Competitive field at COTA makes history, ties record for most lead changes on road course

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA on Sunday made NASCAR Cup Series history following a scintillating race that saw Christopher Bell take home the hardware.

Bell was lights out in the closing stretch, securing a back-to-back win for the first time in the Cup Series since 2023.

What’s wild is he did it in one of the most competitive fields in road course racing history. According to NASCAR Insights, the race at COTA saw 20 total lead changes. That was tied for the most on a road course in Cup Series history, matching 1980 Riverside and 1970 Riverside.

The lead traded around a couple times in the closing stretch, with Bell ultimately overtaking Kyle Busch and then holding on for the win against a hard-charging William Byron and Tyler Reddick.

Busch had a considerable lead on Bell with a few laps to go when disaster struck for him.

A wreck between Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon off a turn threw the race into caution, where Bell was able to pull closer on the restart … right into a position where he could strike.

As Bell went for the pass at COTA to take the lead, he initially made contact with Busch’s car door to door. Busch’s toe link bent as a result, and his car was never the same again down the stretch, fully spent.

“That was it on pushing the car,” Busch said, according to Brett Winningham of Speedway Digest. “I just wish we had equal tires to the 20. Once we had that yellow, you’re just in defense mode. Hated the contact in two and three bent the toe link.”

The late slide from Busch kept him from winning his first race in 59 Cup Series appearances, a long drought that is getting tougher and tougher to stomach. But Busch ran an excellent race for as long as his equipment held up.

Bell was just a little bit better at COTA on Sunday, earning another hard-fought win. He also won last weekend at Atlanta, winning a race that finished under caution after beating out Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson.