Bell makes late charge and holds off Byron at COTA

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Christopher Bell passed Kyle Busch with five laps to go, then held off Daytona 500 winner William Byron to win NASCAR's first road course race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday. Bell raced to his second consecutive victory after an overtime win in Atlanta a week ago. Once Bell cleared Busch, the Oklahoma drover had to make a desperate bid to keep his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in front of hard-charging Byron in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and 2023 race winner Tyler Reddick of 23X1 Racing's Toyota. Bell is a multiple race winner for the fourth consecutive season. Busch, who led 43 of 95 laps in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, faded to fifth as his winless streak stretched to 60 races dating to 2023. "These road courses races are just so much fun," Bell said. "(Busch) was doing such a good job running his race He bobbled and allowed me to get out front. When he did, I just said don't beat yourself." Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott, started third and quickly dropped to the back when he spun by Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain in the first turn, but fought his way back through the field to fourth. Cup Series debutante Connor Zilisch had a wild day in his debut. The 18-year-old started 14th, quickly dropped back with contact in the first lap, but fought back to the top 15 by the start of the third stage. But that's when his day ended. Zilisch couldn't avoid a spin by Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez and smashed into the wall in lap 50 and his car caught fire. Series future at COTA NASCAR has to decide if it will return to Austin in 2026. The track has proven popular over the years with drivers, and has hosted F1 since 2012 and MotoGP since 2013. Speedway Motorsports rents the facility for race week, and track President Bobby Epstein has said he'd like to continue the partnership. "We'll take a look at ticket renewals, feedback from the fans who attended the race and the overall results before we talk with NASCAR about next year's schedule," said Mike Burch, chief operating officer for Speedway Motorsports. "One of the biggest factors will be how the drivers compete on the new National Course, a move we made to put more action and laps in front of the fans." Up next The Cup Series returns to ovals next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing