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New COTA Layout Threatens To Take Away Even More Of The Advantage Chase Elliott Once Held On Road Courses
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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Once considered the NASCAR Cup Series’ resident road course king, Chase Elliott hasn’t been to Victory Lane on a road circuit since the debut of the Next Generation Cup Series car in 2022.
That’s pretty hard to believe when considering Elliott’s overall record at tracks that require both left-hand and right-hand turns.
Will this be the weekend that Elliott — winless in two starts so far in 2025 — finally returns to his winning ways on road courses?
Chase Elliott Has Lost His Road Course Mojo, But His Record Remains Stellar
The NASCAR Cup Series is going road racing for the first time this year with the running of Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas (3:30 p.m. EST, FOX).
Elliott, who won a rain-shortened inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA in 2021 while driving the old Gen-6 model Cup Series car, hopes to seize on a good opportunity at a place where he’s enjoyed previous success. Plus, even though Elliott lacks a road course win since the switch to the Next Generation car, he still owns seven road course victories. That’s best among current NASCAR Cup Series drivers and puts him third all-time behind behind legends Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.
Memorable Moments of the 2021 NASCAR Season:
#5 – The highly anticipated NASCAR debut at COTA was spoiled by rain, which resulted in crashes caused by major puddling on the track and visibility issues. The race was declared official 14 laps early with Chase Elliott the winner. pic.twitter.com/SgC9uamIZT
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) December 19, 2021
Elliott has triumphed on more road courses than any other driver in NASCAR Cup Series history, prevailing at five of them — the Charlotte ROVAL, COTA, the Daytona Road Course, Road America and Watkins Glen.
The only problem this weekend at COTA? There’s a really big unknown. The unknown is that this will be the first time in five trips here that NASCAR’s premier division competes on the venue’s shorter, 2.4-mile configuration. In the four previous races, Cup Series drivers did battle on the facility’s extended, 3.41-mile layout.
So, understandably, Elliott — and pretty much everyone else, for that matter — doesn’t quite know what to expect.
“It’s kind of one of those things where it’s tough, because the only thing you can do is simulator work until you can get some eyes on it,” Elliott said of the new layout. “The good news is that we’ve got some (extra) practice … to understand the reconfiguration.”
Shorter COTA Configuration Could Further Complicate Matters For Chase Elliott
Elliott, who has actually competed on the former COTA layout only three times (he missed the 2023 race due to injury), backed his 2021 victory up with a fourth-place showing in 2022.
Last year, the Hendrick Motorsports driver finished 16th at COTA, but his average finish of 7.0 at the Texas track is fifth-best.
It’s quite possible, though, that none of Elliott’s previous COTA results will mean much come Sunday on a track that’s more than a mile shorter than the one he’s come to know and enjoy.
“I do not have my head wrapped around it completely at this point,” the second-generation driver and 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion said. “I mean, I know what it’s supposed to look like, but, I think, until you really get out there and feel it, it’s always hard to kind of understand exactly how things are going to be.”
A lengthy NASCAR Cup Series practice on Saturday ahead of qualifying should provide some clarity for Elliott on the new configuration.
“I kind of hate guessing, because I don’t want to guess wrong in that situation,” the second-generation driver and 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion said. “So, I just kind of look forward to practice, honestly, more than anything. I would have to imagine it will change the racing a little, just based off the way it’s shaped.
“Hopefully, it gives more opportunities to get crafty, have some more options, opportunities to pass or just be different. If it does, great. And if it doesn’t, it’ll look like it has for the last few years out there.”
A COTA that races similar to how it did in past visits undoubtedly wouldn’t hurt Elliott’s feelings one bit.
