After a thrilling short track battle last week, the NASCAR Cup Series moves to the always-compelling Austin, Texas hill country for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the famed Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The venue and the racing have not disappointed at this 20-turn, 3.41-mile circuit used by all the world’s great racing series.
With the sport’s willingness to include road courses on its diverse schedule of tracks, there is an impressive list of 15 active road course winners. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick is the defending COTA race winner.
Among those road course winners exists a potentially big weekend for Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott. The inaugural COTA race winner has seven road course wins – most among active drivers – and a win Sunday would tie him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart for second most all-time.
Also, among those to keep an eye this week is Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain. COTA may well be the place he hoists his first trophy of the season – the 2022 race winner is the only driver with top-five finishes in all three races at the circuit.
The overall competition couldn’t be closer this season with five different winners through five races and a tie atop the NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings between Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. Only seven points behind is second-year driver, JGR’s Ty Gibbs and reigning series champion, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney is a single-point off Gibbs. The top-10 drivers in the Cup standings are separated by a mere 49-points.
Of course, part of the intrigue is the high level of competition at NASCAR road courses when drivers from different international series try their hand at stock car racing’s version of right-and-left turns. This weekend, New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen is running double duty. The winner of last year’s NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race now runs full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and will compete in a handful of NASCAR Cup Series races – with road courses like COTA prime on his schedule. The three-time Supercars champion will drive the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet on Sunday.
Also, ready to race this year is former Formula One driver and WEC champion Kamui Kobayashi. He ran the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course last year but says he is much more confident at Sunday’s expectations in the No. 50 23XI Racing Toyota.
“I’m definitely looking forward to COTA,” said Kobayashi. “We’ve had more preparation. I’ve raced COTA five times already in Formula 1 and WEC. I think Indy – it was my first time ever racing there, but at COTA I have more experience, so definitely looking forward to the race.”
Practice for the race gets underway Saturday, March 23 at 10 a.m. ET followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 10:30 a.m. ET – both will be broadcast on FS2, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
