- No Stage Breaks
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying Recap
- NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Qualifying Recap
AUSTIN, TX. – Tyler Reddick led Friday’s opening practice session for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas – the NASCAR Cup Series’ first road course race of the season.
Reddick, in his first year driving the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, was the winningest road course driver in 2022 – the only competitor to score multiple road course wins (at Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course). He was .371-second faster on the 3.41-mile 20-turn COTA course Friday than Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and defending race winner Ross Chastain in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
Kyle Busch was fourth quickest in the 50-minute session followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez. Qualifying is set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on FS1.
Four-time IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car champion Jordan Taylor – subbing for the injured Chase Elliott – was easily fastest among the non-NASCAR regulars competing at COTA this weekend posting the 10th quickest time in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Former Formula One champion Jenson Button was 28th fastest in practice, followed by fellow F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen (32nd). Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who is making his second start of the 2022 season was 36th fastest and IndyCar driver Connor Daly was slowest among the 39 cars.
“Our car was really, really strong,” Reddick said. “We came here and had the tire test in January and knew we had some promise from where our car was, but we definitely wanted to be better. So, everyone was just really inspired and worked really hard on our Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD to make some gains.
“I kind of got under the weather at a really bad time last week and it made it difficult to work on the car and do some of the things we wanted to do. The guys kept working on it and yesterday, finally got to get in simulator and see the speed we had. It was really great to see the speed this car has.
“Just a great group effort by everybody putting our minds together and it really showed. … Great to know our car had that much pace potential in it.”
NO STAGE BREAKS
For the first time this season – and first time since the format was introduced for the 2017 season – there will be no stage breaks during the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. The modification applies only to the six road course events on the 2023 schedule.
Reaction to the change has been mixed among the drivers.
“A handful of years ago, that’s how it was,” Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney said of the elimination of stage breaks. “It’s just [about] pitting the race backwards and this is something we’ve been talking about for a year or so, NASCAR and the drivers. Stage breaks at road courses can just jumble the field up so much it gets messy.”
“I think it’s going to clean it up a bit,” Blaney continued. “I think it’s right for road courses personally. We’ll find out. I had no preference either way, honestly, but I think it’s going to be a better with more strategy involved in the race calling.”
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin said he has some concerns about doing away with the stage breaks and is eager to see how it will play out this weekend. He said he expected the race to be more physically challenging without the scheduled opportunity to pit and noted he planned to make a real effort to stay hydrated – anticipating it to be tougher physically overall for drivers – especially at the demanding 20-turn COTA track.
“I think this thing has the potential of really getting strung out, a lot” Hamlin said. “If we do, I don’t want to hear any complaining because that’s the potential. … this will make for more strategy though.”
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES QUALIFYING RECAP
Defending race winner A.J. Allmendinger won the pole position for Saturday’s Pit Boss 250 presented by USA Today (5 p.m. ET, Saturday on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) NASCAR Xfinity Series race at COTA.
Allmendinger claimed the top starting position by a significant margin over Sammy Smith – posting a top lap of 92.173 mph in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to Smith’s 91.827 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
“It’s a fun race track and cool to be the defending champion here, but we won the race last year and felt like we had a lot to do to get better, it’s going to be a tough race tomorrow,” Allmendinger said.
Late in the final session, it appeared like another NASCAR Cup Series regular, William Byron would take the pole position, however Byron’s lap in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was disallowed due to exceeding track limits in the esses portion of the 3.41-mile track. He will start ninth instead.
Ty Gibbs will line up third on the grid in the No. 19 JGR Toyota with Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed (No. 2 Chevrolet) and Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman (No. 48 Chevrolet) rounding out the top five.
Championship points leader Austin Hill was 12th fastest in qualifying. The three-race winner already this season was runner-up to Allmendinger at COTA in 2022.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES QUALIFYING RECAP
Defending NASCAR Cup Series COTA winner Ross Chastain won the pole position for Saturday’s XPEL 225 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the track, besting fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch, who will start alongside him on the front row.
Chastain’s lap of 91.877 mph in the No. 41 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet was good enough to earn him the fourth Truck Series pole position of his career. It came only hours after the Floridian celebrated his career first NASCAR Cup Series win with his trademark watermelon crush – this time he dropped watermelons off the COTA track’s famed 251-feet high Observation Tower.
Series’ points leader Christian Eckes will roll off fifth in the No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Chevrolet. Nick Sanchez was the top-qualifying rookie.
The XPEL 225 will air Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Source: Holly Cain/NASCAR Wire Service
