NASCAR News: Circuit of Americas Weekend Preview

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series are in action this weekend at the Circuit of Americas on a shortened version of the Texas Road Course.

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix

The Place: Circuit of The Americas

Track Length: 2.40 Mile Asphalt Road Course

The Date: Sunday, March 2

The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $11,055,250

TV: FOX, 2:30 p.m. ET

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 228.0 miles (95 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 45), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 95)

Related Article:  NASCAR News: Byron holds off Bell to win Cup race at COTA

Circuit of The Americas Storylines and Insights:

• For the first time, the NASCAR Cup Series will run the shorter (2.40-mile) track configuration at Circuit of the Americas. The previous four Cup races (2021-2024) were competed on the longer configuration at 3.41-miles.
• Since joining the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021, this is the earliest COTA will be run in a season.
• Chevrolet won the pole for four of the last five road course races, Toyota won the pole for four of the prior five.
• Chevrolet won six of the last seven road course races, Hendrick Motorsports won five of the six.
• Three drivers have won poles at COTA: William Byron won the pole for the last two races at COTA (2023, 2024), Tyler Reddick won it in 2022, and Ryan Blaney won it in 2021.
• Only one driver has won his first career pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at COTA – Tyler Reddick (May 23, 2021).
• The race winner at COTA has started on the front row in the last two COTA races, and the deepest in the field a race winner is started is 16th (Ross Chastain, 2022).
• In 15 of the 17 road course races with the Next Gen car the race winner has started in the top 8.
• Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick are the only drivers to finish inside the top-10 in all four COTA races, no one has finished top-five in all four.
• 16 of the 37 drivers entered at COTA have a Cup road course win.

• NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Cup Series in road course wins with nine victories at two tracks (Sonoma, five wins; Watkins Glen, four wins).
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart has the second-most road course wins all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with eight victories at two tracks (Watkins Glen, five wins; Sonoma, three wins).
• Chase Elliott, with seven road course wins (third all-time), has won at five different NASCAR Cup Series road course tracks (Charlotte ROVAL, COTA, Daytona Road Course, Road America and Watkins Glen) – the most all-time.
• Chase Elliott’s seven road course wins rank third all-time and lead all active drivers but he is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver without a road course win in the Next Gen car, the other three all won in the last five races.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for the most wins at a single road course track with six victories at Riverside International Raceway (1971, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1981 sweep).
• Kyle Larson, during the 2021 season became the first driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win at three road course tracks in a single season – Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte ROVAL.  Larson has six total road course wins.
• Four of the last five first time winners in the Cup series were on road courses.
• Christopher Bell’s four races at COTA: two Top 3s and two finishes in the 30s
• Hendrick Motorsports won five of the last 11 road course races and are the only organization with multiple wins in that span.
• Only two drivers finished in the top 10 in both races this season: John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Blaney.
• Tracking Chase Briscoe’s Playoff deficit: currently 38th, -98 behind 16th and -138 behind the points leader.
• The driver who led the most laps did not win either of the first two races this year for the fifth consecutive season, the longest such streak in series history.
• Team Penske led 255 laps in 2025, the fifth most laps by a team through the first two races of a season without a win.
• Ford drivers led 337 of the 467 raced in 2025 but have the fewest wins (zero), the fewest top-fives (1) and the fewest top-10s (4) of all manufacturers.
• Ford led 337 laps in 2025 (72%), the third-most ever by a manufacturer in the first two races without a win.
• Michael McDowell is the only driver not involved in an incident during the first two races of the 2025 season.
• The four NASCAR Cup Series races (2021-2024) at the Circuit of The Americas have produced four different race winners: Chase Elliott (2021), Ross Chastain (2022), Tyler Reddick (2023) and William Byron (2024).
• Ross Chastain (2022) is the only driver to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas.
• Last year’s COTA race had the fewest cautions of any road course race in 2024 (2).
• No stage winner went on to win a road course race in 2024.
• The driver leading the most laps won all three COTA races with the NextGen car (2022-2024).
• Cody Ware and Josh Berry are the only drivers who failed to finish both races in 2025.
• Austin Cindric scored the most stage points in 2025, 30 (includes the Duel).
• Joey Logano is the only driver who scored stage points in all four stages in 2025.
• 2025 is the first season ever to start with last lap passes in the first two races of the season.
• The 105 lead changes in 2025 are the most ever through two races in a season.
• Hendrick Motorsports won at least one road course in each of the last seven years, the longest streak ever by a team.

