NASCAR Cup Series COTA results: Raikkonen agony as Reddick takes the win

Graham Shaw
Monday 27 March 2023 01:32 - Updated: 02:07

Kimi Raikkonen lost out to Jenson Button in battle of former F1 world champions as Tyler Reddick claimed a thrilling NASCAR Cup Series victory at COTA on Sunday.

Raikkonen and Jenson Button were both in action in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, with the Briton making his Cup Series debut in the process.

Button bests Raikkonen in battle of F1 champs

Kimi, who had prior Cup Series experience after making his debut at Watkins Glen in 2022, put in a strong drive which saw him racing in the top four at one point, and he appeared set to end the day in the top 15 as the race went into overtime.

Disaster then struck for the Finn though as he was caught up in a late incident which saw him drop out of the top 20 and all the way down to a finishing position of P29. His luckless afternoon had been compounded by a 30-second post-race penalty for cutting esses.

Button meanwhile, who will also race later this season in Chicago and Indianapolis, put in a really solid debut drive as he improved from P24 on the starting lineup to P18 at the close of a gruelling race.

Reddick wins COTA thriller

Up front it was Reddick who took the honours to top the podium, getting the best of a thrilling battle which saw seven drivers lead at one time or another as well as a total of 16 lead changes and eight cautions.

Reddick came home 1.411 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch, with Alex Bowman completing the podium. Pole sitter William Byron eventually dropped to P5 after battling Reddick for the lead for most of the afternoon.

Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson endured a difficult day, finishing 38th of the 39 cars.

A day full of F1 interest at COTA also extended to the commentary booth, with Haas team principal Guenther Steiner in the FOX commentary booth.

NASCAR Cup Series COTA results: Full finishing order

The final finishing order looked like this:

1. Tyler Reddick

2. Kyle Busch

3. Alex Bowman

4. Ross Chastain

5 William Byron

6. Austin Cindric

7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

8. Chris Buescher

9. Ty Gibbs

10. Todd Gilliland

11. Corey Lajoie

12. Michael McDowell

13. Kevin Harvick

14. Kyle Larson

15. Chase Briscoe

16. Denny Hamlin

17. Martin Truex Jr.

18. Jenson Button

19. Justin Haley

20. Noah Gragson

21. Ryan Blaney

22. Harrison Burton

23. Erik Jones

24. Jordan Taylor

25. Cody Ware

26. Chris Bilicki

27. Daniel Suarez

28. Joey Logano

29. Kimi Raikkonen

30. Aric Almirola

31. Christopher Bell

32. Ryan Preece

33. Austin Dillon

34. AJ Allmendinger

35. Brad Keselowski

36. Conor Daly

37. Bubba Wallace

38. Jimmie Johnson

39. Ty Dillon