Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace lock up pole and front row for 23XI Racing at COTA
Running behind Tyler Reddick on his hot lap, Bubba Wallace made up for his spin in practice and now 23XI Racing has the front row. Reddick is on pole with Wallace P2. Everyone in the NASCAR world was focused on Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen, these Toyota drivers reminded folks others were on the track.
This is the second pole for Tyler Reddick at COTA. He won the 2023 race. Bubba Wallace has now improved his qualifying mark at COTA each of the last three years. P23 to P11 to P10 and now P2. Major improvements.
23XI Racing tried to get Riley Herbst up near the top but he had his lap disqualified for cutting the course. Still, an all-23XI front row isn’t anything to be upset about.
Check out the advanced breakdown of the numbers from NASCAR Insights. It is clear why Tyler Reddick was able to secure the pole this afternoon. He was top-four in each of the three sectors.
During his career, Reddick has made a name for himself on road courses. He has won at COTA in the past, he has what it takes to do it again. However, with the results from today’s practice and qualifying sessions, I think that whoever wins will have to be perfect.
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One mistake on this course and drivers will take advantage. There are too many great road-course racers in the series now. Making a mistake or missing your marks will be costly on Sunday.
Tyler Reddick wins pole, Carson Hocevar impresses
Last week in Atlanta, Carson Hocevar put a spotlight and maybe a target on himself with the way he raced on the track. Hocevar had the ire of Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, and possibly even Hendrick Motorsports. It was also his best NASCAR Cup Series finish.
This week he continued to be in the spotlight with his impressive qualifying effort.
Had it not been for a great team effort from 23XI Racing and a very impressive run from Chase Elliott at the last minute, the pole may have been Carson Hocevar’s today. He was fourth overall and could have picked up a lot more time in Sector 1 according to the numbers.
I’m not sure anyone expected Hocevar to come out and outqualify his teammate Michael McDowell this weekend. We know McDowell is a great road course racer and has won at the Indy Road Course. Hocevar was the only Spire driver to make the top-10 in qualifying.