NASCAR on COTA outcomes: Chase Elliott wins the moist, wild EchoPark Texas Grand Prix after a break

NASCAR is usually wild, but Sunday’s race added “wet” to the equation.

Lots of warning flags, multiple wrecks, and a red flag break wouldn’t stop Chase Elliott from taking the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix, his sixth win on the road and his first overall win of the year.

Though lightning didn’t push back the start of the race, the wet weather forced many delays on Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. There were also six DNFs that day and several other drivers ended the race with damaged cars.

The worst wreck of the race was Cole Custer and Martin Truex Jr., who escaped a major collision due to poor visibility. Custer’s car caught fire after the wreck, but Custer left it unscathed.

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Sporting News followed highlights, updates and more from the rain-shortened race on Sunday below (all times east).

NASCAR at COTA: EchoPark Texas Grand Prix Results

Official race results:

position	driver
1	Chase Elliott
2	Kyle Larson
3	Joey Logano
4th	Ross Chastain
5	AJ Allmendinger
6th	Chse Briscoe
7th	Michael McDowell
8th	Alex Bowman
9	Tyler Reddick
10	Kyle Busch
11	William Byron
12th	Austin Dillon
13th	Chris Buescher
14th	Denny Hamlin
fifteen	Ryan Preece
16	Eric Jones
17th	Ryan Blaney
18th	Anthony Alfredo
19th	Brad Keselowski
20th	Corey LaJoie
21	Ty Dillon
22nd	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
23	Matt DiBenedetto
24	Ryan Newman
25th	Austin Cindric
26th	Aric Almirola
27	Kurt Busch
28	Garrett Smithley
29	James Davison
30th	Josh Bilicki
31	Kyle Tilley
32	Cody ware
33	Daniel Suarez
34	Quin Houff
35	Martin Truex Jr.
36	Cole Custer
37	Kevin Harvick
38	Christopher Bell
39	Bubba Wallace
40	Justin Haley

NASCAR at COTA live updates, highlights from the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix

6:30 p.m. FINISH: Chase Elliott wins as NASCAR calls the race because of bad weather.

6:25 pm: This session has been marked red due to bad weather.

6:15 pm: Another yellow flag was canceled due to stagnant water on the route. Bad rain is coming.

6:08 pm: 16 laps left and Chase Elliott is in the lead. Kyle Busch pits.

5:51:23 laps before the race, Ross Chstain is currently leading the field. Course is still a little wet.

5:38 pm: Bush, Elliott both pit. Busch hasn’t had a box since round 8.

5:33 pm: Busch built a five-second lead when pole-sitter Tyler Reddick retired. No damage.

5:23 pm: Kyle Busch opens up another lead with the restart at level 3. Hopefully no interruptions from here to the checkered flag.

5:09 p.m. End phase 2: Kyle Busch holds back Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric for the stage win. Messy stage.

4:59 pm: We have a green flag with four laps before the second stage. Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric fight for first place.

4:55 pm: The track looks drier, but not dry.

4:49 pm: The rain seems to be easing off a bit and the drivers are now leaving the pit lane.

4:40 pm: The drivers start under yellow. Lap 26 now and they’re coming down the pit lane.

4:31 pm Track crew scratches and dries the tracks. Just a total mess.

4:18 pm: After the Custer-Truex incident, the red flag has gone out.

4:15 pm: Truex and Cole Custer are now colliding. Custer’s car catches fire and he quickly gets out. Custer slammed into Truex after Truex hit Michael McDowell. Bad scene.

4:14 pm: Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott are currently your top 5. Preece walks past Chastain and he takes off.

4:13 pm: We finally have a restart on lap 25 and there are still serious visibility problems in the middle of the field. The track is soaked.

4:02 pm: On lap 22 you are still cautious and have a lot of vision problems.

3:50 pm: Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace all leave with great damage. Unclear if they were involved in the same wreck, but not great.

Lots of problems in different places at COTA!

Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney were all involved. pic.twitter.com/WnPdlcwvVj

– FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 23, 2021

3:47 pm: Get ready to restart here soon and the pace car will lead the pack into the second leg.

3:33 p.m. End of stage 1: Joey Logano does a wet and wild phase 1: Lots of slides, some damage and lots and lots of water.

3:32 pm: Cars that use the additional lane off the track, but without success. The track is very slippery. William Byron pits and has badly damaged his front right fender.

3:30 a.m. The weather is now getting very rough, many cars miss corners and drive off the track, Denny Hamlin is the latest victim. Michael McDowell at the top, slim lead ahead of Joey Logano.

