{"id":44990,"date":"2024-03-23T12:20:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T17:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=44990"},"modified":"2024-03-23T12:20:45","modified_gmt":"2024-03-23T17:20:45","slug":"what-theyre-saying-about-sundays-nascar-cup-series-race-at-cota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/23\/what-theyre-saying-about-sundays-nascar-cup-series-race-at-cota\/","title":{"rendered":"What they\u2019re saying about Sunday\u2019s NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike Haag, Raceday San Antonio<\/em><\/p>\n

AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 Here\u2019s what some of the NASCAR Cup Series driver are saying about Sunday\u2019s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ross Chastain. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Ross Chastian, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1<\/strong><\/p>\n

“There’s 20 brake zones and 20 acceleration zones on the other side of each corner. I can’t think of one spot that I get really excited about passing because they’re all high risk, very heavy braking. There are some new asphalt patches in some of the corners that are brake zones. So nothing is comfortable about passing at COTA because it\u2019s really easy to slide through the apex and wipe another driver out, or get wiped out, or spin out.”<\/p>\n

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCOTA is a tough racetrack. It\u2019s got a lot of different corners. Every corner connects to each other. COTA can be challenging because I feel like it has multiple road courses in one, and it\u2019s one of the biggest tracks we\u2019ve ever gone to. We\u2019ve had some success recently on road courses so we\u2019ll be heading to COTA with the goal of backing up some of the runs we\u2019ve had on road courses of late. We\u2019re really focused on being aggressive with the adjustments to the car and how I drive in the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Mark III Employee Benefits Camaro ZL1<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI would say that last year\u2019s caution periods towards the end of the race was a challenge because you kept having to go through the restarts so thinking about what line you wanted to line up in and where you needed to be in order to position yourself for the restart all the dive bombs and the disrespect that keeps happening getting into Turn 1 is always an issue so you\u2019ve got to be ready for that, mindful that you know that\u2019s going to be happening so from there you hope for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Noah Gragson. Photo by Logan Riely\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Noah Gragson, No. 10 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Dark Horse<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI like COTA a lot. It\u2019s a lot of fun, but all of it is challenging. Going up the hill into turn one, braking, not turning too early into turn one, is crucial. It\u2019s pretty sketchy going through turn two, the righthander down the hill, you start to get to the esses section and that takes a lot of discipline not to overdrive and get out of rhythm through there. And then it\u2019s a really flowy track all the way through (turns) six, seven, that whole first portion, where your car placement is at the exit of the corner, which sets up your entry for the next corner, so you\u2019re always thinking two, three corners ahead on how you want to be positioned. You\u2019re not just thinking about, \u2018Hey, if I can get into this corner fast, I can go wherever I want on exit.\u2019 That\u2019s going to hurt you. Then you get through turn 10, you\u2019re going down the hill wide open, hitting the shock limiters, you\u2019re out of control, sideways, grabbing gears. You get down into turn 11, there\u2019s a really tight hairpin, where the transition of asphalt goes from new asphalt to old asphalt in the corner and it\u2019s really easy to lock the left-front brake up. You take that long, sharp lefthander onto the long back straightaway and you want to get a big, good run out of that corner and drive in deep into the next hairpin. Then you\u2019ve got a short chute into the stadium section, and that\u2019s a really flowy and different set of corners just because you can change your line up and still be competitive. It\u2019s easy to get lost, but it\u2019s also easy to have different options when you\u2019re racing guys and cross guys over. Then you go through the triple righthander and once you finish that, you\u2019re on the edge of out of control, driving off the left-rear tire, kind of skating the thing, sliding out to the left exit of (turns) 16, 17, 18. You get into turn 19, which is a really fast timing corner, lefthander, and then into turn 20, which is the final corner on the racetrack, a little 90-degree lefthander. It kind of feels off-camber and it\u2019s easy to overdrive it, old asphalt, and easy to lock the left-front tire up and kind of miss the corner. It\u2019s a tough, challenging racetrack. There\u2019s no one corner that I love, but there\u2019s no one corner that I hate. They\u2019re all a challenge, but they\u2019re all a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Denny Hamlin. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, I love the city of Austin, and the track is one of the best road courses we have on the circuit. It\u2019s unfortunate that I haven\u2019t run better than I have there. But what I enjoy about COTA is the challenge of it. Even though I\u2019ve struggled, I feel optimistic every time I go there that I\u2019ve learned something new and that it will equal speed and results when I get back there. I\u2019m looking forward to it, I feel like we got better on the road courses last year. COTA was the first one last year and I took a step forward after that race and I feel like we made some gains, so I\u2019m excited to see if we can put that all together with our Interstate Batteries Camry XSE this weekend. When you think of the beginning of Joe Gibbs Racing, you think of Interstate Batteries, so to have them on our car this weekend and in Iowa this summer, it\u2019s always special. Would like nothing more than to get us back-to-back wins and doing it with Interstate Batteries on our car.\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ Allmendinger, No. 13 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We\u2019re going into the Cup race without really having any expectations. Hopefully we\u2019ll unload with speed for practice, that is something we have struggled with in the past. Being the third car, we don\u2019t have to worry about points, and we can use strategy to our advantage. I\u2019m looking forward to running both races in COTA and hopefully we can put together a solid weekend.”<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Briscoe. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCOTA is an extremely long lap. There are a lot of opportunities to make mistakes there, there\u2019s a lot of elevation. You go up into turn one and there\u2019s this massive hill. I don\u2019t know how many feet of elevation it is, but it\u2019s a lot, more than anywhere else on the schedule. Then you go around a super-tight 180, and then you go back down the hill to probably the fastest-feeling part of the track \u2013 the esses where you\u2019re just back and forth. You\u2019re constantly on edge and you\u2019re sliding the car around a lot. There\u2019s a lot of time to be made up there. Then you kind of go through a slower section, I want to say it\u2019s turn nine, it\u2019s extremely rough. It\u2019s one of the harder parts in our racecar because of how rough it is, which leads you down into, I believe it\u2019s (turn) 11, which is probably one of the more crucial corners on the racetrack in terms of speed. It leads you onto the longest straightaway, so you\u2019ve got to be really hard on the brakes, but then try to get your car pointed and straight as quick as possible and put the power down. That leads onto a really, really long straightway into a huge braking zone for what they call the stadium section, which is a really fun part of the racetrack. It\u2019s really flat and there are a lot of different lines you can run. I don\u2019t think anybody really runs that area the same. When you look at the fast guys, everybody\u2019s got their own, unique line through there. And then you come to a super-long righthander, which for me is the hardest part of the racetrack, I\u2019ve always kind of just struggled to find what works there. Out of that corner, it\u2019s kind of off-cambered and rough, which leads you into (turn) 19, which is a lefthander. Really for me, from that long righthander, I think it\u2019s turn 18, all the way to turn 20, that\u2019s been the biggest struggle spot for me. It\u2019s really rough back there and your car never really wants to react to what you want it to, so I\u2019ve always kind of struggled through that area. And that\u2019s a lap \u2013 it\u2019s a really long lap, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kaz Grala. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Kaz Grala, No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been looking forward to the road courses. With extra time on track in practice, we\u2019ll be able to get ourselves in a good place with the handling and I feel like I know what I need for these types of races. I\u2019ve won some sportscar races at COTA and run well in NASCAR, so I think we have potential to get a decent finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16 WeatherTech Chevrolet<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of a Cup car at COTA this weekend. I know the guys at Kaulig and Trackhouse Racing will bring a fast WeatherTech Chevrolet to the track. I\u2019m looking forward to the challenge of running double duty and hopefully going out and putting on a good show for the fans on Sunday afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCOTA is a place that\u2019s pretty fun for us, but last year we got up front there and got cleaned out, so our finish didn\u2019t really show the effort and progress we made over the course of the weekend. I was definitely worried after practice \u2013 I was not feeling too good. Your hands are so tied to these things with these short practices. I\u2019m looking forward to the extra track time on Saturday this weekend, even though we won\u2019t be able to work on it after practice with anything drastic. We\u2019ve learned so much over the last couple of years about this car and what it likes and what it doesn\u2019t, so hoping we can come with a lot more knowledge than we had this time last year and get the car where we need it to have a shot to win and run up front all day long. Our new Camry has been strong so far this year and hoping we can continue what we\u2019ve been doing at the road courses, as well. Looking forward to this weekend with our Bass Pro Shops Toyota team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Daniel Hemric. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet<\/strong><\/p>\n

