'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABbAAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABxAAAgICAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAAHBRESIQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAxEBAAICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQACAxETITH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AJpa3rsE8verNfgTwrytEtVDH0F9lQ3x+jlPp7x2JZqQTJV4RVliRwCkpIDDvGMbgxKjQ0eQy9tvc//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tyler Reddick won the latest NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas. It’s Reddick’s fourth career victory and third on a road course.
Reddick had to survive three overtime restarts and a spirited battle with William Byron throughout the day to take home the victory.
Here are three takeaways from today's NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
#3 NASCAR isn’t as easy as it seems
One of the big selling points of today’s race at COTA was all of the “road course ringers” that would participate in the event. The list included Kimi Raikkonen, Jordan Taylor, and Jenson Button.
Many thought that at least one of them might contend for a Top 10 or a victory if things felt right. However, as it turns out, NASCAR isn’t as easy as it appears.
All of the ringers had issues during the race or were just slow. The highest finisher in the group was Button in 18th. Meanwhile, Taylor and Raikkonen finished in 24th and 29th, respectively.
#2 Stage cautions should be eliminated everywhere
Another interesting part of today's race from COTA was the elimination of stage cautions.
This was a decision that the vast majority of fans were in favor of. Stage cautions took a lot of strategy out of races, especially on road courses.
Without stage breaks, the pit strategy came into play before the late string of cautions erased that. We also saw fantastic racing between Tyler Reddick and William Byron throughout the day.
Hopefully, today's race will sway NASCAR to eliminate stage cautions at every track going forward.
#1 Tyler Reddick: NASCAR’s new road course king?
Many consider Chase Elliott to be the best road course driver. However, Tyler Reddick is making a case to be the new road course king. Reddick won two road course races last year at Road America and Indianapolis, both of which were in dominating fashion.
Reddick also dominated today's race, even if the strategy calls and late race batch of caution might dilute that a bit.
If Reddick can keep up the pace and dominate the next couple of road courses, then there is no doubt that he is the new road course king.