3:13 pm: Daniel Suarez has problems leaving neutrality and brings the first warning flag to light that day.

3:09 pm: After Cindric Pits, Truex takes the lead. It was an impressive performance by Cindric early on on slippery tires and he dropped to seventh place after the pit stop.

3:04 pm: Austin Cindric is just cooking the field behind him and he’s on slicks. Opened an eight second lead over Martin Truex. Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. round out the top 5.

2:55 pm: It’s raining and many drivers are getting rain tires.

2:52 pm: Green flag and we’re in Texas. Austin Cindric takes the lead early.

2:48 pm: Many teams come in to switch their tires from wet to slicks at an early stage, just as it is starting to rain. Difficult decisions for going up and down the pit lane.

2:41 pm: NASCAR thought this was a rainy race, so everyone started with their rain tires. You have the option of switching to slicks on your second pass through the pit lane.

2:24 pm: Expect a wet track for NASCAR’s first foray into the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas today. Rain is forecast for the rest of the day.

NASCAR start time today

The green flag for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas, a street circuit about 15 miles southeast of Austin, Texas, is slated to wave after 2:30 p.m. ET.

Drivers can race in difficult weather conditions. The National Weather Service’s forecast for the Austin area predicts afternoon showers and thunderstorms, as well as high temperatures in the upper 1970s. According to the weather service, there is a 70 percent probability of precipitation.

NASCAR starting grid at COTA

Here is the full qualifying order for the EchoPark Texas GrandPrix after qualifying on Sunday morning:

Start pos.	driver	Car no.	time	team
1	Tyler Reddick	8th	2: 12.911	Richard Childress Racing
2	Kyle Larson	5	2: 13.011	Hendrick Motorsports
3	Austin Cindric	33	2: 13.697	Team Penske
4th	Kyle Busch	18th	2: 13.708	Joe Gibbs Racing
5	William Byron	24	2: 13.760	Hendrick Motorsports
6th	Joey Logano	22nd	2: 13.791	Team Penske
7th	AJ Allmendinger	16	2: 13.842	Cheeky Racing
8th	Chase Elliott	9	2: 14.117	Hendrick Motorsports
9	Ryan Blaney	12th	2: 14.518	Team Penske
10	Christopher Bell	20th	2: 14.548	Joe Gibbs Racing
11	Kevin Harvick	4th	2: 14.792	Stewart-Haas Racing
12th	Alex Bowman	48	2: 14.894	Hendrick Motorsports
13th	Kurt Busch	1	2: 14,708	Chip Ganassi Racing
14th	Cole Custer	41	2: 15.025	Stewart-Haas Racing
fifteen	Daniel Suarez	99	2: 15.118	Trackhouse Racing Team
16	Austin Dillon	3	2: 15.325	Richard Childress Racing
17th	Martin Truex Jr.	17th	2: 15.375	Joe Gibbs Racing
18th	Bubba Wallace	23	2: 15.416	23XI Racing
19th	Denny Hamlin	11	2: 15.528	Joe Gibbs Racing
20th	Ross Chastain	42	2: 15.685	Chip Ganassi Racing
21	Matt DiBenedetto	21	2: 15.852	Wood Brothers Racing
22nd	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	2: 15.852	JTG Daugherty Racing
23	Michael McDowell	34	2: 15.902	Motorsport in the front row
24	Brad Keselowski	2	2: 15.929	Team Penske
25th	Corey LaJoie	7th	2: 16.245	Spire Motorsports
26th	Aric Almirola	10	2: 16.558	Stewart-Haas Racing
27	Chase Briscoe	14th	2: 16.686	Stewart-Haas Racing
28	Chris Buescher	17th	2: 16.728	Roush Fenway Racing
29	Erik Jones	43	2: 17.032	Richard Petty Motorsports
30th	Justin Haley	77	2: 17.051	Spire Motorsports
31	Josh Bilicki	52	2: 17.246	Rick Ware Racing
32	James Davison	fifteen	2: 17.563	Rick Ware Racing
33	Ty Dillon	96	2: 17.682	Gaunt Brothers Racing
34	Ryan Newman	6th	2: 18.067	Roush Fenway Racing
35	Cody ware	51	2: 18.194	Petty Ware Racing
36	Ryan Preece	37	2: 18.252	JTG Daugherty Racing
37	Anthony Alfredo	38	2: 18,701	Motorsport in the front row
38	Garrett Smithley	53	2: 18.804	Rick Ware Racing
39	Kyle Tilley	78	2: 20.361	Live motorsport fast
40	Quin Houff	00	2: 20.985	StarCom Racing