This Weekend in NASCAR – Circuit of the Americas

NASCAR Cup Series

• Next Race: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
• The Place: Circuit of The Americas
• The Date: Sunday, March 27
• The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
• The Purse: $8,799,709
• TV: FOX, 3 p.m. ET
• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 231.88 miles (68 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 15), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 68)
• 2021 Race Winner: Chase Elliott

NASCAR Xfinity Series

• Next Race: Pit Boss 250
• The Place: Circuit of The Americas
• The Date: Saturday, March 26
• The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
• The Purse: $1,654,894
• TV: FS1, 3:30 p.m. ET
• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 156.86 miles (46 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 14), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 46)
• 2021 Race Winner: Kyle Busch

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

• Next Race: XPEL 225
• The Place: Circuit of The Americas
• The Date: Saturday, March 26
• The Time: 1 p.m. ET
• The Purse: $725,505
• TV: FS1, 12 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 143.22 miles (42 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 12), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 26), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 42)
• 2021 Race Winner: Todd Gilliland

NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR returns to the Circuit of The Americas

The first five races of the 2022 season have been action-packed, and now the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) for the first of six road courses on the schedule (COTA, Sonoma, Road America, Indianapolis RC, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval) for the  EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix this Sunday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

On 1,500 acres of land just outside of Austin, Texas construction began in 2010 on what is now known as the Circuit of The Americas. The 20-turn, 3.41-mile, multi-elevational counterclockwise circuit takes advantage of the naturally rolling landscape, including a 133-foot hill at Turn 1. The track also has an amphitheater, the largest permanent outdoor amphitheater in Central Texas, and a 251-foot observation tower.

The first NASCAR Cup Series race held at the Circuit of The Americas was last season on May 23, 2021 but the event was shortened 14 laps from the scheduled distance due to weather. The inaugural Cup event at COTA saw 10 different leaders and 11 lead changes. Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Chase Elliott took the checkered flag by passing his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman with just five laps before the race was called. The victory was his seventh NASCAR Cup Series road-course career win moving him solely into third on the all-time series road course wins list behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight).

This weekend’s on-track activity for the NASCAR Cup Series begins with practice on Saturday, March 26 at 10 a.m. ET followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 11 a.m. ET. Both will be televised on FS1.

Standings leader Chase Elliott heads to COTA looking for first win of 2022

Hendrick Motorsports is off to a fast start in 2022 with three of the organization’s four drivers already winning and securing their spots in the Playoffs this season – Kyle Larson (Fontana), Alex Bowman (Las Vegas) and William Byron (Atlanta). Last season’s Circuit of The Americas winner and current NASCAR Cup Series point standings leader, Chase Elliott, is the lone Hendrick driver looking for his first win of 2022 as the series returns to the 3.41-mile road course this weekend for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix this Sunday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.   

Though winless this season, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 team have been impressive. In five races this season, Elliott has collected three top-10 finishes and currently holds a seven-point lead over Team Penske’s Joey Logano in second in the standings. Elliott is not only the defending winner of this weekend’s race, he also leads the series among active drivers in road course wins with seven.

Byron’s victory at Atlanta last weekend made Hendrick Motorsports just the second team in series history to win with three different drivers in the first five races of a NASCAR Cup Series season; joining car owner Carl Kiekhaefer’s Mercury Marine Team who accomplished the feat in 1956 with drivers Tim Flock (Hickory), Fonty Flock (Charlotte) and Buck Baker (Phoenix).

Last season, Elliott and Larson finished first or second together in three of the seven road course races and the duo led the series in top-five finishes on road courses with five each.

Road-course aces to watch this weekend

Heading into this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas, the NASCAR Cup Series has 11 former road course winners entered in the  EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix this Sunday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and 10 of them are looking for their first win of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (seven road course wins) and Kyle Larson (three) have been the two hottest road course drivers over the last few seasons. Elliott, who leads all active drivers in road course wins, is currently ranked third on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time road course wins list behind Jeff Gordon with nine road course wins and Tony Stewart with eight. Elliott’s teammate, Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, became the first driver in series history to win at three different road courses in a single season last year (Sonoma, Watkins Glen and Charlotte Roval).

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell (Daytona RC) and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger (Indianapolis RC) were the only drivers not in the Hendrick camp to win on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series last season. Allmendinger finished fifth at the Circuit of The Americas in 2021 and Bell was caught in an incident and finished 38th.

Active Road Course Winners in the NASCAR Cup Series

Right behind Elliott on the active NASCAR Cup Series road-course winners list are Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr with four road course wins each.  Busch finished 10th at COTA last season and Truex was caught in an incident and finished 35th. But watch for both to be towards the front this weekend as Truex ranks fifth among active drivers in series career average finish on road courses with a 13.8 and Busch ranks eighth with a 14.3.

