I doubt there's a fix to it because we're just going to figure out the next way to exploit it." "It's not an easy fix." The superspeedway fuel save continues to be a thorn in the side:

Ron Capps takes a new step in team ownership this year with someone under his wing. That someone is new Top Fuel driver, Maddi Gordon. It's one hell of a pairing. Both are ready to show it. 🍎 bit.ly/4rG1H6B 🟢 bit.ly/46aYbbs 🖥️ bit.ly/4tBX2UB

How many people can you fit outside the care center? When the leaders all crash coming to the finish, this becomes the post-race scene instead of pit road. And shortly after this shot, Blaney and Keselowski joined the party.

Daytona 500 report:

Column: Daytona, when at its best, delivers a moment in time for some of those who need it most. A winner or story emerges that will live on for decades, as the magic of the race and what it means shines through in full force. It happened w/Tyler Reddick

Brad Keselowski had an opportunity to win the Daytona 500 coming to the finish line, and he would have liked to have seen how it would have finished if he made it there unscathed. Keselowski, however, wound up with Riley Herbst in his lap.

Chase Elliott didn't want to throw an extra block on Tyler Reddick and get wrecked. “I feel like the best play for me was to try to re-rack and get one last shove to the line." But instead Elliott ended up getting wrecked anyway:

Justin Allgaier felt he would have a car this year that could race in the Daytona 500, and he did. Allgaier was showing that on Sunday afternoon when he made the wrong assumption about a run coming from Denny Hamlin and triggered a big wreck:

Cup Series points after Daytona:

The dynamic of the racing has certainly changed at Daytona, and driver skill has seemingly taken a backseat. But for the drivers, no matter what the race looks like, it's still the Daytona 500, and it's still special.

Ryan Preece leads a 1-2-3 RFK Racing final Cup Series practice for the Daytona 500. “I have a tremendous amount of confidence in this team, and they’ve buckled down and hustled to clean this backup Ford Mustang Dark Horse...and we’re rockin’ and rolling."

The 'real racer' in Shane van Gisbergen is fine with NASCAR changing the championship format, and he believes his team can make the Chase on merit. But he's disappointed see two road courses leave the schedule. "But I came here not to run road courses.”

Chase Elliott has a decade of experience now in the Daytona 500, and what he's learned is that it's a day-by-day experience and nothing is guaranteed. Not even after winning a pole, or a duel, or having the fastest car. "It’s all circumstantial."

Jimmie Johnson has put an end date on his Cup Series driving career:

Austin Dillon was fastest overall in Cup Series practice, and is pleased with the 3 team's effort thus far. Josh Berry, the fastest Ford, is finding a familiar feel w/his car. Toyota's Christopher Bell, however, was alarmed where he was on the chart:

Joey Logano felt everyone's push-ability in the Thursday night duel was awful. Chase Elliott agreed that the cars were unstable, and he was pushed out of shape in places he didn't expect. So for Sunday, "say a prayer. It’s going to be crazy.”