Who is the most successful NASCAR Cup Series driver at COTA?
COTA is one of the most prominent Road Courses in NASCAR Cup Series.
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COTA.Image via Last Word on Sports.
Circuit of the Americas, popularly known as COTA, is a motor racing track in Austin, Texas, United States. This has hosted NASCAR’s Texas Grand Prix (Cup Series), Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, and Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas. It has also hosted prestigious racing series like the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar, V8 Supercars, American Le Mans Series, American Rallycross Championship, and others.
In 2020, an announcement was made that COTA would host the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time on May 23rd, 2021. The Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series were added along with the Cup Series. EchoPark Automotive took the naming rights for the NASCAR event. They called it the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix. Initially, NASCAR considered a shortened layout of 2.2 miles. But they later announced that the race would cover the full 3.426-mile course. The most successful Cup race drivers in COTA are Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain.
Chase Elliott driving the No.9 Chevrolet Camaro Z1 for Hendrick Motorsports, won the 2021 Texas Grand Prix. Ross Chastain driving the No.1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team, won in 2022. Eliott and Chastain recorded two top-five finishes, in the NASCAR Cup Series at COTA. Both the Chevrolet drivers are the only two to do so. Their average finishing portion is 2.5.
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Chase Elliott won in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series debut in Austin
Chase Elliott won the inaugural Texas Grand Prix. It was a wet day, and the race was shortened to 54 laps with 14 laps to go. There was heavy rain and low visibility. NASCAR does not often race during heavy rain. But they continued racing on their Austin debut. Kyle Larson finished second, and Joey Logano finished third. Due to the rain, there were several crashes. Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, and a few others were affected by it. The weather was severe, and the drivers could not see a foot in front of their cars.
Elliott’s win at COTA gave Hendrick Motorsports their 268th win. It also gave Chevrolet its 800th win in NASCAR. Elliott is the 2020 Cup Series champion. He is also the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Regular season champion. Elliott has 18 wins (seven on road courses), 138 top-ten finishes, and 12 poles in his NASCAR Cup Series career. He ran 259 races over 9 years.
Ross Chastain’s first career win in COTA, 2022
Ross Chastain finished fourth in the 2021 inaugural race at COTA. He was driving the No.42 Chevrolet for the Chip Ganassi Racing team. In 2022 the Texas GP was the first road course of the season. Chastain for Trackhouse Racing claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series win at this circuit. In the final lap battle, he defended against Aj Allmendinger and Alex Bowman and took home his first win in the series.
It was a special day for the team. It marked their first win. Alex Bowman finished second, and Christopher Bell finished third. Chase Elliott, the inaugural race winner, finished fourth in 2022. Chastain has two wins and 32 top-ten finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series. He ran 153 races over 7 years. He also takes part in the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.
The 2023 Texas Grand Prix will be held on March 26th. Ross Chastain, the defending champion, will hope to have another top-five finish. This will be the second time the Next Gen cars will run at this circuit. All the drivers will be focused on winning. It has an exciting lineup. Formula 1 legends Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button will be racing each other. COTA is a much-awaited Grand Prix. It is the sixth race of the 2023 Cup Series season.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)