NASCAR Cup drivers will turn left and right for the first time this season with this weekend’s race at Circuit of the Americas.
The road course in Austin, Texas, is the first of five such events this season — including two in the playoffs for the first time.
Here is a look at the drivers to keep an eye on during Sunday’s race.
FRONTRUNNERS
Ross Chastain
Points position: 7th
Best finish this season: 4th(Las Vegas)
2024 stats: One top-five finish and three top 10s in five starts. Has scored 19 stage points (all in the first stage of races) this season but none in the last two races. His average finish is 10.6.
Past at COTA: Won in 2022 and finished fourth in 2021 and ’23. Has an average finish of 3.0 at the road course. Has completed all but three of the 1,539 laps run this season.
Tyler Reddick
Points position: 9th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Las Vegas)
2024 stats: Has two top-10 finishes and three finishes of 29th or worse this season. His average finish is 20.2.
Past at COTA: Won last year. His other two finishes at the Austin track are fifth and ninth for an average finish of 5.0.
Chase Elliott
Points position: 6th
Best finish this season: 8th (Bristol)
2024 stats: Scored his first top 10 of the season last week at Bristol. Has three top-five starts. His average finish is 13.6.
Past at COTA: Won in 2021. Has an average finish of 2.5 in two COTA starts. Placed fourth in 2022. Did not compete in last year’s race due to an injury.
Alex Bowman
Points position: 12th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Daytona 500)
2024 stats: He has two top-fives and three finishes of 18th or worse.
Past at COTA: Has finished no worse than eighth in three starts. Was second in 2022, third in 2023 and eighth in 2021.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Brad Keselowski
Points position: 13th
Best finish this season: 3rd (Bristol)
2024 stats: Has scored back-to-back top-five finishes to climb to 13th in the points. He opened the season with back-to-back 33rd-place finishes after crashes in the Daytona 500 and at Atlanta.
Past at COTA: His best finish is 14th at this track. His best starting spot is 24th in three races there.
Kyle Busch
Points position: 16th
Best finish this season: 3rd (Atlanta)
2024 stats: Has only one top-10 finish this season. He has three consecutive finishes of 22nd or worse heading into this weekend.
Past at COTA: Finished second in last year’s race. His other finishes are 10th and 28th.
Daniel Suarez
Points position: 11th
Best finish this season: 8th (Bristol)
2024 stats: Scored dramatic win at Atlanta but has not finished in the top 10 in any of the other four races this season. Has not started better than 13th.
Past at COTA: Has had misfortune at this track. Was running in the top five in the second overtime restart last year when contact turned a car in front of him and blocked Suarez. He finished 27th. Suarez won stage 1 in the 2022 race but an incident in Turn 1 on a restart left him with a flat tire. He finished 24th. In 2021, Suarez placed 33rd.
