Giddy-up! (We don’t actually say that here.)
Where It Is
Austin. Circuit of the Americas. Big ol’ road course. Hills and shit.
COTA’s out southeast of town. You go through the countryside to get there. Which in today’s terms means you will probably only go through the countryside for like ten or twenty more years to get there and it will instead soon just feel like it’s in a suburban part of the Austin metro. Technically, COTA has an Austin address but isn’t within the city limits, from what I can tell. But, you know, that’s the case with a lot of speedways/circuits. Almost makes Austin feel like a big-boy city to have something bear its name outside of the city proper.
When It Is
Green flag at 2:43 PM EDT.
How to Watch
FS1
Who to Watch
We don’t know the starting grid yet, with qualifying awaiting, but road course stud Chase Elliott’s the favorite on Bovada at +250, followed by Martin Truex Jr. at +550, Kyle Busch at +800, Kyle Larson at +1000, and Denny Hamlin at +1200. Austin Cindric’s a popular sleeper, checking in at +2500. Cindric, the reigning Xfinity Series champion and current leader at that level, has run four Cup Series races this year, with his best finish a 15th-place showing at the Daytona 500. He was fifth in the Xfinity race yesterday and second in the Daytona Road Course Xfinity race back in February.
How NASCAR Should Script It
Yeah, good day for Elliott to get that first win of the year.
Trucks, Xfinity
Rainy day yesterday (looking rainy again today—they’ll run as long as there isn’t lightning). Todd Gilliland got the win in the Truck Series. Kyle Busch won the Xfinity race.
