In racing, there is no status a driver dreads more than DNF (Did Not Finish). However, it seems that DNF’s have become less and less talked about in NASCAR circles in recent years. Why is that, and do they matter as much as they used to?
Under the old Winston Cup points system and even the old Chase format, the finishing position was everything. It was not so much about winning the most races, rather, it was about consistently finishing the highest throughout the season. If a driver received a DNF, that meant a terrible points day along with a terrible finish.
If you finished 37th with a DNF, and the driver you were chasing in points finished 5th, you would lose around 100 points to the driver you were trying to chase. DNFs were killers, and they were often the difference between winning and losing a Championship.
Many Championship-winning drivers would have only 1 or 2 DNFs on their season throughout this era. As a matter of fact, the average amount of DNFs for the final 10 years of the Winston Cup system (2.4) and the 10 years of the Chase system (2.2), were quite low. Is it the same with the current Playoffs system?
In theory, the current Playoff system can both increase the penalty of DNFs while also decreasing them as well. In the regular season, a win gets a driver into the Playoffs, so, a DNF is not the end of the world. The introduction of stage points also complicates how drivers are awarded points during a race.
If they get stage points, then it mitigates the impact of a DNF because they have points to fall back on. However, a poorly timed DNF in the Playoffs can knock a driver out of the Playoffs. Denny Hamlin had a poorly times DNF along with Martin Truex Jr. at Homestead-Miami, and they both sit on the outside looking in of the Championship 4.
Now, do DNFs matter more or less now than they once did? Well, the stats say that since the introduction of the Playoff system as we know it in 2014, Champions have an average of 3.1 DNFs per season. It is an increase, but it is not a major increase. Maybe DNFs are not as impactful as they once were, but they still matter to one contingent of race teams.
For race teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and the usual suspects running up front, they prefer drivers that stay out of trouble, but they can live with some DNFs here and there. They know that winning races requires a certain level of aggression and sometimes drivers end up crashing.
It’s a part of racing, but, for underfunded teams, it is a different story. Realistically, they know they are not racing for trophies, they are trying to keep their business afloat. The easiest way to ruin a racing business is to spend money on torn-up race cars.
For those types of race teams, the number one priority is a driver who will keep the car on track. If you are running 25th, it’s ill-advised to go all out for 24th or 23rd because it just does not pay much more. Therefore, they will take a driver who does not wreck race cars over someone who does but may finish slightly better.
Overall, DNFs still matter in modern racing. They may not have entirely the same impact they once did, but they still affect drivers and teams. Maybe they should be more discussed nowadays.
Three races, three wins, and three straight celebrations with Michael Jordan. History was made at Circuit of the Americas as Tyler Reddick opened the season with an unprecedented three straight victories, holding off Shane van Gisbergen in the Texas heat while chaos and strategy shuffled the field behind them. Here’s how it scored on the Groovy Gauge, powered by Lectric eBikes.
After two wildcards to kick off the 2026 season, NASCAR headed to Circuit of the Americas (COTA) for round 3 on the year. The big headline heading into this weekend was whether or not Tyler Reddick could become the first driver in NASCAR history to win three straight races to start a campaign. Three times before, drivers have won the first two races of the year. Now Reddick, fresh off the heels of a Daytona 500 win and a win at Atlanta makes history as the only driver to go three for three.
The No. 45 23XI team is certainly on a roll with a 70-point points lead. However, not everyone had a weekend to remember. Here are the biggest losers of the 2026 NASCAR race weekend at COTA.
Another race weekend, another controversial race for Hendrick Motorsports’ Corey Day. And it is, yet again, a tangle with a JR Motorsports car that lands him on this list. Late into Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at COTA, Corey Day got into his Hendrick teammate, Connor Zilisch, who was driving the No. 1 car for the team, causing Zilisch to spin out. Up to that point, Zilisch had already overcome a lot of adversity. Heading into one of the tight corners of COTA, Day clipped Zilisch, sending him around and effectively ending his contention for the race win.
After the incident, Connor Zilisch came over the radio and called Day a “total hack” and then, after the race, told reporters that he expects and deserves an apology. Day was a good sport about it all, owning up to his mistakes. But it’s just another week of Day barreling through his competitors that makes this a weekend he’d likely rather forget. To his credit, though, despite the issues, he still managed a top 5 finish. So, at least there’s that.
Unfortunately, Connor Zilisch makes the list. There was a lot of buzz around Connor Zilisch heading into the weekend, considering his dominance on road courses last year in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. I think that many fans viewed Saturday’s race as a cakewalk for the young phenom, while others thought that the odds were in his favor to capture his first win on Sunday. Unfortunately for him, none of that came to fruition. While Saturday’s race looked like another SVG/Connor Zilisch thriller in the making, mechanical issues put the driver of the No. 1 car behind the 8-ball. Not to mention a late race incident with Corey Day and Saturday could be considered the win that could have been for Zilisch.
Sunday wasn’t much better. He did manage to keep his nose clean, so there was that. But he was more or less a non-factor most of the race. He started in the back and was able to work his way up and contend for a top 10 finish in the closing laps. Unfortunately, all he could manage was a 14th-place finish.
Undeniably, the odds-on favorite going into today’s race had to be the one, the only, the NASCAR King of the Road himself, Shane van Gisbergen. Despite win-and-you’re-in being a thing of the past, many fan still expect SVG to make the 16-driver Chase for the Cup later this year based on sheer wins at road course races alone. His first opportunity came early with COTA being the third race of the season. Unfortunately, despite winning handily in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on Saturday, he wasn’t able to get the job done on Sunday. He was in prime position to win his seventh career cup win but, unfortunately, the stars didn’t align. He was forced to settle for a runner-up finish.
The story going into this weekend’s race at COTA was will Tyler Reddick be able to do the impossible and become the first driver in history to win the first three races of the season. It was a tall order, for sure, but the fact that he scored the pole on Saturday must have put a pep in his step. Early on, he was far from the fastest. As the race wore on, though, he got better and better, ultimately able to outduel the King of the Road, SVG on his own turf.
Because of Reddick’s dominant performance, the last loser on our list this week is the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field. They just did not rise to the occasion, and Tyler Reddick managed to capitalize to make history. Now, they just need to go to Phoenix next week and prevent him from going four in a row. At this rate, though, Reddick might actually embarrass the field once again.
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In this post, we’re breaking down the top 10 all-time lap leaders at Circuit of the Americas, along with key stats, besides reviewing the top 15 active drivers with the most laps led at the track. And that’s not all; we’re also examining some of COTA’s historic track records and the names still holding them, so stick around until the end to check them out
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 456 | 2 | 3 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 456 | 1 | 2 | 7.3 | 9.3 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 456 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 13.7 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 454 | 1 | 0 | 10.5 | 10.8 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 258 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 | 10.3 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 418 | 1 | 0 | 13.0 | 10.3 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 456 | 0 | 0 | 18.7 | 17.5 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 456 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 15.2 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 403 | 0 | 0 | 29.3 | 11.5 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 456 | 0 | 0 | 13.8 | 17.5 |
Let us know your thoughts on this list. Are there any drivers that surprise you? What track record do you think will never be broken? Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.
