Nothing beats motorsports deep in the heart of Texas than Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
AUSTIN, Texas – For the third consecutive season, Circuit of the Americas welcomes the NASCAR Cup Series with its first road course race of the season (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
This FIA Grade Level 1, 3.41-mile, 20-turn road course adjacent to Austin proper has elements befitting of Texas’ capital city with unique, sometimes weird shifts in straights and corners. Most particularly, COTA is known for its sharp, challenging Turn 1 which can either go smoothly or as chaotically as driving through I-35 or 183 on a weekday rush hour drive.
After getting through the esses, Turn 11 is about as abrupt as it gets with drivers having to sort out any two wide action before taking on the distinct backstretch that offers side drafting opportunities. Then, the stadium section can make or break a lap in traffic or solo, with drivers often making cunning, aggressive moves.
In all honesty, COTA rewards risk takers who can drive nearly flawless laps regardless of it being in clean air or around other drivers. While the track offers elements of superspeedway style racing with drafting chances, a bit of a short track mentality counts with paint trading and dive bombs, especially at race start, restarts or when drivers are within striking distance of each other.
This “Southern Swing” presses onward after Ford’s Joey Logano snapped Chevrolet’s four-race winning streak to start this season. However, Chevrolet and Toyota look to make some noise especially with William Byron on the pole and Tyler Reddick starting in second.
Do not count out Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez and Ross Chastain, the latter being the defending race winner. In concert with their Project 91 stablemate in Kimi Räikkönen and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Jordan Taylor, suddenly, that is at least seven quality talents who can contend for the race win. From Byron to Jenson Button to Conor Daly, the possibilities are endless.
Once the flag waves the green flag to kick off this new season, it is anyone’s guess as to who will prevail in this year’s Ambetter Health 400. For the time being, come along for the ride this and each race weekend with Podium Preview.
This weekend, Cody Shoppe, Jasmine Sharpe, Kobe Lambeth, Luis Torres, Matt Sisoler, Teresa Bennink and yours truly contemplate over the first Cup race without stage break cautions, road course ringers and race winning picks!
Podium Perspectives
Question 1
Does a pre-2016 road course style race mean better racing or a field that’s more spread out on Sunday? (Photo: John Arndt | r/NASCAR)
How will the lack of a caution period between each Stage change up the racing at a road course like COTA?
Lambeth : I think it’s very refreshing to see the stage breaks go away on the road courses. Since NASCAR introduced stage racing, we’ve seen the stages remove the strategic element that helped make the road courses so exciting in NASCAR. In the last few years, the excitement level on road course have dropped off quite a bit. With the stage breaks disappearing and lower downforce on the cars, I think we have great reason to look forward to COTA and the rest of the road courses on the schedule. Also, the drivers should be prepared for long green flag runs which makes it more important to limit costly mistakes.
Torres : For once, fuel strategy should come into play on these road course races. It was a unique spark that’s been taken away from us years ago and it’ll be neat which team will be on top of their game. More than the driver, it’s indeed the crew that’ll be in the spotlight.
Sure, you’ll have your usual incidents that’ll warrant a caution. But the vibe and tempo of the race will change for the better. I’m sure fans will appreciate the refreshing road racing we haven’t seen in years due to stage racing.
Any pit stop woes will be a game changer that may end a driver’s hope of winning in one of the world’s most extraordinary road circuits.
Sisoler : It’s a welcome change, because now drivers and teams will have to strategize how to get to the end of the race immediately out of the gate and not how to get to the end of the stages first. Or at least there won’t be as much of a priority on it. This could really suit road course veterans who are used to doing longer races on road courses, so I’d expect those guys to have a good chance at competing for the win, including the, arguably, standout of the weekend, Jordan Taylor in Chase Elliott’s car.
Sharpe : The change involving no more stage breaks will cause teams to become more strategic overall with how they want their car to handle/ perform. As seen in Saturday’s Truck and Xfinity races, some teams decided to stay out as long as possible, attempting to gain stage points while others were going more towards the race win. It really will matter where in point standings the teams are and if their cars will be able to handle the full feature race, as several mechanical issues sprang up during the previously mentioned Saturday races.
Looking at the qualifying, the top ten is saturated with Chevys. Three are from Hendrick Motorsports, two from Legacy Motor Club, and one each for Trackhouse, Kaulig, and Richard Childress Racing.
We most likely will see teammates within this top ten group work together for the majority of the event, but it all depends on who has issues and when cautions do occur.
Question 2
When the pride of NASCAR Reddit and a 2009 Formula champion converse…(Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
Which of the road course ringers (Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button, Jordan Taylor, and Conor Daly) has the best possible chance to win Sunday’s race at COTA?
