It’s safe to say this weekend’s NASCAR races at Circuit of the Americas will look a little different.
A layout change announced by NASCAR in November 2024 will take COTA from a 3.41-mile layout to 2.3 miles. While the shorter layout will also include 20 turns, it will increase the action going on in front of fans by nearly 50%, per a release from the track.
The repaved and revamped COTA layout could be a breath of fresh air for one of the newest stops on the NASCAR circuit.
The biggest change to the layout will be the lack of the track’s iconic long back straightaway. After going uphill on the frontstretch, the field will still wind through the esses and make its way around a tight turn 10. From turn 12 onward, the course will be the same as it has been in years past, but the lack of a backstretch will drastically decrease the amount of time drivers spend with their foot mashed to the floor.
The decrease in the length of the course will increase the amount of laps in Sunday’s (March 2) EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in the NASCAR Cup Series from 68 to 95, and the circuits in Saturday’s (March 1) Focused Health 250 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 50 to 65.
An extended practice session on Saturday will be drivers’ first chance to get a real-life glimpse at the new circuit, which will throw another wrench into a chaotic portion of the Cup schedule.
“It’s going to be like basically going to a new track, a new town, new area,” 2022 COTA winner Ross Chastain told NASCAR.com when the layout was announced. “It flows together nice, and turn 12 will really change since we don’t have that long backstretch.”
“I think shortening the track definitely changes a few things,” Austin Cindric told NASCAR.com this week. “It’s a very unique circuit.”
Chase Elliott won the inaugural Cup Series race at COTA in 2021, but has yet to find victory lane at a road course since the advent of NASCAR’s Next Gen car in 2022.
“It’s kind of one of those things where it’s tough because the only thing you can do is simulator work, right, until you get some eyes on it,” Elliott told NASCAR.com regarding the new national course layout. “The good news is that we’ve got some practice next week to understand the reconfiguration. I do not have my head wrapped around it completely at this point.”
As if a repave and a reconfiguration of COTA wasn’t enough, a new tire introduced by Goodyear this weekend should introduce more tire falloff and make tire wear an integral part of Sunday’s race.
The good news for those who have experienced success at COTA in recent years? The track hasn’t changed completely. Part of the layout is still the same, meaning drivers such as Chastain, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick and William Byron who have consistently been factors at the Texas road course should still be in the mix when the pay window opens.
At the end of the day, unknowns will define this weekend’s races at COTA, with the new course layout chief among them. The aforementioned extended practice session on Saturday will undoubtedly help drivers and crew chiefs adjust to the new layout, but it will still be a challenge for teams to take on a track that has changed in a variety of ways since NASCAR last paid a visit.
We won’t know how the change in course layout affected drivers until the checkered flag falls, but going into the weekend, it’s the talk of the NASCAR town.
Tracks such as Atlanta Motor Speedway have undergone reconfigurations and re-pavings in years past, but this year’s COTA weekend presents a plethora of unknowns that will keep teams guessing all weekend and should have fans on the edge of their seats.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.
Two turns are new, and there’s no long back straight. The rest of the turns are the exact same. We’re acting like its a whole new, completely different track. (roll-eyes)
Also, a graphic showing the change would have been nice here. There’s one on NASCAR’s Facebook page.
Another decision by NASCAR’s management that might backfire.