Updated Cup Series Practice and Qualifying Procedure This Weekend:

Practice

• Two practice sessions run with two groups
• Each group gets 20 minutes per session

Qualifying

• Run with two groups
• Each group gets 20 minutes
• Times are blended back together after both groups are completed; field is set fastest to slowest

Connor Zilisch Bio:

• 18 years old from Mooresville, NC
• Will be making his NASCAR Cup Series career debut this weekend at COTA in the Trackhouse Racing No. 87 Chevrolet with veteran crew chief Darian Grubb.
• Won his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen last September after starting on pole and leading the most laps.
• Won 5 of his 9 ARCA Menard Series starts (finished runner-up in the other two including Watkins Glen last year in his series debut).
• Won the pole in his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut at COTA in 2024.
• IMSA class wins in 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring in 2024.
• Signed as a Trackhouse Racing Development Driver in January 2024.
• Running full-time in NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025 with JR Motorsports.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: Focused Health 250

The Place: Circuit of The Americas

Track Length: 2.40 Mile Asphalt Road Course

The Date: Saturday, March 1

The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $1,651,939

TV: CW, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 156.0 miles (65 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 65)

Circuit of The Americas Storylines and Insights:

• 2025 will mark the fifth time the NASCAR Xfinity Series will compete at Circuit of The Americas (2021-2025).
• Circuit of The Americas is the first of seven NASCAR Xfinity Series races on road courses in 2025 (21% of all races on the schedule are on road courses)
• The NASCAR Xfinity Series will compete on the 20-turn, 2.40-mile configuration this weekend and as a result the stage end laps for the race are updated to 20, 40, 65.
• Jeremy Clements is making his 500th NASCAR Xfinity Series start this weekend; he becomes the fourth driver to reach 500 starts in the series.
• Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones are making their 300th consecutive start this weekend.
• Sam Mayer won four times on road courses, the rest of the field this weekend combined won five (Allgaier-3, Clements-1, Zilisch-1)
• None of the former NASCAR Xfinity Series COTA winners are entered this weekend: Kyle Busch (2021), A.J. Allmendinger (2022 and 2023), Kyle Larson (2024).
• All four of Sam Mayer’s road course wins came in the last 10 races.
• Three of Sheldon Creed’s 13 runner-up finishes came on road courses. Creed has the record for the most runner-up finishes in the series before their first win.
• Both of Austin Hill’s runner-up finishes on road courses came in his three starts at COTA.
• Austin Hill, who finished second, is the only driver in the field that finished in the top-five in this race last year.
• Harrison Burton is the only driver to finish top-10 in both races in 2025.
• 2025 is the second straight season that Richard Childress Racing won the first two races of the season.
• Richard Childress Racing is the first team to win the first two races of a season with two different drivers.
• Richard Childress Racing’s next win is it’s 100th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Only two other teams won at least 100 NXS races (Joe Gibbs Racing-215, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing-138)
• The last seven road course races were won from the front-row, the last 18 were won from a top-five starting position.
• Chevrolet drivers won the last eight races on road courses.
• Three of the four races at COTA were from pole (2021, 20323, 2024).
• There were 16 track limit penalties in this race last year including Shane van Gisbergen who crossed the finish line in second but had a 30 second penalty for short cutting the course on the last lap.
• JR Motorsports won the last two races on road courses with two different drivers, a team has never won three straight road course races with three different drivers.

Update for Xfinity Series Practice and Qualifying this weekend:

Practice

• 50 minutes for all cars

Qualifying

• Run with two groups; each group gets 20 minutes
• Times are blended back together after both groups are completed; field is set fastest to slowest

NASCAR & Circuit of The Americas, Etc.

Significant Events at COTA:

