NASCAR at COTA live updates: Chase Elliott wins as race called after red flag, heavy rain

All updates from this race have concluded. Find a recap and full analysis of Sunday’s race at COTA here.

The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas is today. The EchoPark Texas Grand Prix race starts at 2:30 p.m. on FS1.

The race is 68 laps (231 miles) on the 3.41-mile road course with stages ending on laps 15, 32 and 68. All times are Eastern.

Check back here for live updates throughout the race and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

Results from NASCAR race at COTA

Stage 3

6:30 p.m.: With 54 laps completed and heavy rain falling, NASCAR called the race and declared current leader Chase Elliott the winner. This is his sixth career Cup win on a road course. For a second week in a row, Hendrick Motorsports will finish with driver in the top-two positions. The team earned its 268th win with Elliott’s latest victory to tie Petty Enterprise’s record.

6:14 p.m., Lap 54: A red flag caution is out for visibility and track conditions as heavy rain continues to fall.

6:06 p.m., Lap 51: The lead is held by Chase Elliott — who has an almost 10-second gap between him and Kyle Larson. There are 17 laps to go in heavy rain and conditions.

5:55 p.m., Lap 47: It’s now Alex Bowman in the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott Denny Hamlin. There are 21 laps left in the race.

5:45 p.m., Lap 43: With 25 laps to go, Kyle Larson leads with Ross Chastain, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano behind him. The rain continues to fall in Austin.

Stage 2

5:10 p.m., Lap 32: Kyle Busch wins the second stage at Circuit of the Americas for his second stage win on a road course. Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Corey LaJoie, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, A.J. Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe and Alex Bowman finish the stage in the top-10 for points.

5:04 p.m., Lap 31: Kyle Busch continues to lead, but Austin Cindric is trailing him by about a second. Busch is starting to pull away. Quin Houff’s car spins, and is hit by Kyle Tilley then Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who gets stuck behind him.

4:58 p.m., Lap 28 (GREEN FLAG): NASCAR announces that the field will switch to single-file restarts, so Ryan Preece will line up as the leader. When the race goes green at 5 p.m., Kyle Busch, then Austin Cindric charge to the front with 40 laps to go, four laps remaining in the stage. The rest of the running order is Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.

4:46 p.m., Lap 25 (YELLOW FLAG): Under the yellow flag, rain lightens up, but NASCAR calls all the cars to pit road to allow teams to clean their windshields. Three crew members are allowed to wipe down the windows and use a Rain-X solution, but they cannot make any other adjustments, while in their running order. Pits will open for regular stops the next time around.

4:15 p.m., Lap 25 (RED FLAG): A massive wreck between Cole Custer and Martin Truex Jr. red flags the race. On the back straightaway, Truex runs into the back of Michael McDowell’s slowed car. The oncoming car driven by Custer then dive-bombs underneath Truex’s car. Truex almost flips as Custer slams into the inside barrier and his car catches on fire. Both drivers exit their cars and tell FS1 that they “can’t see anything” on the track.

4:10 p.m., Lap 24 (CAUTION): No. 23 crew chief Mike Wheeler also says visibility is tough mid-pack. Kevin Harvick, who is out of his car, tells NBC Sports, “We don’t have any business being out in the rain, period. All I can say is this is the worst decision that we’ve ever made in our sport that I’ve been a part of. I’ve never felt more unsafe in my whole racing career. Period.”

4 p.m., Lap 19 CAUTION Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also pits with damage, as he appears to have been involved in the carnage. Blaney evidently slowed, and Bell got into the back of him. Harvick, trailing, lifted and Wallace got into the back of him, according to a replay by FS1. “I don’t exactly know what happened,” Bell says on the broadcast. “Ran into the back of somebody...(We’re) just racing blind.”

3:49 p.m., Lap 17: Joey Logano lines up on the inside for the restart, but the lap devolves into chaos. Ryan Newman goes for a spin early and straightens back out, but the caution comes out shortly after for an incident involving Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney. Through the mist, it appears that Harvick was hit from behind, but the front of his car has significant damage as well. Wallace and Bell also spin. Both drivers exit their cars. Their days are done.

