0
0
February 27, 2025
By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
NASCAR Cup race at COTA should highlight Shane van Gisbergen’s strong suit.
AUSTIN, Tex. — The NASCAR Cup Series race at the Circuit of The Americas brings a new day on a “new” track.
For Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen, it brings a new and welcome opportunity.
After less than satisfying finishes in drafting track races at Daytona and Atlanta (33rd and 23rd, respectively), the road course ace from New Zealand comes to COTA as the betting favorite for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The Cup Series will race on a shorter “National” circuit this season, with the section from Turn 7 through the Turn 11 hairpin eliminated. That reduces the course from 3.41 miles (the Formula 1 circuit) to 2.40 miles.
Accordingly, the race will feature 95 laps instead of 68, meaning more trips past the main grandstand and more adventures in treacherous Turn 1.
Van Gisbergen surprised most of the other Cup competitors when he triumphed in his series debut in the 2023 Chicago Street Race. Now the three-time Australian Supercars champion is a known quantity.
“I miss that—going there and no one knows who I am; I could kind of fly under the radar and do my own thing,” van Gisbergen said. “Obviously, there are expectations now, but I’m pretty good at keeping that under control myself and focusing on my own thing.”
SVG understands the reasoning behind shortening the course and shouldn’t have difficulty adapting to the new circuit.
“I did like the long track, but I see why they shortened it,” he said. “More time past the stands and more action. And the cut-through that’s done (from Turn 6), we don’t lose any passing spots. That extra bit (Turns 7 through 11), there’s only one real passing spot, and they’re kept one with the cut-through.
“More laps, too. I think it’s probably a good thing, a shorter track.”
Sunday’s race also is noteworthy as the Cup debut of Connor Zilisch, who won at Watkins Glen last year in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Doing double duty this weekend, Zilisch will drive a fourth entry for Trackhouse Racing, the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet, in Sunday’s Cup race.
“Going into my first Cup race at COTA, it’s going to be a big challenge for me,” Zilisch said. “A lot of question marks, but I just want to go in and enjoy it and have fun. You only get to make your debut in the Cup Series once.
“I feel like it’s going to be a good experience for me to go learn and run all the laps. I think that’s what I’m honestly looking forward to the most, just running all the laps and making the most of the experience.”
It’s not as though the road course aficionados won’t have stout competition from the rest of the Cup Series stars. William Byron and Christopher Bell, who won at Daytona and Atlanta, respectively, to start the 2025 season, finished 1-2 at COTA last year.
Byron also will run the Xfinity Series race on Saturday in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 Chevrolet.
“I’m more than ready to get to COTA,” said Byron, who escaped a last-lap crash to win the DAYTONA 500 on Feb. 16. “We’ve always been fast there, and last year really showed what this team is capable of.
“The course will be shorter this time, but that’s where the extra laps in the Xfinity car should help. After the last two weekends of drafting, I’m happy to be going to a road course that takes such technique.”
Austin Hill aims to extend Richard Childress Racing’s domination
So far this season, Richard Childress Racing is batting 1.000, having swept all available Playoff points in the first two races of the year.
Jesse Love won the season opener at Daytona in the No. 2 RCR Chevrolet. A week later, Austin Hill put the No. 21 RCR Camaro in Victory Lane at Atlanta for the fifth time in the last six races at the 1.54-mile drafting track.
In addition, Hill swept the first two stages of both races. He dominated at Daytona before falling out of the race because of a rear end gear failure.
Though Hill has never won a road course race, he cautions against discounting his chances in Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at the Circuit of The Americas (2:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I’ve been so close to winning one of the road courses,” said Hill, who gave team owner Richard Childress his 99th Xfinity Series win last Saturday. “I hope going into COTA that we can be the one on top, and we can be sitting here talking to all of you (reporters) and have that 100th win.
“It would be extremely special.”
Hill’s path to Victory Lane won’t be an easy one. Last year’s NASCAR Cup Series winner at COTA, William Byron, is driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that carried Kyle Larson to victory in last season’s Xfinity Series race.
Ross Chastain, who won the Cup race at COTA in 2022, is pulling double duty, and talented road course racers Connor Zilisch and Sam Mayer also are likely contenders for the victory.