• December 31, 2010 – Construction began on America’s only purpose built Formula 1 track.
• August 10, 2012 – Circuit of The Americas began an intensive paving process that is required to prepare the racing circuit and entire facility for the inaugural 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, scheduled for Nov. 16-18.
• November 18, 2012 – Circuit of The Americas entered the record books as the first purpose-built Formula 1 racetrack in the country to host its own Grand Prix. An exuberant crowd packed the new facility to watch Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claim his fourth Grand Prix of the season and his second United States Grand Prix victory in five years having won the 2007 Formula 1 race last hosted in Indianapolis.
• April 5, 2013 – Austin360 Amphitheater Opening Night – Circuit of The Americas opened the new, world-class Austin360 Amphitheater (now known as the Germania Insurance Amphitheater) with a performance by country music superstar Kenny Chesney and with rising star Kacey Musgraves. The crowd roared as Chesney kicked off the highly anticipated spring 2013 season for the 14,000-seated entertainment venue.
• April 19, 2013 – Circuit of The Americas hosted the first of many amazing feats planned for the inaugural MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas when the Red Bull Air Force, a team of B.A.S.E. jumpers catapulted from the observation deck of the Circuit’s signature 25-story Tower and landed 251 feet below.
• April 21, 2013 – MotoGP fans witnessed the debut of World Championship motorcycle racing during the three-day MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas on April 19-21. Spectators were treated to a history-making performance, as rookie Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez became the youngest rider in MotoGP history to win a Grand Prix at just 20 years old.
• May 18, 2013 – The Pirelli World Challenge debuted at Circuit of The Americas with V8 Supercars as the supporting race. GT, GTS, Touring Car and Touring Car B-Spec teams raced around the 20-turn, 3.41-mile track as part of the race weekend. Johnny O’Connell won the inaugural race at COTA in the #3 Cadillac CTS-V.
• June 28, 2013 – The Formula Sun Grand Prix is annual solar-car race where teams from colleges and universities around the world design, build, test and race solar-powered vehicles around a closed loop track. Each team has three consecutive days to complete as many laps as they can around The Circuit, and the team with the most laps completed wins the race.
• September 22, 2013 – The Lone Star Le Mans is an endurance race for Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style cars that lasts for 6 hours and has no set number of laps. Car manufactures such as Porsche, Audi, Ferrari, Ford, Cadillac compete to design, build and race the fastest car.
• October 25-27, 2013 – The inaugural U.S. Vintage Racing Championship was held at Circuit of The Americas on October 25th – 27th, 2013 and featured over 500 vintage race cars that competed in 12 different classes, with each class having their own respected National Champion.
• June 5-8, 2014 – ESPN presented the inaugural X Games Austin at Circuit of The Americas. This sports action extravaganza took over the 3.41-mile-long track at The Circuit and Downtown Austin from June 5th-8th and featured over 200 athletes in many different sport disciplines. Fans who attended this event were able to witness the debut of Stadium Super Trucks and the return of BMX Dirt to the U.S.
• 2015 – X Games Austin returned to Circuit of The Americas for the second year in a row. Over 160,000 fans attended over 4 days making it the most attended X Games since 2004. The event took over The Circuit and debuted three new events including Moto X Flat Track, Moto X Quarter Pipe and Big Double Airs. In addition to the premier sports competitions, fans were able to enjoy the X Games Music Presents Series with performances from world famous artists such as Nicki Minaj, Metallica and The Glitch Mob.
• July 4, 2015 – For 42 years running, American icon and Austin’s own Willie Nelson got together some of the biggest names in music to celebrate Independence Day Willie-style. Willie’s 4th of July Picnics have become a legendary Texas summer tradition, and this year the party came to COTA with over 20 top tier country artists across two stages. Circuit of The Americas became the setting for the biggest Independence Day celebration in all of Texas.
• May 20, 2018 – Cars and Coffee Austin relocated to Circuit of The Americas for an eclectic showing of Texas’ finest automobiles. At this event, car enthusiasts and casual fans have the opportunity to admire a wide variety of cars ranging from classics hot rods to exotic supercars.
• March 24, 2019 – Circuit of The Americas hosted the inaugural INDYCAR Classic race — the second round of the 2019 INDYCAR season. Colton Herta took first place, becoming the youngest INDYCAR race winner of all time.
• September 28, 2019 – Circuit of The Americas laid dirt on the track and welcomed the American Rallycross Championship to Austin, TX on September 28th, 2019. The American Rallycross Championship serves as the feeder championship to the FIA World Rallycross Championship for North America. Rookie, Tanner Foust became the youngest Rallycross Champion after fighting against Subaru Rally Team USA for first place.
• November 27, 2020 – In 2020, COTA debuted an all-new event to help the community celebrate the holidays in a safe and festive way. The holiday spectacular consisted of a one-mile driving attraction that immersed visitors in over 6 million holiday lights synchronized to joyful holiday classics. The drive featured a 60-foot spiral light tree, giant light sculptures of beloved holiday icons, and an unforgettable finale featuring Santa himself.
• December 18, 2020 – Circuit of The Americas named the opening corner of its track ‘Big Red’ in honor of The Circuit’s co-founder Red McCombs.
• May 21-23, 2021 – The inaugural EchoPark Texas Grand Prix was a NASCAR Cup Series Race that took place at Circuit of The Americas on May 21st, 2021. The race was originally scheduled to be 68 laps around the 3.41-mile track but was shortened to just 54 laps due to heavy rain. The Hendrick Motorsports Team drivers, Chase Elliot and Kyle Larson, pulled off an exciting finish in first and second place. The NASCAR Cup Series featured supporting races by the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series during the race weekend.
• November 20, 2021 – Circuit of The Americas welcomed The Rolling Stones to the Super Stage on November 20, 2021 as part of their critically-acclaimed NO FILTER tour. This marked the last tour date of the NO FILTER tour and the rock ‘n’ roll legends’ first time reuniting since the 2020 postponement. The Stones were electric on the Super Stage and performed hits such as “Start Me Up” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
• January 24, 2022 – Circuit of The Americas’ track was recently resurfaced to create the ideal racing environment for the upcoming races and events. Ground penetration radar and laser mapping equipment & software was used to map the track and identify the different repairs needed.
• June 29, 2023 – T11 Car Condos officially broke ground this summer. COTA and T11 project representatives gathered for a sunny photo-op last week to mark the exciting occasion. After celebrating The Circuit’s 10th birthday last October, this groundbreaking denotes the beginning stages of COTA’s expansion project years in the making.
• May 6, 2024 – Plans for a comprehensive reconstruction of COTALAND are set in motion with the installation of the first permanent piece of the new amusement park. Leading this transformation is The Palindrome, the first rollercoaster of its kind in the United States, featuring an exhilarating drop of over 130 feet and a unique mechanism that allows the track to reverse direction mid-ride.

