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NASCAR preps for its first road course race on COTA's repaved track

Kevin Lyttle
·4 min read
2

NASCAR has darted down the superspeedway of Daytona, handled intermediate tracks and just navigated its way around the short track at Bristol. Next up: the first road course of the season.

Sunday's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas presents another twist and turn — literally. There are nine right-handers interwoven with 11 left-handers on the 20-turn, 3.4-mile course.

"Sure, it's challenging to flip around so much from week to week," said Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. "But you've got to love the variety. It never gets boring, for the drivers nor the fans."

Joey Logano indicated the teams and pit crews might be the most challenged, as the drivers spent a lot of time each week on track simulators.

"You have to be good in a lot of different disciplines, all types of surfaces," the driver of the No. 22 Ford said. "I think it's one of the most attractive parts of our sport, that and the fact we have a different winner nearly every week."

NASCAR driver William Byron rounds turn 18 at Circuit of the Americas during Saturday's qualifying for Sunday's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix race.
NASCAR driver William Byron rounds turn 18 at Circuit of the Americas during Saturday's qualifying for Sunday's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix race.

How are NASCAR drivers handling COTA's track?

Cup drivers were curious how COTA would play after a partial track repave over the winter. Formula One and MotoGP riders voiced their displeasure last year. NASCAR drivers generally liked what they saw in Saturday's practice and qualifying, spinning cars in turn 9 notwithstanding.

"Let's face it: This is a rough racetrack," said Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Ford. "I don't think it's a problem. You can tell when you drive over the resurfaced part, it's so smooth. Then you hit the rough parts and can tell the difference. You're constantly on edge and sliding the car around a lot.

"I think it's enjoyable. Adds character."

Daniel Suarez of the No. 99 Chevy said the repairs help.

"Oh, yeah, you notice," the Monterrey, Nuevo León, native said. "There's a lot more grip. You might see a track record (Sunday)."

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin walks the starting line ahead of qualifying for Sunday's Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas.
NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin walks the starting line ahead of qualifying for Sunday's Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion and arguably the most popular driver in NASCAR — pointed to the vast differences in size — F1 cars weigh 1,759 pounds, and Cup cars are 3,300 pounds.

"For our cars, COTA's bumps are fine," he said. "F1 cars are so much lighter, run lower to the ground and don't have the suspension to deal with that. I can imagine how it affects them so much more."

Hamlin speculated that there is an underlying problem to smoothing the bumps.

"They take off the top layer, but they've got to go further and grade it as well," said the winningest driver in NASCAR never to have won a season title. "I sense because of the type of soil and all the clay in this area, it is very challenging. Wasn't there marshland around here?"

No marshland, but extreme weather conditions, expanding (summer) and contracting (winter) are a constant threat.

Drivers expect new restart zones will curb some of the mayhem experienced last year when three overtimes were needed before Tyler Reddick survived to win.

"Changing the restart zones should help spread the field to avoid things getting too jammed up," Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman said. "Most of the calamity came from several rows back, guys dive-bombing and trying moves that simply won't work here."

William Byron, the No. 24 Chevy driver for Hendrick, said, "Restarts are always going to be very tricky here, but I'm expecting a bit less havoc this time."

Christian Eckes' crew members hustle out for a pit stop during Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series XPel 225 race at Circuit of the Americas. NASCAR's biggest race of the weekend will be Sunday: the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.
Christian Eckes' crew members hustle out for a pit stop during Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series XPel 225 race at Circuit of the Americas. NASCAR's biggest race of the weekend will be Sunday: the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.

NASCAR keeps driving up the ratings

Five drivers have won the first five races. The averages of 35.4 lead changes and 14.2 lap leaders per race are all-time highs.

More people are watching. All five Cup races have delivered year-over-year increases in TV viewership for Fox. Last week's Bristol race pulled 3.8 million viewers. The first four races were over 4 million. Other than last week's Selection Sunday NCAA basketball show, the races have been the most watched sporting event each week, beating the NBA, the PGA Tour and everyone else.

"It's a good sign to see some growth," said Elliott, who won the inaugural COTA Cup race in a monsoon. "I think mixing it up with the schedule can't hurt."

Sunday's Cup Series race

EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, Fox, 2:30 p.m., Circuit of the Americas; tickets — $70-$185

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: NASCAR will race at Austin's Circuit of the Americas on Sunday