Stage 1

3:37 p.m., Lap 15: Joey Logano wins the first stage of the race, followed by Michael McDowell, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch and Matt DiBenedetto. William Byron and DiBenedetto make contact just before the end of the stage. DiBenedetto gets into the back of Byron, who has to pit with right rear damage and a right rear flat. He’s able to make minimum speed after pitting.

3:26 p.m., Lap 11: Joey Logano leads after driving inside Michael McDowell, who wiggles slightly through a turn. McDowell stays in second, followed by Austin Cindric, William Byron and Kurt Busch in the top-five. Garrett Smithley spins farther back, but gets back on track and the race stays green.

3:20 p.m., Lap 10: The field goes three-wide into the first turns on the restart. Denny Hamlin spins from the bottom-20, and gets back on track without a caution coming out. Michael McDowell leads Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, William Byron and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

3:12 p.m., Lap 7: Martin Truex Jr. inherits the lead on wet tires, followed by Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece. Those top-five started on the wet tires and are seeing the payoff early. A caution comes out for Daniel Suárez stalled between Turns 12 and 13 on Lap 7. Suárez’s car appears to get locked up with a transmission issue. The No. 99 team changed its transmission after qualifying this morning. The strategies differ again at the flag with Martin Truex Jr. pitting from the lead to take new tires. Michael McDowell stays out to assume the lead.

2:59 p.m., Lap 5: Austin Cindric leads the field on slick tires, as others pit behind him for wet tires. Many drivers come to pit road after the first lap as rain picks up, including Chase Elliott, William Byron and Joey Logano. Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch pit later, on Lap 4 from the front of the field. After a brief exchange over the radio on the consistent rain, Cindric plans to pit for wet tires.

Pre-race

2:45 p.m.: With light sprinkling overhead, NASCAR declares a “damp” start, meaning teams will have a choice on whether they use wet or slick tires. Drivers are reporting that the track is not yet wet, meaning most will opt to switch to the slicks (dry). On pit road, the Penske cars of Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney pull tape on their car grilles, which is an unapproved adjustment. They will have to drop to the rear for the start.

2:35 p.m: Pre-race ceremonies are underway at Circuit of the Americas, complete with fans crowding the grandstands and a command to fire engines delivered virtually by famed Texas actor and Austin FC owner Matthew McConaughey. He leads the command with his signature, “Alright, alright, alright...”

2 p.m.: Cars are staged on a dry track, but are mostly sitting covered, with clouds rolling in. The weather radar shows rain cells moving in over Austin, Texas by 2:30 p.m. Circuit of the Americas and NASCAR announce that on-site parking is full and requests that fans attending the race part at Del Valle High School (5201 Ross Rd. Del Valle, TX 78617).

1:18 p.m.: Nine cars will drop to the rear for today’s race for unapproved adjustments. Many teams worked on their equipment following qualifying this morning. Tyler Reddick earned the first pole position in his Cup career with a lap of 132.911 seconds (92.363 mph). Kyle Larson will start alongside Reddick in the front row, in second.

The following nine drivers will drop to the rear at the start of the race for unapproved adjustments: Daniel Suárez (previously 15th), Denny Hamlin (19th), Aric Almirola (26th), Chase Briscoe (27th), Chris Buescher (28th), Erik Jones (29th), James Davison (32nd), Cody Ware (35th) and Anthony Alfredo (37th).

12:40 p.m.: NASCAR informs teams to switch to rain tires for the race at 2:30 p.m. Qualifying this morning ran in dry conditions, but rain is in the forecast this afternoon with a 60-80% chance of precipitation, according to the National Weather Service. NASCAR is able to declare either a “damp” or “wet” start based on the level of moisture at the track. For a damp start, teams are able to elect to mount tires. For a wet start, teams are required to use rain tires for the road course race in the rain.

How to watch NASCAR race at COTA

Starting order for NASCAR Cup race at COTA

This story was originally published May 23, 2021 at 1:31 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription