Bell makes late charge for lead and holds off Byron at COTA for 2nd straight NASCAR victory

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. Bell raced to his second consecutive victory after an overtime win in Atlanta a week ago. Once Bell cleared Busch, the Oklahoma driver had to make a desperate bid stay in front of hard-charging Byron and 2023 race winner Tyler Reddick of 23X1 Racing’s Toyota. Busch led 43 of 95 laps but faded to fifth to stretch his winless streak to 60 races.