COTA focus: Unraveling NASCAR’s newest circuit, a 20-turn mystery box

Posted on May 21, 2021May 21, 2021 by Zack Albert

The intrigue for NASCAR’s first trip to the Circuit of The Americas road course pepped up not long after the 2021 schedule was released last September. The sprawling 3.41-mile layout was one of a handful of new venues, instantly rising toward the top of the list of NASCAR’s most technical tracks.

The intrigue is now mixed with anticipation on the eve of the tripleheader weekend, with all three NASCAR national series in action starting Saturday at the Austin, Texas facility. The festivities will conclude with the Cup Series’ inaugural in Sunday’s EchoPark Texas Grand Prix (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the culmination of what’s sure to be a learning experience for all parties involved.

RELATED: COTA weekend schedule

“Gosh, the unknowns,” said Chris Gabehart, crew chief for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin. “There’s just so many things that you’ve got to keep track of at this track, and none of us have been there to do it, so we’re just guessing at some of them, at that.”

With the uncertainty level still high before any of the drivers turn a wheel, here are five areas of focus that teams will face in their christening of COTA.

Navigation newness

When Austin Dillon was asked about the Circuit of The Americas’ most enticing passing zones, his descriptions came with a confession: “I’m not very good at the numbers of each corner,” the Richard Childress Racing driver said. “I’d have to have a map in front of me.” His hesitancy with turn numbers was somehow understandable. There are 20 of them.

Short of converting their cars’ digital dashes to show GPS navigation, a handful of drivers said they plan to have a course map in their car’s interior for the events. It’s a reference point for the drivers not just to get their bearings, but also as a handy framework for communications with crew chiefs and spotters.

“I’ll definitely have a chart in the car,” said William Byron, currently second in Cup Series points. “The funny thing is, when we’ve been in the simulator together and Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) and I have been talking, I’ve referred to a lot of corners as that corner over there by the backstretch, or that one over there with the double corner. So, I don’t know. It’s going to be a lot of guessing. But I think he’ll get the gist from what I’m saying. He’s usually pretty good at picking up what I’m saying. As long as we can get through Turn 1 and talk about that one, and I think that one is pretty important, too. So, I at least know one through four. I’m used to that.”

Ty Dillon, preparing for his third Cup Series start of the year for Gaunt Brothers Racing, says his turn-number memorization is similar to Byron’s, but he’s opting to group the corners based on their characteristics — tight turns after long straightaways that require heavy braking, the esses and switchbacks, and the double- and triple-apex turns.

“Right now, I think I could probably count to Turn 4 numbers-wise,” says the younger Dillon, who adds that he’ll have a better feel for the course after practice, “but for me and my brain, the way that I work, I’m kind of breaking it down into sections and shapes of the track.”

Even then, he’s planning on having a map close by.

Setup scrutiny

With an all-new course, competition officials opted to schedule practice and qualifying for all three series this weekend. The extra track time will help teams prepare, but the benefits will be offset by the length of each lap and the time of each practice session — 50 minutes for each series.

“We get three sets of practice tires. Well, a lap at COTA is well over two minutes, and you’ve got to leave pit road to get out and you’ve got to come back to pit road to get in, so you’re talking about to make one timed lap at the start-finish line, almost seven minutes is invested,” Gabehart said. “Well, practice is 50 minutes long and I’ve got three sets of tires, so you can do the math pretty quick and realize we won’t get many runs.

“So it’s not like you’re going to be able to show up with some exotic setup that you’re looking to learn something. You’re going to show up ready to race, and give Denny the chance he needs to get acclimated to the race track for real, not the virtual version.”

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Joe Gibbs Racing does have some institutional knowledge about COTA, thanks to teammate Martin Truex Jr.’s participation for Toyota in a Goodyear tire test March 2, alongside Chevrolet’s Chase Elliott and Ford’s Brad Keselowski. Otherwise, teams and drivers have leaned on driving simulators for help in learning the course’s finer points.

“When you’re dealing with zero, some is better than none by a lot,” Gabehart said of the experience level. “But in terms of tracks that I think it’s somewhat similar to, Sonoma certainly comes to mind. I think though our series hasn’t been there yet, my experience at maybe Road America in terms of heavy braking zones after some long straights comes to mind, and tire fall-off.

“It’s definitely going to be a potpourri of race tracks, for sure, from what I can tell, but what goes into it for us remains the same — a mistake-free day and you’re going to have a good day. You can’t change the game just because you change the race track. It’s all about minimizing mistakes and being there at the end, and that’s what we hope to do.”

Passing points

With 20 turns to navigate, opportunities for passing should theoretically be bountiful. But the most prime spots for overtakes are the tight corners at the end of COTA’s long straightaways — areas where hard braking will be needed to slow the momentum of heavy stock cars.

“I think on the personal side of things I’ve got to eat my Wheaties,” said defending Xfinity Series champ Austin Cindric, who is also in the Cup Series field for Sunday. “My braking foot is gonna be worn out after this weekend, I can promise you that.”

Cindric has some experience at the Austin, Texas track, last competing there in a GT3 sports-car class in 2016. His prediction for the stock-car edition of COTA racing: A mad scramble at each unfurling of the green flag.“I think the restarts are gonna be wild,” Cindric says. “You have a very wide, inviting front straightaway. You even see it in the F1 races there. I mean, guys will drive it off in there and collect three or four cars, so I think restarts are definitely going to be pretty crazy in all three series — a lot of opportunities to pass at this race track, a lot of tire fall-off, which obviously provides a bit of a dynamic to the race, whether if it’s on strategy or on the race track, so, otherwise, you kind of have every type of corner at this race track. There’s a lot to look forward to, I think for the NASCAR fans and a lot of unknowns for us as drivers.”

New faces and some familiar returns

If the track seems new, so should the COTA entry lists, which are well-stocked with double-duty drivers, sports-car specialists and some long-anticipated reunions — all of which could create some confusion for teams trying to recall who’s who out on the track.

Five Cup Series regulars — Kyle Busch, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick — are scheduled to dip into the Xfinity Series field to gain experience on the eve of their event. They’ll blend in with a selection of drivers with a rich road-racing pedigree — former Rolex 24 class winner Spencer Pumpelly, two-time SCCA Spec Miata champ Preston Pardus and sports-car vet Miguel Paludo.

MORE: Entry list highlights for COTA

Two drivers with extensive NASCAR experience are making their returns to competition for the COTA festivities — 58-year-old Boris Said and longtime Cup Series driver Paul Menard. Said is in line for his first NASCAR start since 2017 in a one-race deal with MBM Motorsports, and the 40-year-old Menard will be back in the garage with a Camping World Truck Series ride with ThorSport Racing.

Pit-road peril

The ability of teams to adapt to COTA’s turns and twists will extend to pit road, where the entry creates an unconventional challenge. After committing to pit road, drivers will make a sharp bend to the left on the inside of Turn 20 before the pit lane straightens out.

WATCH: Pit-road expert talks COTA

The potential for trouble there is high, according to Eric Phillips, crew chief for the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota and Camping World Trucks points leader John Hunter Nemechek.

“I think the biggest nuance to it is going to be getting on pit lane,” Phillips said. “It’s really tight there on the inside of Turn 20 to get onto pit road. There’s no way you can run pit-road speed getting onto pit road, which is kind of opposite. You have to be slowed down before you get to that turn and you’ll be accelerating out of the turn to the pit-road speed line. I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone wreck there before the day’s over, especially on a green-flag stop because it comes up in a hurry and it is really tight.”

Posted on May 21, 2021 by RJ Kraft

The NASCAR Cup Series’ first trip to Circuit of The Americas has been a much-anticipated item on the 2021 schedule. The Sunday race (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the first road-course event since February’s race at the Daytona Road Course. In somewhat of a surprise, Christopher Bell won that race — the unexpected aspect being that Bell hadn’t had much success on road courses at the Cup level and he had 50-1 odds on BetMGM entering the race.

Are there any drivers who fit the bill to pull a similar shocker at the 20-turn road course in Austin, Texas? NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola and RJ Kraft debate who they have their eye on as a potential surprise winner.

KRAFT: When I look at the landscape and eliminate drivers with road-course wins (sorry AJ Allmendinger in Kaulig Racing’s fifth-ever Cup start), I am drawn to one driver who has been quietly running well but doesn’t stick out as a strong road-course driver based on his initial stats. The driver I am referring to is Tyler Reddick.

The driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet enters Sunday’s race with five top 10s in his last seven races — a stretch that has seen him jump 13 spots in the standings (from 28th to 15th). Over that seven-race stretch, Reddick has the ninth-most points in the Cup Series — more than 2021 winners Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman and Bell.

As I mentioned, Reddick’s road record doesn’t jump out at you. In eight road starts at the Xfinity level, Reddick notched four top fives and five top 10s. At the Cup level, he has made three road-course starts with an average finish of 22.7. His best run came at the Charlotte Roval last fall where he finished 12th; on both road courses last year he finished better than Bell. Reddick enters Sunday’s race with odds of 100-1 on BetMGM. He’s not a carbon copy of Bell’s path to a surprise win earlier this year, but he is awfully close to it. Plus, Reddick is coming in with a lot of momentum, so I’ll take the second-year Cup driver as the most likely to pull a surprise on Sunday.

DECOLA: I agree Reddick is one to watch — along with his RCR teammate Austin Dillon, who seems hell-bent on becoming a high-quality road racer in his career — but I’m going with a driver who, should he win, he’d just barely be playoff-eligible. That’s right, I’m going with Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford driver Chase Briscoe, currently 27th in points.

The 26-year-old’s rookie season has not gone according to plan, having yet to find the top 10 following a nine-win 2020 Xfinity campaign. Given SHR’s struggles across the board — Briscoe, Aric Almirola and Cole Custer have three top 10s combined, and Kevin Harvick has yet to win after scoring nine victories last year — Briscoe’s struggles are more likely due to the team as a whole than him failing to adjust to the higher level of competition in the Cup Series.

A road course can change all that.

It’s easy to forget, but Briscoe was outright dominant last year, and he was targeted as a potential playoff driver with the bevy of road courses on this year’s schedule. Sunday’s race should be viewed as a potential equalizer among the teams, and the likelihood of another surprise winner is perhaps at its highest since the days of Daytona earlier this year. No drivers have competed at COTA in NASCAR equipment because, well, it’s never happened before.

Let’s flash back to 2018, when Briscoe — not even a full-time driver at the time — won the inaugural Xfinity event on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval. And how about when the series christened Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course last year? Yep, another win for Briscoe.

To me, that speaks to Briscoe’s raw talent behind the wheel, particularly when it comes to road courses, and I think this weekend could be a potential turning point for him and the organization. It seems unlikely SHR will have a completely down year, and Briscoe won’t shine at some point. Why not this weekend?

He’s put together some decent runs lately (11th at Talladega and Darlington), and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t put together his best race thus far at the Cup level on Sunday.

Posted on May 21, 2021May 21, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

Ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural stop at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, race handicappers have no track history to analyze, instead reliant on drivers’ past performances on road courses in addition to data from 750-horsepower tracks.

It’s no surprise, therefore, to see Chase Elliott at the top of the oddsboard. Elliott has owned road courses on the Cup circuit of late, tallying five wins and an average driver rating of 125.7 over the last nine points races on these layouts, including four straight victories from 2019-20. He followed that run with a second-place finish at the non-points Busch Clash on the Daytona Road Course this past February, and he led 44 of 70 laps in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 before a late-race spin took him out of contention.

While SuperBook USA in Las Vegas has Elliott priced at a skinny +180 (bet $100 to win $180) to win Sunday’s EchoPark Texas Grand Prix, the No. 9 Chevrolet can be found at larger than 2-1 odds at a variety of betting shops, including +250 at Barstool Sportsbook and +225 at BetMGM as of Friday morning.

These are low numbers for a NASCAR outright market, but they are in line with how Elliott was priced at the two road races at Daytona earlier this year. Per SuperBook openers, he was +225 in the Busch Clash and +250 in the points race.

So heavily favored is Elliott that the SuperBook offers him in just one matchup prop, laying a large -170 (bet $170 to win $100) against Martin Truex Jr., who is easily the second betting choice for Sunday’s race. Odds this high on a matchup are rare, and this big a gap between the top two favorites illustrates the betting market’s massive expectations for the No. 9 this weekend.

Trying to beat the favorite

Bettors looking to take their shots against Elliott will give Truex a hard look. Over the aforementioned span of nine road-course races, Truex has put together quite the resume himself: two wins, five top fives, seven top 10s, a 5.44 average finish (better than Elliott’s 8.11) and a 120.6 average rating. Throw in his three wins on 750-hp tracks this season (Phoenix, Martinsville, Darlington), and the +450 available at BetMGM and Barstool is enticing.

Denny Hamlin, the third betting choice at +1000 at Barstool and +800 at BetMGM, is in the mix pretty much every week, long on the cusp of his first win of the season. His road-course record, while not as sparkling as those of Elliott or Truex, is among the best on the circuit, with five top 10s, including four in the top five, a 9.11 average finish and a 95.2 rating over the last nine.

The pricing of the Truex vs. Hamlin matchup, however, illustrates a significant gap between these Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, at least in the eyes of the market, with the No. 19 laying -150 odds to finish ahead of the No. 11 (+130).

Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick has the look of a live long shot, offered at a fat +1800 on multiple oddsboards. Sure, Stewart-Haas continues to be off the pace of the top garages, but the No. 4 Ford has found some consistency with four straight top-six finishes. His 7.89 average finish and 100.3 rating on road courses since 2018 both rank third in the series, and if he’s running close to the front as Sunday’s Grand Prix nears its finish, bettors holding an 18-1 ticket on Harvick will be feeling good about those wagers.

RELATED: How legal sports betting is helping to grow the sport

Odds are bound to move

This weekend’s Cup race in Austin is one of eight this season to be preceded by practice and qualifying, meaning we’re likely to see larger shifts from opening to closing betting odds than for most of the 2021 schedule. Once oddsmakers have the chance to watch how teams perform on the Circuit of The Americas, they’ll use that information to tweak their pricing.

There are two ways for bettors to approach the practice + qualifying scenario: 1) If you see odds you like now, bet before bookmakers move the numbers; 2) Wait to place your bets, pay attention to practice and qualifying, and apply the knowledge you gain to make more informed plays Sunday.

Jim Sannes, a quantitative NASCAR betting and DFS analyst, projects Joey Logano and William Byron, respectively, fourth and fifth, in average running position, before factoring in practice data. The early odds on these drivers may be as good as they’re going to get for bettors.

Logano is +1600, and Byron is +1800 now. I'd expect them to closer lower after practice. Both have strong recent histories on road courses.

— Jim Sannes (@JimSannes) May 20, 2021

In other words, if you’re on board with Logano or Byron, or you like another driver whose odds may shorten after practice and qualifying, fire away. If you think you can gain valuable insight from watching how teams perform on the track, exercise patience and wait until race day to wager.

Posted on May 21, 2021May 21, 2021 by Steve Luvender

Circuit of the Americas — COTA, for short — is the site of NASCAR’s newest road course, in Austin, Texas. In the spirit of Austin’s weirdness, we’ll help you generate your very own alternative COTA acronym.

Posted on May 21, 2021May 21, 2021 by Sean Montgomery

The NASCAR Cup Series races around the corners at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) for the first time in the series’ history Sunday in the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Before you enjoy a piece of history, take some time to scroll through the details and information you should know.

LAYOUT, PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING

Located just outside of Austin, Texas, the Circuit of The Americas has hosted races in nearly every major series in the world. NASCAR Cup Series drivers will take on the 3.41-mile “long course” layout, featuring 20 turns.

The practice session is scheduled for Saturday at 10:05 a.m. ET (FS2), with qualifying on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET (FS1, PRN) before the race.

Which drivers are slated to compete this weekend? Check out the intriguing COTA entry list.

BETTING ODDS, FAMILIAR FACES

Seeing Chase Elliott (9-4 odds to win) atop the BetMGM betting odds list for COTA is no surprise — and neither is seeing his usual road-course rivals, Martin Truex Jr. (9-2) and Denny Hamlin (8-1), just slightly behind.

But with a new track and weather potentially coming into play, there is a chance for the underdogs to steal the show.

Fresh off a win at Dover International Speedway, Alex Bowman (20-1) again presents strong value after finishing three of the last four road-course races inside the top 10. Further down the charts, AJ Allmendinger (28-1) and Kurt Busch (30-1) also make a solid case for bettors.

Aside from Truex and Elliott, Ryan Blaney (16-1) and Christopher Bell (20-1) are the only other Cup Series drivers with a road-course win in the last 10 road races.

RULES PACKAGE

The usual road-course package returns this weekend, featuring a significantly shorter rear spoiler and front splitter. Cars are fitted with a tapered-spacer engine, targeting around 750 horsepower and emphasizing lower downforce due to aerodynamic changes.

GOODYEAR TIRES, RAINY FORECAST

Though both practice and qualifying sessions should aid teams in dialing in their cars for the weekend, many will look to combine familiar aspects of previous road courses to plan ahead. The Circuit of The Americas combines high-speed straights often seen at Watkins Glen International with the technical turns of Sonoma Raceway and will test race strategy throughout the entire afternoon.

Cup Series teams will have three sets of Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials for practice, one set for qualifying and six sets for the race (five new sets plus one transferred from practice or qualifying).

With this weekend’s forecast showing rain on the radar, the wet weather radials are expected to be in play at some point during the afternoon. Differing from the standard radials, wet weather tires will be treaded and have white lettering in the place of yellow.

SEASON TRENDS, WEEKEND STORY LINES

— Through 13 races, there have been 10 different winners with Truex (three wins) and Bowman (two) being the only repeat winners so far this season.

— Four different organizations have reached Victory Lane in 2021, but Stewart-Haas Racing has yet to join them after winning 10 races a season ago.

— Elliott won four of the last five road-course races, only ending the streak after Bell’s 2021 win at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

— The race winner started in the top 10 in eight of the last 10 road-course races, and seven of the last eight road-course winners were 26 or younger.

Source: Racing Insights

FANTASY

Another week means another chance to beat the competition and show off your NASCAR instincts. Take control of your very own team each week with NASCAR Fantasy Live — it’s free to play. Learn everything you need to know at fantasygames.nascar.com.

The 2021 fantasy points leaders are Hamlin (574), William Byron (473) and Truex (472).

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available – as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more – and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Holly Cain

For years, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has been putting on compelling, exciting and dramatic road-course races, and the trucks’ debut Saturday afternoon at the Circuit of The Americas promises to be a worthy chapter in the road-course annals.

The Toyota Thunder 250 (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the second of four scheduled road-course races for the Camping World Truck Series this season, and the 3.41-mile, 20-turn course just outside Austin, Texas, will undoubtedly be a must-see venue. A new challenge awaits everyone on the grid.

Perhaps not too surprisingly, the very drivers currently leading the championship have a road-racing resume that makes them the favorite again this weekend at COTA.

The seasons’ two-race winner, John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, holds a 46-point edge over fellow two-race winner Ben Rhodes in the points standings. Reigning series champion Sheldon Creed is ranked third, having picked up his first 2021 victory in the last race at Darlington Raceway.

Those three drivers bring plenty of road-course merit to COTA as well.

Nemechek, 23, won at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2016 and finished runner-up there in 2018. He was third in the only road-course race of 2021 to date – at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

Rhodes, 24, driver of the No. 99 ThorSport Toyota, won at the Daytona Road Course this February and has a third-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (2019) to his credit. Four times this year, he has finished first or second – winning both on the Daytona superspeedway and then the road course and finishing runner-up at Bristol Motor Speedway and Darlington. He is particularly enthusiastic about this week’s stop.

“Ever since Daytona, I’ve been so eager to get back on a road course and I can’t think of a better place than COTA,” Rhodes said. “Knowing that everyone is learning it together will be fun and quite the challenge.”

Creed, 23, is not only coming off the Darlington win two weeks ago but also looks like a favorite this weekend. He finished runner-up to Rhodes in the Daytona Road Course race — leading a race-best 17 laps in the No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet. He won there in 2020 and also has a top-five at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (2019).

There are other story lines to watch as well. Former NASCAR Cup Series driver Paul Menard will be making his first Camping World Truck Series start since 2007, driving the No. 66 ThorSport Toyota. The former NASCAR Cup Series driver – and winner of the 2011 Brickyard 400 – last raced full time at the Cup level in 2019. This will mark his first NASCAR race since.

Driver/television analyst Parker Kligerman will make his fifth start of the year at Austin, driving the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports Chevrolet. And perennial championship contender Grant Enfinger will be back behind the wheel of the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet. He has only competed in seven of the eight races in 2021 but sits eighth in the championship standings.

Several of the drivers – including rookie Hailie Deegan — took a road-course refresher course with the Skip Barber Racing School to prepare for the weekend. Nemechek did laps with his boss, Kyle Busch.

“I’m really looking forward to going to COTA this weekend,” said Christian Eckes, who will drive the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota. “It’s a race track that I’ve watched F1 at for years and it’ll be fun to race. I’m not extremely experienced with road courses but I have had fun at them in the past. Hopefully we can put on a good show and get another good run for our No. 98 FarmPaint.com/Curb Records team.”

Posted on May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 by Holly Cain

By all accounts, the NASCAR Xfinity Series competitors are eager to give the Circuit of The Americas a true “go” this weekend with championship contenders prepared to have to hold off NASCAR Cup Series regulars as well as a handful of sports-car aces as the series debuts Saturday at the renowned road course.

The Pit Boss 250 (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the 3.41-mile, 20-turn, elevation-changing course has brought out big names and plenty of star power intent to be a part of this historic first race.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule for COTA

Five NASCAR Cup Series drivers – Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Austin Dillon – are entered Saturday. And then there’s another road-course ringer group that includes Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly and one of the sport’s most popular drivers, Boris Said, who will be making his first NASCAR start since 2017 and his first Xfinity Series start since 2015.

However, they will be challenging an Xfinity Series championship contingent that has long established itself as a legitimate force to be reckoned with on road courses.

Reigning champion and current points leader Austin Cindric is not only coming off a series-best third victory last week at the Dover International Speedway, he’s an absolute favorite this weekend at COTA.

The 22-year-old began his career making a name with victories on road courses. In fact, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford has won at Watkins Glen International, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road America and the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, where this year he answered his 2020 victory with an overtime runner-up finish.

Chief among Cindric’s competitors – especially on road courses – is the versatile AJ Allmendinger – a race winner in NASCAR, IMSA and IndyCar. The 39-year-old veteran is running a full Xfinity Series season this year and brings with him previous Xfinity Series wins at Road America, Mid-Ohio and the Charlotte ROVAL (twice) as well as scoring his only NASCAR Cup Series win on the famed Watkins Glen road course. The driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet is currently fourth in the Xfinity championship standings with a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway early in the season.

And then there are those NASCAR Cup Series drivers hoping to get some laps in and be better acquainted with the new track by their race Sunday.

Busch has four previous NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – a pair at Watkins Glen and a pair at Sonoma Raceway– and two Xfinity Series victories (2008 at Mexico City and 2017 at Watkins Glen). Harvick has won at Watkins Glen (2006) and Sonoma (2017) in the Cup Series and at Montreal (2007) and Watkins Glen (2007) in the Xfinity Series. Dillon, Custer and Reddick have never won a NASCAR race on a road course.

All year, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series driver, Daniel Hemric, has been one to watch. He has been ranked second in the championship points since March. Hemric doesn’t have a victory yet in the Xfinity Series, but he has been close with a runner-up finish at Las Vegas and three third-place finishes in 2021. He’s coming off back-to-back top-10 runs at Darlington Raceway and Dover heading into Austin. His best work on a road course is runner-up to Indy 500 champion Sam Hornish in the 2017 Mid-Ohio Xfinity Series race. The driver of the No. 18 JGR Toyota has five career top-three finishes on road courses.

“COTA is unlike anywhere I’ve ever seen or raced on,” Hemric said. “We’ve all been using the simulator and our tools that Toyota provides us with to prepare, but it’s going to be a huge challenge. There are a lot of hard braking zones and long straights; just stuff we aren’t used to with our cars and heavy they are. Managing tires and brakes will be critical because the sharp corners lead onto long straights so that will be a huge opportunity to either gain or lose time with how long it takes to get around the track. I’m pumped up for it.”

Posted on May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 by Zack Albert

Competing on a new, technical road course for the first time has challenges of its own. Throw in the roughly 50-50 potential for wet-weather driving during some of NASCAR’s inaugural weekend at the Circuit of The Americas, and the degree of difficulty gets another turn of the ratchet.

NASCAR’s three national series each get the benefit of extra track time with brief practice and qualifying sessions during the tripleheader weekend, which kicks off Friday at the 3.41-mile Austin, Texas, venue. Unlike oval-track events, NASCAR’s road-course contests feature the opportunity to race in the rain. Any inclement conditions could alter the focus of those sessions and each of the first-time events.

“Some of it’s going to depend on the elements,” said Dave Rogers, crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota in the Xfinity Series. “If it’s raining and it looks like it’s going to rain during the race, then that’s just as unique as a dirt race at Bristol.”

Further complicating matters is the potential for rain on one on-track day and not the next, a scenario that could minimize the benefit of wet-weather practice, scuttle any early reads on race strategy and increase the possibility for mistakes.

“You try to limit risk, for sure, so you’ve got to assess the entire situation and say what am I getting out of every lap on the track, how is it going to contribute to the weekend’s performance,” said Chris Gabehart, crew chief of JGR’s No. 11 for Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin. “And certainly, every time you’re on the track in the rain, there is a higher level of risk, so it does depend on that Sunday forecast as to how motivated we’d be to get out there, and that’s really a situational thing, for sure.”

With an eye on how Mother Nature might impact the COTA debut, here’s a handy refresher on wet-weather procedures, the rain-tire situation and NASCAR’s history of dealing with the elements on road courses.

Race rules and procedures

In the event of inclement weather, each series’ race director can declare a “wet” start or “damp” start, according to the NASCAR Rule Book. A wet start means that the entire racing surface is covered in moisture; a damp start means that the track has areas of moisture, but that other areas are dry. The race director can also declare the conditions not race-ready, if heavy downpours cause puddles and impaired visibility.

For a wet weather start:

All vehicles must mount rain tires, activate their rear flashing light and have a working windshield wiper installed.
Normal starting procedures follow.

For a damp weather start:

All vehicles may elect to install rain tires at the crew chief’s discretion. The rear flashing light must be activated, and windshield wipers may be installed.
Any team making a pit stop for rain tires on subsequent pace laps will forfeit its starting spot.

After the green flag, teams are permitted to change tires — to treaded rain tires or dry-weather slicks — at the crew chief’s discretion.

Goodyear rain tires

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

If conditions warrant, Goodyear’s wet-weather radials will be available to teams in all three series. NASCAR Cup Series teams will have up to three sets of rain tires for practice and qualifying and up to five sets for the race; Xfinity Series teams will have five sets of wet-weather tires available for the weekend, capped at a maximum of four sets for the race; Camping World Trucks teams will have four sets of rain tires available for the event, a maximum of three sets for the race.

The treaded wet-weather tires will be further distinguished by white “Goodyear Eagle” lettering instead of the customary yellow on the sidewalls.

Weather outlook

The Circuit of The Americas forecast calls for a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms Friday afternoon, a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday and a 40% chance of the same on Sunday. The thunderstorm advisory carries the potential for a 30-minute hold on at-track activity should a lightning strike occur within an 8-mile radius of the venue.

For further updates, please check NASCAR.com/weather for at-track conditions and hourly forecasts.

Rain-racing history

The NASCAR Xfinity Series has the most experience with wet-weather racing, running eight times in damp conditions since 2008. Three of those instances happened last season, Aug. 8 at Road America, Aug. 15 at Daytona International Speedway’s road course and Oct. 10 in a rain-soaked running of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval event.

MORE: Rainy races in NASCAR history

The Cup Series got its first taste of rain-tire racing in NASCAR’s modern era during the Roval weekend last fall, and teams briefly navigated a rain shower on the Daytona Road Course in February. When the Cup Series ran its only event at Road America in 1956, some of the race was contested in wet conditions, but the cars were not equipped with special rain tires.

Camping World Truck Series teams began their event at Daytona’s road course last February under wet conditions.

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Track Release

Earlier this week, Coca-Cola Racing Family driver Joey Logano met virtually with troops from American Forces Network Pacific and the U.S. Army 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade from Japan, as part of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s virtual Mission 600. As a prelude to the 62nd running of the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, Mission 600 was designed to honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces by pairing drivers with military bases to educate the NASCAR community about the day-to-day lives of the men and women who serve.

While the traditional Mission 600 connected drivers with regional military bases, the ongoing pandemic shifted plans to a virtual video teleconference. The virtual opportunity opened the door for Logano to spend nearly an hour with troops currently based 6,800 miles away in Japan.

During the visit, the U.S. Army’s 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade showcased simulated live-fire training capabilities on a state-of-the-art Engagement Skills Trainer (EST) II, which facilitates marksmanship and judgmental escalation-of-force exercises for individuals and squads. Troops from the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity-Japan used lifelike mannequins called Tactical Combat Casualty Care Exportables to demonstrate how they train to administer emergency aid in the field.

“When you think of what Mission 600 is doing, it’s shining a light on what our U.S. military is doing for us citizens every single day, whether you know it or not,” Logano said. “Memorial Day is a very special day for a lot of reasons. It’s always a good time to remember what the military has done for us in the past, obviously, but what is going on right now. It’s so easy for us to live in our own little world and worry about our own little problems. It’s refreshing to take a step back and understand what these men and women are doing… They don’t even know me and they’re willing to put their lives on the line for me.”

After the military demonstrations, Logano shared some of the tools of the trade he uses to keep himself sharp and safe in his racing career, including his iRacing simulator, fire suit, Hans device and race helmet.

At the conclusion of the visit, Logano asked and fielded questions from the units, which ranged from radio communications technology to shared connections in his hometown in Connecticut and Bristol, Tennessee.

“I just want to thank everyone that is on this call that has served in our military or is serving in the military… I wish I could shake everybody’s hand right now,” Logano said. “It’s one of those things that I just cannot fathom in my mind what it would be like in some of these combat moments.”

Logano’s virtual visit was the fifth and final Mission 600 engagement of the 2021 campaign. Mission 600 kicked off at Arlington National Cemetery, where 2020 Coca-Cola 600 winner Brad Keselowski went to pay his respects last month. Logano joins fellow Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers Ryan Newman (Marine Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune), Austin Dillon (Army Central Kuwait) and Daniel Suárez (U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder) in taking part in Mission 600.

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Jerry Bonkowski

As his NASCAR Cup career was coming to an end, Bobby Labonte began thinking about what his post-racing future would be like.

“I told myself I can’t wait until I turn 50: I’m going to go to the beach, put my feet in the sand, drink beer all day and watch the sun come up and go down,” Labonte told NASCAR.com. “Well, I tried it and don’t think I lasted a couple hours.”

Ever since his last Cup race in 2016, Labonte has been anything but retired. What’s more, he’s still racing these days, albeit not in NASCAR, but still competing on his own terms primarily in modified and late model racing.

“I have never used the retirement word, never mentioned it,” Labonte said. “I just said, ‘Well, you’ve got to get to this point.’ I like being busy. Sometimes, whenever I think of doing less, I don’t enjoy that.

“Being busy and staying busy, I guess I’m either a glutton for punishment or something because I just enjoy doing things. So put it in that perspective. I like to be on the go and like to be doing stuff. Sure there’s time to slow down. But right now, I feel like I’m still good enough to keep going.”

And that means still going behind the wheel of a race car.

Even though his last Cup race was more than five years ago, Labonte never really stopped racing. He went on a leisure trip to Europe in 2017 that resulted in his competing in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Elite 1 Series for parts of three seasons, including a podium finish in 2018.

“I ran several races, sometimes two a weekend,” Labonte said. “That was the most fun, getting to meet people from all over the world.

“In the garage area, I made friends from England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France. To me was just so much fun.”

He even learned a very valuable lesson on how racing in Europe is markedly different from in the U.S. You might say racing in Europe is more gentle.

“I was in France and I was coming up on a guy’s bumper and I thought, ‘Well, I could do the old shove him out of the way – or no,’ ” Labonte said. “I decided not to because I thought to myself that I really don’t need to show these guys that this is how you raced. It’s not how you really race. If I would have shoved him out of the way and wrecked him, well, OK, it must be normal, but that’s not what you want to do.

“I went over there (to Europe) something like nine times in 11 months. That was really, really cool. I mean, I just really enjoyed that. I really got to spend some quality time or good time and fun time with people.”

Speaking of having a good and fun time with people, six years before he called it quits from NASCAR, Labonte began planning for his post-racing career by forming a company with his wife Kristin called Breaking Limits. In its 11 years, the firm has become quite successful in both the public relations and marketing genres, including working with a number of current IndyCar teams such as Arrow McLaren SP and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for sponsor activation, hospitality experiences and more.

The Labontes are also exploring the possibility of starting a subsidiary that will manage athletes, much like Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. are currently doing.

PHOTOS: Bobby Labonte career highlights, top moments

***

Labonte’s European experience laid the foundation for a return to racing back in the U.S., particularly in the Modified class. He was only able to compete in a handful of races last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but plans to compete in at least 11 races this season, along with likely competing in at least one Late Model race later this year.

He’ll also take part in all six of the upcoming Ray Evernham/Tony Stewart-led Superstar Racing Experience series races that begin in mid-June and run through the end of July.

“Last year was kind of a bummer,” Labonte said. “I started the year off running a race at Sebring. I’d never been there before. Then I ran a vintage race and an enduro race and won it. Then COVID hit and I didn’t get a chance to run again until last fall. But that’s my competitive juices. I still want to do this.

“So I took the year off not by wanting to, but it kind of just happened that way. Then I realized how much more I missed it.”

Labonte is a happy man, doing what he’s doing these days. He still watches NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series races on TV and occasionally shows up at a few race tracks including Martinsville, Darlington, Bristol and Charlotte, as well as his regular duties as an in-studio analyst for FOX Sports.

But even though former competitors such as Greg Biffle have dipped their toes back in NASCAR racing a few times, particularly in the Truck Series, Labonte has no desire to do so – one of the few acknowledgements that he truly is retired from NASCAR competition.

“I think there’s a part of me that says, ‘Hey, I feel pretty good and pretty healthy. I don’t feel like I’m as old as I am,’ ” Labonte said wistfully.

But then he added with a chuckle: “Bottom line is I am as old as I am. Doing what I’m doing now is all the fun that I need to get so, really, I am 99.9 percent sure that that ship has sailed, and I’m OK with that. I’m getting to do what I get to do with a great group of guys, I get to race and do some fun stuff and I get home Saturday night. I don’t have to stop to fuel up my plane. I can just drive right home after a race. Not a bad deal.”

While the lure of NASCAR’s top series may not be there, racing at fabled locations such as Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, gives more than enough of a challenge to Labonte – not to mention the sometimes outlandish type of racing that takes place there.

“(Bowman Gray) is an example of crazy,” he said with a laugh, adding, “Who came up with the idea of putting 32 cars on a quarter-mile track around a football field? That’s not too crazy, right?”

***

ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images

Labonte has countless memories from his NASCAR career. Among the high points include the 2000 Cup championship, where he wound up with a massive 265-point lead over Dale Earnhardt after the season-ending race at Atlanta. Sadly, Earnhardt would be killed just three months later in a last-lap crash in the 2001 season-opening Daytona 500.

As for individual races, none is any bigger than Labonte’s win on the way to the 2000 championship in the Brickyard 400 that August.

“That win was unbelievable,” Labonte said. “We kind of knew on Saturday night how good the car was. It was like the best I’ve ever had on a Saturday night going into a Sunday. That was pretty amazing, but there’s all kinds of stories for me in different races.

“There was Darlington on Friday (early March 1999), I broke my shoulder blade in a (Busch Series) practice crash. I ran like the first 100 laps on Sunday. And then when the rain came and Matt Kenseth filled in for me. He got in the car and finished 10th.

“To win at Pocono against Dale Jr. (July 2001) was crazy. And (a couple) years before, when we won and beat Jeff Gordon (June 1999). I mean we just trumped old Gordon. We were so fast and didn’t just beat him, we beat him by a ton. We had to slow down because we were going so fast.

“And then Homestead, I was leading Bill Elliott and blew out a tire on the last lap. … And then winning the race the same year (his older brother) Terry won the Cup championship at Atlanta (November 1996), that was a great weekend.

“Yeah, there were some lowlights, but there was a lot of highlights, even in races I didn’t win.”

While happy overall at his career, Labonte admits to one regret: when he left Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2005 season.

“I honestly thought that Joe Gibbs Racing, that whole time span that I had, was really the best there was,” Labonte said. “Looking back on it, I thought the grass would have been greener on the other side of the fence, and I could have done something to rekindle what I wasn’t doing right at Gibbs.

“After all was said and done, I’m like, ‘How could I have done better if I stayed at Gibbs?’ I needed to do something different either there or somewhere else. I think that at the end of the day, I probably wish I would probably (have) told myself to stay there and keep doing what I’m doing, better than I’m doing it.

“Knowing what I know now, I wish I could have done that before moving on.”

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

And then there’s the greatest accomplishment of all: his induction last year into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, joining Terry as one of three brother combinations in the Hall (Richard and Maurice Petty, and Glen and Leonard Wood are the other siblings inducted).

“It’s crazy how you race your whole life, and I didn’t think at all of I’m working towards the Hall of Fame,” Labonte said. “But at the same time, definitely, you worked really hard to get there.

“When you get to a point you’re like your career is about over, and you’re going to get accolades of some type and I still didn’t know that (his career) was going to be worthy enough (for the Hall). And when it happened and I was able to get inducted into it, it’s just like, wow, what an honor that whole night with Tony (Stewart) and coach (Joe Gibbs), Waddell (Wilson) and Buddy (Baker), and Jeff Gordon talking to me, telling me what my night’s going to be like, Roger Penske sent me a text. It’s like, wow, this is way bigger deal than just racing on a Sunday. So yeah, that’s a really cool, cool deal, the biggest honor, you know?

“How do you put it into words, what it means to you and what it did to me? All that time and effort, my parents and all the time and effort we put into (racing as) a family, kind of put all of it full circle and made it all make sense. It just put it all together.

“Obviously, a lot of guys might not get that opportunity. When I was growing up in racing, my parents could have easily said, ‘Hey, we need to do something (else). We can’t either afford it or it was too much work, too much of a headache, the decision could have been made or thinking what could have been, or the transition could have been a little bit different, we never would have known.”

***

The Bobby Labonte file

* Age: 57

* Hometown: Corpus Christi, Texas (has lived in North Carolina for more than 30 years)

* Finished second to Jeff Gordon for 1993 Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors

* NASCAR Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2020 along with Joe Gibbs, Tony Stewart, Waddell Wilson and Buddy Baker.

* Notable: Is first and only driver thus far to have won races in all three NASCAR premier series at same track – Martinsville Speedway. … Also became the first of just six drivers who have won championships in both the Cup and Xfinity Series.

* NASCAR Cup career: 25 years, 729 starts, 21 wins, 115 top-five and 203 top-10 finishes. Also 26 poles. Won 2000 championship.

* NASCAR Xfinity Series career: 20 years, 203 starts, 10 wins, 51 top-five and 100 top-10 finishes. Also 10 poles. Won 1991 championship.

* NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career: 10 starts, 1 win, 5 top-five and 5 top-10 finishes.

* Best NASCAR Cup season finish: 2000 – four wins, 19 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes, plus two poles. Won first and only Cup championship of his career.

* Best overall NASCAR Cup season statistically: 1999 – earned five wins, 23 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes, all career bests. Finished second in championship to Dale Jarrett.

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is writing a number of Where Are They Now? stories this year for NASCAR.com. Check out stories he’s already done on Greg Biffle, Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip, Mark Martin, Marcos Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya. Also, follow Jerry on Twitter @JerryBonkowski, @TheRacingBeat podcast and his email newsletter, TheRacingBeat.substack.com.