Last but not least is Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who finished third in last season’s Circuit of The Americas race behind Elliott and Larson. Logano looked to be the car to beat last season leading the most laps (14) in the event. Logano already has one road course career win at Watkins Glen and has the sixth-best career average finish on road courses among active drivers with a 13.9.  

Playoff Bubble: Four of last season’s Playoff drivers are outside the points cutoff

Through the first five races of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, five different winners have secured their spot in the Playoffs by virtue of their victory. At the other end of postseason outlook, Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick holds the 16th and final transfer spot into the Playoffs by a slim four-point lead over RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski. Keselowski is one of four Playoff contenders from last season currently outside the 2022 Playoff’s point cutoff as the series heads to the Circuit of The Americas for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix this Sunday, March 27 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski is currently 17th in the driver standings, just four points back from Tyler Reddick in the final postseason transfer position. The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Keselowski, joined RFK Racing in the offseason and with new crew chief Matt McCall, the duo has led 70 laps and posted one top-10 finish (Daytona) this season. In last season’s race at the Circuit of The Americas, he finished 19th. Among active drivers, Keselowski ranks 12th in series career average finish on road courses with a 15.4.

One of the most surprising drivers to find on this side of the Playoff cutoff is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. The Chesterfield, Virginia native was the series’ point standings leader for 20 straight races last season but this year through five races he is ranked 26th in points. Hamlin is 47 points behind Tyler Reddick, who is the 16th and final Playoff position. Look for Hamlin to turn his season around this weekend, he has a road course win at Watkins Glen International, finished 14th at the Circuit of the Americas last season and is ranked 10th in series career average finish on road courses with a 15.1. Plus, he finished in the top-five four times on road courses last season (third-most).  

The 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell was looking to be on another hot start this year with a top-10 finish to open the 2022 season but since Daytona, he hasn’t finished better than 24^th and finds himself mired in the standings (27th) heading to COTA. McDowell is currently 48 points behind Tyler Reddick who is in the final Playoff transfer position (16th). But McDowell will look to right his ship this weekend on the first road course of the season. McDowell started 23rd and raced his way up to a seventh-place finish at the Circuit of The Americas last season. It was one of two top 10s he put up on road courses last season.

Teetering on the very last spot eligible to make the Playoffs (30^th), Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell sits 57 points behind Tyler Reddick in the 16^th and final postseason transfer spot. Last season, Bell earned his spot in the Playoffs by winning his first career NASCAR Cup Series race at the Daytona Road Course. Bell managed to put up two top-five finishes on road courses last season and looks get his 2022 season headed in the right direction this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas. At COTA last year, Bell’s race was short lived. He was caught in an incident on Lap 20 and was relegated to a 38th-place finish.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs does it again

An unexpected win happened for the driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 19-year-old, Ty Gibbs, didn’t think he would make the trip to Victory Lane after a mistake on pit road seemed to have cost him the race, but this is NASCAR, and anything can happen.

In an intense race that ultimately went to overtime, Gibbs found his way back to the front of the pack in the last lap and took home his second checkered flag of the season (Las Vegas, Atlanta), becoming the first multiple winner of the season.  

“What the heck? Oh, my gosh! I didn’t expect this at all,” said Gibbs. “That’s one where I learned a big lesson-just never give up… Now I’m going to go party with the boys—let’s go!”

February’s Daytona winner, Austin Hill came in second, followed by AJ Allmendinger, Riley Herbst and Landon Cassill. Ryan Sieg, who was passed by Gibbs for the lead on the last lap, had a 10th-place finish.

Gibbs is now locked into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with his wins and will look to pad his Playoff points total going forward. This weekend at the Circuit of The Americas he will be making his Xfinity Series track debut at the 3.41-mile road course. Though this will be his first start at COTA, don’t expect it to slow him down any- two of his six career Xfinity wins came on road courses (2021: Daytona RC and Watkins Glen).

Xfinity Series is ready for COTA

Last May, NASCAR Xfinity Series fans saw Kyle Busch come out victorious in the inaugural Pit Boss 250 at the 3.41-mile road course at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. This year, we won’t see Busch competing in Austin in the NASCAR Xfinity Series so there will inevitably be a new COTA winner in Victory Lane on Saturday.

With this being the first of six road courses on the 2022 season schedule, here’s a dive into a couple drivers who have had success in road courses:

Ty Gibbs– The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has already proved to be a force this season and it’s very possible that he takes his third win of the season in Austin this weekend.

Last season, Gibbs won his first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Daytona Road Course. He went on to win again at Watkins Glen International.

His success with road courses combined with the victories he’s had this season might be the perfect mix for the Pit Boss 250.