Tiongson : Long before this weekend arrived, I had a good feeling about Jordan Taylor’s chances at COTA. He’s a successful sports car driver who’s always wanted to race in NASCAR, even as a guest star player. Well, now he’s got the chance to showcase what he can do in a great ride that can match his talents.
I’d venture to say that if Taylor can finish inside the top 10, or even the top five, it would be like a victory for the popular driver. He starts fourth for Sunday’s race. I would not be surprised to see Taylor exceed expectations and snatch a win in Chase Elliott’s steed.
Bennink : All of these drivers, the modern road course ringers, have exceptional pedigrees. Of the above drivers Kimi has the best chance of winning the race sunday. He has experience in that car, with that team, and many laps around the track. Raikkonen has raced COTA eight times in his Formula One career and won the U.S. Grand Prix in 2018. On top of that, Trackhouse knows how to win at COTA in the Cup series with Ross Chastain last year.
Shoppe : IMSA champ Jordan Taylor has the best chance to do well today in COTA. Driving one of the best rides in the cup series and with all his talent, the elder Taylor brother will show the stock car world what a sports car driver can do. Jordan Taylor has already shown speed in qualifying and if he can have a clean race, expect the 9 team to best all the other one-off stars in the field!
That’s two laps around COTA as smooth and precise as driving in the Greater Austin area gets! Before resuming talk about Austin’s finest motorsports venue, let’s consider the race and points reports from the Ambetter Health 400, Race No. 5 of 36 of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season!
The bossman won.
However, the Hendrick penalty appeal could either make the season better or blah.
Now, let’s consider the top 10 starters for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA!
Row 1 – William Byron and Tyler Reddick
(Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
Row 2 – Austin Cindric and Jordan Taylor
(Photo: Cody Porter | The Podium Finish)
Row 3 – Daniel Suárez and Alex Bowman
(Photo: John Arndt | r/NASCAR)
Row 4 – AJ Allmendinger and Erik Jones
(Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
Row 5 – Kyle Busch and Noah Gragson
(Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
Lastly, here’s our picks for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA!
It’s a bevy of heavy hitters for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA. (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
Torres : Despite being snake bit by Ross Chastain on the last lap which gave me serious Jeff Gordon vibes from Watkins Glen 20 years ago, AJ Allmendinger is always a threat on road courses. People said from Day 1 these cars will likely cater to guys like Allmendinger. So far, his first full-season back in Cup hasn’t been amazing, but a much-needed momentum swing comes a long way in the sport. Circuit of the Americas will symbolize the start of what I still feel will be a superb campaign for Allmendinger. He’ll seek vengeance from a year ago and capture the checkered flag in Austin and punch his ticket into the playoffs.
Sisoler : With a plethora of road course talent entering the field for this one, the field is more wide open to seeing an upset winner in the likes of Kimi Raikkonen or a Jordan Taylor, who has been the breakout star of the weekend. However, I am gonna roll with the guy who nearly won this race last year until he was the first inductee into Ross Chastain’s hall of pain, AJ Allmendinger. He is going to win this time around, regardless of if the Melon Man is in the vicinity or not.
Lambeth : In a field stacked with road course ringers, I’m going with one of the more experienced NASCAR road course aces in Austin Cindric!
Sharpe : Being the newest Team Penske Cup Series driver, Cindric has not had the best of luck. Even after winning last year’s Daytona 500, his results are not as great as many had hoped. One thing is certain, the man knows how to wheel at road courses, winning plenty of races at said tracks in the Xfinity Series. He was the only Ford to qualify in the top ten, competing against drivers like AJ Allmendinger and William Byron.
Shoppe : The RCR No. 8 car was one of the best on road courses last year with Tyler Reddick. I expect that to continue with Kyle Busch starting with a win in COTA!
Tiongson : If Kyle Larson can avoid making unforced errors on the track and the pits, I’d say he’s got a good shot as anybody else at COTA. While he was disappointed to miss the final qualifying round due to a bit of miscommunication, I think he’ll be fired up and drive his No. 5 car to a great result or a win in Austin.
We’re ready for some racing. How about you? What do you think are the biggest storylines heading into the race? Who are your favorites to win? Tweet us now @ThePodiumFinish and tell us now!
Thanks as always to the TPF team for their amazing efforts this week as we celebrate our 15th anniversary of operations!
The opinions and thoughts expressed in Podium Preview are solely of the authors. They do not reflect any organizations affiliated with the participants and author outside of TPF. This weekly feature is strictly for entertainment purposes. Ultimately, they are not indicative of TPF, the organization and its staff.
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