Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch race during the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on May 23, 2021 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jared Tilton/ 23XI Racing via Getty Images)
Circuit of The Americas – EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
NASCAR returns to the Circuit of The Americas
The first five races of the 2022 season have been action-packed, and now the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) for the first of six road courses on the schedule (COTA, Sonoma, Road America, Indianapolis RC, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval) for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix this Sunday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The first NASCAR Cup Series race held at the Circuit of The Americas was last season on May 23, 2021 but the event was shortened 14 laps from the scheduled distance due to weather. The inaugural Cup event at COTA saw 10 different leaders and 11 lead changes. Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Chase Elliott took the checkered flag by passing his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman with just five laps before the race was called. The victory was his seventh NASCAR Cup Series road course career win moving him solely into third on the all-time series road course wins list behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight).
Schedule (all times eastern):
Practice – Saturday, March 26th 10:00am on FS1
Qualifying – Saturday, March 12th 11:00am on FS1
Raceday – Sunday, March 27th 3:30pm on FOX, PRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Track:
Season Race #: 06 of 36 (03-27-22)
Track Size: 3.41-miles
Track Type: Multi-Elevational Counterclockwise Road Course
Number of Turns: 20
Race Length: 68 laps (231.88-miles)
Stage 1 and 2 Length: 15 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 38 laps
Race Records & Results
Track Qualifying Record: Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 91.363 mph, 132.911 seconds, May 23, 2021
2021 COTA Pole Winner: Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 91.363 mph, 132.911 seconds, May 23, 2021
Track Race Record: Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 59.024 mph, (3:07:11), May 23, 2021
2021 COTA Race Winner: Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 59.024 mph, (3:07:11), May 23, 2021
Top 5 In Points:
1 Chase Elliott 171
2 Joey Logano 164
3 Chase Briscoe 156
4 William Byron 150
5 Kurt Busch 148
Top Driver Stats:
(Driver stats below are from 2005 – Present)
AJ Allmendinger (No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet)
· One top five, one top 10
· Average Finish of 5.000, fifth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.574, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 92.7, eighth-best
· 1 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best
· 33 Laps in the Top 15 (61.1%), 11th-most
· 41 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Alex Bowman (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· One top 10
· Average Finish of 8.000, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 14.815, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 87.2, ninth-best
· 0 Fastest Laps Run
· 33 Laps in the Top 15 (61.1%), 12th-most
· 27 Quality Passes, 12th-most
Chase Briscoe (No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford)
· One top 10
· Average Finish of 6.000, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 12.407, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 92.8, seventh-best
· 0 Fastest Laps Run
· 43 Laps in the Top 15 (79.6%), sixth-most
· 44 Quality Passes, second-most
Chris Buescher (No. 17 RFK Racing Ford)
· One top 15
· Average Finish of 13.000, 13th-best
· Average Running Position of 16.074, 15th-best
· Driver Rating of 76.5, 13th-best
· 0 Fastest Laps Run
· 33 Laps in the Top 15 (61.1%), 13th-most
· 27 Quality Passes, 13th-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
· One top 10
· Average Finish of 10.000, 10th-best
· Average Running Position of 6.796, second-best
· Driver Rating of 114.7, fourth-best
· 9 Fastest Laps Run, second-best
· 45 Laps in the Top 15 (83.3%), fourth-most
· 42 Quality Passes, third-most
Kurt Busch (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota)
· One top 30
· Average Finish of 27.000, 27th-best
· Average Running Position of 12.074, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 76.5, 12th-best
· 0 Fastest Laps Run
· 36 Laps in the Top 15 (66.7%), 10th-most
· 39 Quality Passes, sixth-most
William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· One top 15
· Average Finish of 11.000, 11th-best
· Average Running Position of 18.370, 17th-best
· Driver Rating of 82.5, 10th-best
· 0 Fastest Laps Run
· 26 Laps in the Top 15 (48.1%), 16th-most
· 29 Quality Passes, 10th-most
Ross Chastain (No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet)
· One top five, one top 10
· Average Finish of 4.000, fourth-best
· Average Running Position of 9.759, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 110.0, fifth-best
· 3 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best
· 43 Laps in the Top 15 (79.6%), fifth-most
· 41 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· One win, one top five, one top 10
· Average Finish of 1.000, series-best
· Average Running Position of 8.370, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 121.0, third-best
· 12 Fastest Laps Run, series-best
· 45 Laps in the Top 15 (83.3%), third-most
· 33 Quality Passes, ninth-most
Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· One top five, one top 10
· Average Finish of 2.000, second-best
· Average Running Position of 7.148, third-best
· Driver Rating of 122.8, second-best
· 3 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
· 49 Laps in the Top 15 (90.7%), second-most
· 51 Quality Passes, series-most
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)
· One top five, one top 10
· Average Finish of 3.000, third-best
· Average Running Position of 6.593, series-best
· Driver Rating of 124.6, series-best
· 2 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best
· 49 Laps in the Top 15 (90.7%), series-most
· 36 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Michael McDowell (No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford)
· One top 10
· Average Finish of 7.000, seventh-best
· Average Running Position of 10.907, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 107.9, sixth-best
· 2 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
· 36 Laps in the Top 15 (66.7%), ninth-most
· 37 Quality Passes, seventh-most