“COTA will be a challenge of its own. It will be my first time driving these NEXTGen cars with sequential shifting, the brakes, and just the raw capability of the cars. It will be a brand-new experience for me, but I love any opportunity to grow as a driver and as a race team. Kaulig Racing has had solid, road-course success, so hopefully with this new package, we can adapt and learn quickly.”<\/p>\n

Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops \/ Delo Ford Mustang Dark Horse<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCOTA was one of those races that we struggled at for the road courses, mostly because of a mistake I made in qualifying. I spun out in qualifying in turn 19 and flat-spotted the tires and started last. That kind of made a long day for myself getting back to the front and then when we got into the top five we got spun with like two laps to go and had come from the back to the front. I don\u2019t think it was a racetrack that we struggled for speed, we just didn\u2019t execute very well, so I\u2019m looking forward to getting back there with a lot of the things that we learned throughout the season of making our road course program better. We should have a shot at winning the race and hopefully we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Ford Mustang Dark Horse<\/strong><\/p>\n

“COTA is a race I’ve had circled on my calendar. I’ve won there in the trucks and it’s where I got my first top-10 of 2023. I know Ryan (Bergenty) and the team will bring me the same speed we had last year, but it will come down to me executing and being technical around every turn.”<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ryan Preece. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Ryan Preece, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think COTA will offer an insight into a lot of things. It\u2019s a heavy braking track and maximizing brake performance is an area that much of the field is currently looking to improve on. With the new package, COTA could show what road courses will potentially look like this season, but at the same time, it\u2019s a track the field doesn\u2019t have a lot of laps at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to get to COTA (Circuit of the Americas) and unload to see what we have. With the aero package being different and the little bit of repave, it will be interesting to have to adapt to. They\u2019ve patched COTA so many different times. It has lots of different kinds of surfaces through it and it can be pretty tricky.. and a lot of fun. I\u2019m looking forward to this weekend- COTA has been a good place for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justin Haley, No. 51 Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford Mustang Dark Horse<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese races are long, and they play out in all kinds of different ways. So, I feel like I\u2019ve been fast at COTA before and I feel like I\u2019ve struggled at COTA before. We just have to try to do the best we can. There\u2019s some confidence, I feel like as a driver you can make a bigger difference at a road course, you\u2019re just trying to do your best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mike Haag, Raceday San Antonio AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 Here\u2019s what some of the NASCAR Cup Series driver are saying about Sunday\u2019s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Ross Chastian, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1 “There’s 20 brake zones and 20 acceleration zones on the other side of each corner. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[38,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-circuit-of-the-americas","category-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-2016401907-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-bHE","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44990"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44992,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44990\/revisions\/44992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}