AJ Allmendinger– The veteran No. 16 Kaulig Racing driver seems to have a niche for road courses. In 65 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, he has posted 10 wins with six of those wins being at road courses. (Road America-2013, 2019; Mid-Ohio- 2013,2021; Charlotte-2020,2021)

Allmendinger has yet to post a win this season but it’s very apparent that he’s fighting for his chance to head to Victory Lane. He has posted a top-10 finish in every race this season and in 2021, he posted 18 top fives and 22 top 10s in his 33 starts. 

Noah Gragson clings to points lead heading to the Circuit of The Americas  

Last weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway was not kind to the JR Motorsports drivers as all four finished outside the top-20 for the first time this season. NASCAR Xfinity Series points leader Noah Gragson was in an incident and was relegated to a 26th-place finish. Now the Las Vegas native heads to the Circuit of The Americas in Texas for the Pit Boss 250 on Saturday, March 26 (4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the first road course of the season.

Gragson continues to hold the point standings lead by 19 points over second place Ty Gibbs and third place AJ Allmendinger – who are tied with 204 points. Gragson’s 2022 season has been stellar, not finishing worse than third in the first four races; including a victory at Phoenix.  

Gragson is especially eager to get back to COTA this weekend, because in last season’s race he finished last due to an engine failure on Lap 13.

Bubba Wallace rejoins JGR for select Xfinity Series races 

Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series will also be competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Circuit of The Americas this weekend. He will pilot the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and will race later this season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as well.

Wallace had his first stint with JGR in 2012 and 2014 where he made six starts and posted four top-10 finishes.

Wallace last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021 for Hattori Racing Enterprises at Michigan International Speedway posting a top-10 finish.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Truckin’ in Austin

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Texas for the fifth race of the season, the XPEL 225 this Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The race will be the first of a double-header Saturday that features the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at 4:30 p.m. ET.  

Last year, Front Row Motorsports’ driver Todd Gilliland grabbed the victory in the No. 38 Ford in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the Circuit of The Americas. Fast forward to this year, Zane Smith (who had two top-10 finishes in road courses last year) is behind the wheel of the No. 38 Ford and hopes to bring home back-to-back wins for the Front Row Motorsports team.

Smith had a good 2021 season, posting one win, three top fives and 14 top 10s. He kept the momentum going with a 2022 season-opening win in Daytona but didn’t quite get the result he was looking for in the following race in Las Vegas. He was disqualified and bumped to last but that didn’t stop him from rebounding in last weekend’s race at Atlanta by posting a fifth-place finish.

Watch for Smith to be upfront this weekend too. In his series track debut last season on the 3.41-mile road course, Smith started 15th and raced his way up to an eighth-place finish.

Truck Series Road Course Ringers

Last season, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers put their skills to the test at three road courses producing three different winners – Daytona Road Course (Ben Rhodes), Circuit of The Americas (Todd Gilliland) and Watkins Glen International (Austin Hill). This season, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be tasked with competing on three road courses, but COTA is the only one returning from last season. Sonoma Raceway, who hasn’t hosted the Truck Series since 1998, and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, who will be hosting the series for the first time, are the other two road courses on the schedule in 2022.

With Gilliland now competing in the NASCAR Cup Series and Hill in his rookie season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Rhodes is the only active Truck road course winner set to compete this weekend in Austin for the XPEL 225.

ThorSport Racing’s driver and 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, Ben Rhodes is still looking for his first win of the 2022 season. Last year at this time, he had already won twice taking the first two races of the season in Daytona. Now, the Kentucky native finds himself fifth in points after posting two fives this season. Watch for Rhodes to be a contender this weekend as he finished 10^th in last season event.  

Some of Rhodes’ biggest competition this weekend will come from the Kyle Busch Motorsports stable. KBM drivers have won the last two races – Chandler Smith (Las Vegas) and Corey Heim (Atlanta). John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 KBM Toyota will be one to watch as well. In 2021, he finished in third at the Daytona road course, just behind Rhodes and Sheldon Creed. At COTA, he had a 12th-place finish and in the last road course race of the season at Watkins Glen, he came in second, losing only to Austin Hill.

Joining Nemechek and Smith this weekend will be team owner/driver and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who will be making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series track debut on Saturday at COTA – his first on a road course in the series. Although Busch hasn’t competed on a road course in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, he does hold the record for wins in the series (61) and has eight road course wins under his belt (four in the NASCAR Cup Series and four in the NASCAR Xfinity Series).

Chandler Smith leading the way

In his fourth season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Kyle Busch Motorsport’s Chandler Smith is sitting atop of the point standings after a first-place finish in Las Vegas and a close battle with rookie teammate Corey Heim in Atlanta last weekend that resulted in Smith finishing fourth – the first time in his career he has led the points for more than one race. Now, the Georgia native heads to the Circuit of The Americas looking for another good run to help him hold on to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings lead.

Smith will have his work cut out for him this weekend at COTA as he finished 33rd in last season’s race. He currently holds a 13-point lead over second place Tanner Gray and 17 points up on third place Ty Majeski.

source – NASCAR communications