Additional Historical Circuit of The Americas Information:

• Located outside of Austin Texas, Circuit of the Americas is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track.
• In July of 2010 Tavo Hellmund announced plans to build the track on an 890 acre tract of land in Travis county.  Billionaire Red McCombs was announced as the project’s largest investor.
• The original name for the facility was “Speed City” but the owners originally anticipated selling the naming rights to parts of the facility for $7 million. On April 12, 2011 it was announced at a press conference that the track would be named “Circuit of The Americas”.
• The circuit’s homologation design was submitted to the FIA for approval in December of 2010, designed by HKS Inc and Tilke Engineers & Architects. Hermann Tilke is one of four designers recognized by the FIA and has been commissioned to design Formula One tracks some of which include: Sepang International Circuit, Bahrain International Circuit, Shanghai International Circuit, Istanbul Park Racing Circuit, Valencia Street Circuit, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Yas Marina Circuit, Korea International Circuit and the Buddh International Circuit, Sochi Autodrom, Kuwait Motor Town, Hanoi Street Circuit.
• HKS Inc., a Dallas based architecture firm, lists of notable projects include: AT&T Stadium Arlington TX, SoFi Stadium Inglewood CA, U.S. Bank Stadium Minneapolis MN, Lucas Oil Stadium, The Palazzo Las Vegas NV, Atlantis Paradise Island The Bahamas
• Construction began in December of 2010 and on June 13, 2012, Charlie Whiting the FIA appointed race director of Formula One declared the track construction satisfactory for F1 racing. The final step was the use of GPS based 3D paving to lay down the racing surface. The first layer of asphalt was finished August 3, 2012, and the final layer was finished on September 21st.
• Mario Andretti drove the ceremonial first laps in a Lotus 79, the same car he drove to the 1978 Formula One Championship.  A crowd of 117,429 watched the first Formula One race in November 2012.
• The circuit has been host to a great number of racing and live sporting events including Formula One (2012-2019, 2021), MotoGP World Championship (2013-2019), Blancpain GT World Challenge America (2013, 2015-2021), American Rallycross (2018-2019), Porsche Supercup, FIA World Rallycross Championship, V8 Supercars, American Le Mans Series, Rolex Sports Car Series, IMSA Weather Tech Sports Car series, IndyCar series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the Summer X Games.
• For 2025 NASCAR will run a new layout, the ‘National” layout the 20 turn 2.4 mile course eliminates a mile of the backside of the full course.  The lap count has been increased from 68 laps to 95 laps to account for the shorter course.

NASCAR & Circuit of The Americas, Etc.

Latest Circuit of The Americas Storylines

• Jack Quaid, star of Paramount Pictures’ new high-octane thriller “Novocaine,” will serve as the Grand Marshal for the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Sunday, March 2.
• For the fourth year, Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC), the official charity of Speedway Motorsports, will encourage race fans to make a difference in the lives of Austin-area children while providing more fun ways to enjoy the Feb. 28 – March 2 NASCAR weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Here are four ways fans attending NASCAR at COTA (and those watching from home) can benefit children in need in the Austin, Texas community: Lap For Charity (Friday, Feb. 28 from 8-10 a.m.); Live Auction (Saturday, March 1 from 4:30-5 p.m.); Donations for Fan Assistance Golf Cart Rides (Saturday and Sunday, March 1-2); and Online donations (Anytime). Donate at SpeedwayCharities.org/Donate/