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Autotrader 400

Date
Feb 22
Distance
260 Laps

RACE RECAP

Tyler Reddick made NASCAR history at EchoPark Speedway, rallying from a mid-race wreck to win the Autotrader 400 in double overtime — making him just the sixth driver ever to sweep the first two races of a Cup season, and the first since Matt Kenseth in 2009.

The drama started early when Josh Berry and Ty Gibbs tangled on lap 81, ending both their days. Kyle Larson — who led 48 laps — was collected trying to cut off Shane van Gisbergen at the end of Stage 2. Kyle Busch spun after contact with Noah Gragson, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was taken out in a lap 103 pileup triggered by Riley Herbst.

Then came the big one. On lap 224, Denny Hamlin lost it on the high side and triggered a nine-car wreck that collected Reddick, Logano, Byron, Allmendinger, and others. Only 28 cars remained on the lead lap. Reddick's No. 45 Toyota lost its entire right-front fender but somehow kept going.

With four laps left, William Byron's tire gave out and triggered an 11-car chain reaction involving Cindric, Gilliland, and Cody Ware — sending the race to overtime. On the first OT restart, Carson Hocevar turned defending race winner Christopher Bell into the outside wall, forcing a second overtime attempt.

On the final restart, Bubba Wallace — who dominated with 46 laps led and a Stage 2 win — jumped too high blocking Hocevar. Reddick dove underneath his own teammate, and with no right-front fender, held off Chase Briscoe by just 0.164 seconds to take the checkered flag.

Michael Jordan, standing on pit road in the cold, summed it up: "I'm so hyped I don't even feel the cold right now."

BY THE NUMBERS

57
Lead Changes
14
Leaders
10/67
Cautions / Laps
13
DNFs
10,124
Green Flag Passes
.164 sec
Margin of Victory
117.865
Avg MPH
Stage Winners
1Austin Cindric
2Bubba Wallace

KEY TAKEAWAYS

01Tyler Reddick wins with no right-front fender after being collected in a 9-car wreck on lap 224 — 6th driver ever to sweep the first two races
02Chase Briscoe storms from P34 to P2, the biggest mover of the day (+32 positions)
03Bubba Wallace dominates stages (46 laps led, Stage 2 win) but gets shuffled on final OT restart blocking Hocevar
04Carson Hocevar turns Christopher Bell into the wall on the first overtime restart — finishes P4 himself
05Kyle Larson crashes out on lap 160 after leading 48 laps trying to cut off van Gisbergen at the Stage 2 finish
0610 cautions, 57 lead changes, and double overtime — classic Atlanta superspeedway chaos
0723XI Racing goes 1-8 with Reddick and Wallace — Michael Jordan celebrates on pit road

VALUE PICKS

6.3
pts/$
Car #10
Ty Dillon$4
P16
6.18
Car #97
Shane van Gisbergen$6
P6S2:P10Led:1
5.85
Car #38
Zane Smith$6
P7Led:1
5.80
Car #16
A.J. Allmendinger$5
P12
5.76
Car #23
Bubba Wallace$10
P8S1:P2S2:P1Led:46

BUSTS

0.9
pts/$
Car #8
Kyle Busch$12
P34S1:P7
1.61
Car #20
Christopher Bell$13
P21Led:9
1.68
Car #5
Kyle Larson$13
P32S1:P3Led:48
1.80
Car #48
Alex Bowman$10
P23
1.91
Car #22
Joey Logano$15
P18S1:P8Led:26

PERFECT LINEUP

Optimal 5-driver roster for this race

Salary
$49/50
Avg Finish
P4.2
Total Points
395.30
GroupDriverSalaryFinishPts
A
Car #45
Tyler Reddick
$121
124.60
2 × 62.30
B
Car #23
Bubba Wallace
$108
100.80
1.75 × 57.60
C
Car #19
Chase Briscoe
$112
77.55
1.5 × 51.70
D
Car #77
Carson Hocevar
$104
55.25
1.25 × 44.20
E
Car #97
Shane van Gisbergen
$66
37.10
1 × 37.10