After back-to-back races on drafting-style tracks to open the 2025 NASCAR season, the Cup Series shifts its focus to Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. William Byron and Christopher Bell come into Sunday as the season's race winners, but neither are in the best position to start the race.
This week's left and right turns at the COTA road course mark the third race of the season for the Cup Series, but the first where drafting will not be a factor.
So let's dive right into the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix with the starting lineup after qualifying as well as all of the info about the TV broadcast, start time and more that fans need to know ahead of the green flag.
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix starting lineup: Full NASCAR qualifying results
Here's a look at the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying results at COTA and the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix starting lineup as a result.
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Starting Position | NASCAR Cup Series Driver |
|---|---|
1st | Tyler Reddick |
2nd | Bubba Wallace |
3rd | Chase Elliott |
4th | |
5th | Daniel Suarez |
6th | Shane van Gisbergen |
7th | Kyle Larson |
8th | Kyle Busch |
9th | Ross Chastain |
10th | Todd Gilliland |
11th | Denny Hamlin |
12th | AJ Allmendinger |
13th | Ty Gibbs |
14th | Connor Zilisch |
15th | William Byron |
16th | Michael McDowell |
17th | Noah Gragson |
18th | Chase Briscoe |
19th | Christopher Bell |
20th | Zane Smith |
21st | Alex Bowman |
22nd | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
23rd | Joey Logano |
24th | Chris Buescher |
25th | Ryan Blaney |
26th | Brad Keselowski |
27th | Austin Dillon |
28th | Ryan Preece |
29th | Justin Haley |
30th | Cole Custer |
31st | Riley Herbst |
32nd | Erik Jones |
33rd | John Hunter Nemechek |
34th | Ty Dillon |
35th | Josh Berry |
36th | Austin Cindric |
37th | Cody Ware |
Tyler Reddick is on pole position for Sunday's race at COTA, his second career pole at the track. He enters COTA third in points behind Ryan Blaney and Byron. At just 15 points behind Blaney with finishes of second (Daytona 500) and 19th (Atlanta), Reddick is off to a solid start this season.
Blaney will roll of the grid from 25th while Byron will start 15th as the defending race winner. Van Gisbergen, the race favorite, starts sixth and 18-year-old Connor Zilisch, the youngest driver to make their Cup Series debut since Joey Logano in 2008, will start 14th.
NASCAR race start time today: When does the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix green flag wave?
Sunday's race at COTA will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. It looks like the temperature will be around 80 degrees for the start of the race, dropping into the 70s by the end. Although wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour are in the forecast, it looks like there will be a mix of sun and clouds for the duration of the event and no more than a five percent chance of rain from start to finish.
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix stages explained
Here is what the stage breakdown looks like based on the number of laps being run in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix:
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Stage | Lap Number When Points Awarded |
|---|---|
Stage 1 | 20 |
Stage 2 | 45 |
Final Stage | 95 |
For those that don't know, most of the points for the season-long NASCAR Cup Series standings will be awarded for the final stage. Stage 1 and 2, though, give teams two additional opportunities to score points, as well as extra breaks for pit stops, and for the TV product, commercial breaks. 10 points go the stage winners with the remainder of the Top 10 receiving points in decreasing order with the 10th-place finisher getting one point. The stage victories and additional points can prove valuable throughout the season as drivers try to qualify for the 10-race playoffs that begin at Darlington Raceway on Aug. 31.
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix TV channel, broadcast and streaming info
The NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA on Sunday will be broadcast on FOX with the pre-race coverage of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET and the race starting at 3:30 p.m. ET. Fans can also catch the race on PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and streaming on Max.