The 2025 NASCAR EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, was a thrilling start to the road course segment of the NASCAR Cup Series season. This marked the fifth edition of the event and featured a new, shortened layout that added an exciting twist to the race.
In an effort to increase the action on track, this year’s event was on a new 2.4-mile layout of COTA, down from the previous 3.4 miles typically run by Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship. With more laps and quicker lap times – drivers saw over a minute taken out from the 2024 times – the action was sure to be hot as the field would remain tighter for the duration of the event.
Christopher Bell claimed victory, marking his second consecutive win of the 2025 season, as he now holds the prior four victories for the Joe Gibbs Racing squad. Bell’s performance showcased his versatility on both superspeedways and road courses as he worked his way through the field on Sunday with what was soon the car to beat at the end of the day.
With five laps remaining, Bell hunted down and overtook Kyle Busch for the lead as 2024 winner and back-to-back Daytona 500 Champion William Byron chased him down in the closing laps. Bell’s pace, however, was too much for the 24 driver as Bell took the checkered flag by only 0.433s to secure the win.
Despite Bell’s thrilling win over Byron and Tyler Reddick, the standout performance of the day went to Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliot. Elliott, starting third, was punted around in traffic at the top of turn 1 after the race went green on lap 1 by Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain. Despite dropping to the back of the field and sustaining damage, Elliot and the number 9 Napa squad rallied for a top-4 finish.
For full results, click here and check out the race highlights below:
