The Cup race at Circuit of the Americas produced both winners and losers. William Byron emerged as a winner, claiming his second victory of the season and becoming the first driver to win two races in three consecutive years. He also has the most wins in the Next Gen car since its debut in 2022.
Christopher Bell finished as the runner-up, securing his fourth top-10 finish of the season. Ty Gibbs came in third, marking his fifth consecutive top-10 finish and moving up to second in the season standings. Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch also had strong performances, finishing fourth and ninth respectively.
However, there were also some losers from the race. Michael McDowell had a disappointing finish of 38th due to power steering failure, marking the second time this season he has finished 35th or worse. Noah Gragson finished in 34th place, continuing a trend of finishing poorly in multiple races this season. Harrison Burton finished in 30th place, with five finishes outside the top 27 in six races. It is important to note that the original version did not update the finishing positions for Michael McDowell, Noah Gragson, and Harrison Burton due to the disqualification of Justin Haley’s car after post-race inspection.
Overall, it was a mixed performance for drivers at Circuit of the Americas. Some drivers were able to make their mark on
