23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick soared to the front of the field during Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas.
Reddick wheeled the No. 45 Toyota to record a fast lap of 132.016 seconds at 92.989 mph. After winning at two road courses last year, the 27-year-old is a weekend favorite at COTA — the first of six road courses on this season’s schedule.
A foursome of Chevrolet drivers filed in behind Reddick, beginning with Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson who logged a 132.544-second lap time at 92.618 mph. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez completed the top five in practice.
Points leader and Team Penske driver Joey Logano ended Friday’s session in ninth.
Former F1 champion Jenson Button was 28th, while fellow F1 legend Kiki Raikkonen was 32nd.
As for the NTT IndyCar Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers appearing at COTA, Conor Daly (IndyCar) finished 39th and Jordan Taylor (IMSA) finished 10th. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson — who is racing a part-time schedule this year — was 36th in practice.