4 Burning Questions: Will the Short Course Race Like a Short Track?

1. Is the short course really a short track?

With all of the offseason news that filled up the timeline, one bit that more or less took a backseat was the announcement that NASCAR would not use the full 3.426-mile Circuit of the Americas course. 

Instead, they would cut through the infield right in the middle of the esses, cutting out the run to the turn 11 U-turn that leads down the long back straightaway.

In all honesty, many fans had little idea which piece of pavement the cars would take until the Xfinity Series teams unloaded for practice and qualifying on Friday (Feb. 28)

After getting a look at this shorter circuit in action, though, it raced surprisingly well for the Xfinity cars and drivers, leaving some hope for another great race on Sunday. That’s because the short course races a lot like a short track.

Quick look at William Byron going through the first half of the new NASCAR course at COTA.

There are walls on both sides of the new "shortcut" of Turns 6A/6B bypassing Turns 7-11 of the GP circuit https://t.co/ieMs81TBdk pic.twitter.com/pf9kAAwKZ4

— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) February 28, 2025

Though some worried taking away turn 11 meant taking away a passing zone, the new turn into the cut-through is still a sharp turn which requires some heavy braking. The short course cuts out the need to go through the final few esses, and it also takes away the long, speedy straightaway, but it does not eliminate another heavy braking zone into turn 12.

In fact, there really are no major speed zones on the track anymore. The front stretch is now where the cars go the fastest, but other than that, a lot of slower corner speeds and braking areas have this place racing even more like a short track. 

The sharp first and last corners and the zig-zag stadium section present a lot of opportunities for contact, and the shortened esses prevent the field from getting as spread out through that area. 

The Xfinity cars looked like they had just finished a battle at Martinsville once the checkered flag flew, and the Cup drivers could do some more beating and banging Sunday. The only worry is, this Next Gen car isn’t exactly the best at short tracks.

2. Road course ringers or the field?

Racing at Circuit of the Americas comes with an international appeal. The track’s status as a Formula 1 circuit has helped attract talent from around the world to compete in the NASCAR events, at times mixing in with more familiar names who also run well on the twisty tracks.

The four previous NASCAR Cup Series races have been dominated — and won — by weekly Cup regulars, though. The drivers today put more and more focus on their road racing skills due to the extra emphasis on adding road courses to the schedule in recent years.

When there were just two road course races on the schedule, the road course ringers had legitimate shots to compete for those two wins. 

The game changed, though, when Chase Elliott went on a tear at road courses from the end of 2019 through 2021. Despite their dirt backgrounds, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick have racked up some dominating road racing performances, and Christopher Bell is not too bad himself. 

A few other guys — William Byron, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher — have a Next Gen win on road courses and consistently run well on this style of track as well.

The current Cup drivers are very good at what they do, and road course ringers have yet to break into victory lane in Austin. 

In 2022, AJ Allmendinger came the closest until Chastain punted the No. 16 out of the way. The last two years, though, were dominated by Reddick and Byron, then Byron and Bell. 

✅ Put the team on your back.
✅ Get your first career win.@RossChastain did whatever it took to win at @NASCARatCOTA in 2022. pic.twitter.com/bbF9tuCDVJ

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 28, 2025

The road ringers looked quick in practice, but a few fast surprises in qualifying show that it might not be that easy for the likes of Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen, especially given how the short course races more like a short track.

While the conversation will constantly revolve around the guys with road racing experience, don’t be surprised to see an everyday Cup frontrunner run away with the victory Sunday afternoon.

3. Just how good is Connor Zilisch?

He’s not the next Jeff Gordon or the next Larson. I’m not entirely sure he fits into the category of road course ringer either.

Connor Zilisch is his own category of prospect. It is so difficult to fathom just how good he is.

While Zilisch has more oval experience than your typical road course ringer, he certainly shines brightest when the tracks go left and right. He showed just how good he is on his way to winning the Xfinity race. 

It wasn’t perfect and, just like his Truck Series debut last year, Zilisch still showed a bit of his youthfulness and made some mistakes. But his drive to the front was impressive, as Zilisch basically swept the Xfinity weekend winning practice, qualifying and the race.

On Sunday, fans and competitors alike will get a look at just how good this kid is. Zilisch was not the same dominant force in Cup practice and qualifying as he’s been in the lower series, but he still outpaced a number of skilled road racers.

Got the job done today, but his sights are set on an even bigger prize. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/sDgpO215MS

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 1, 2025

Posting a fast time is one thing, but demonstrating race craft is another. It will be harder to pass in these Next Gen cars, and Zilisch will start toward the midfield in 14th. 

That No. 87 is sure to be one of the most interesting stories in the race. Though it’s a tall order to expect Zilisch to take the win in his Cup debut, it will be fascinating to watch how the 18-year-old driver races and where he will wind up once the checkered flag falls.

4. Why not use the turtle curbs to enforce track limits?

When drivers got a look at the track this year, there were large, heavy barriers sitting at the apex of the turns in the esses. Xfinity regular Anthony Alfredo gave this look at the barriers.

400 lb walls in the esses GLHF #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/jQvpnVvNRW

— Anthony Alfredo (@anthonyalfredo) February 28, 2025

These, of course, were to help NASCAR enforce track limits. Rather than having to watch cameras closely and call judgment penalties on drivers for gaining an unfair advantage, the barriers would deter them from leaving the racing surface.

At least, that was the likely intention.

When the Charlotte ROVAL debuted in 2018, the minuscule backstretch chicane had turtles and tire barriers designated to force drivers to slow down in fear of hitting the tires. Except the drivers had no fear. 

On the first day, multiple drivers messed up in the chicane, going wide, jumping over the turtles, and slamming the tire barriers. The hits did major damage to the cars and forced lengthy cleanups to put the barriers back.

As drivers do, they try to get as close to the limit as possible. That often means going over the limit. With these barriers sitting in the middle of the esses, someone was inevitably going to either clip one or miss the corner entirely and slam into it. 

Learning from their ROVAL experience, drivers and NASCAR communicated, and the stacks were gone by the time Xfinity cars hit the track. 

FYI these have been removed. https://t.co/55ZIN5rR5E

— Anthony Alfredo (@anthonyalfredo) March 1, 2025

There’s another lesson NASCAR could use from the ROVAL, however. In fact, they’ve already used it on this track before. 

When NASCAR debuted at COTA in 2021, they installed orange turtles, the big, lumpy curbs in the esses to prevent drivers from cutting them. Rain in the Cup race kept guys off of the paint for the most part, but the turtles were effective in preventing drivers in the other two series from trying too hard to shortcut the esses.

For some reason, though, NASCAR has not brought the turtles back since. 

At Charlotte, drivers used to use the turtles to hop and help the car turn, but they have since stopped with the Next Gen car because of the hard landings. If the blue turtles are effective enough there, keeping drivers from shortcutting, why not bring them back to Texas?

There simply is no need to keep trying to play a game placing movable barriers that will inevitably cause damage or a crash. Bringing the turtles back to COTA would provide a fairly simple and extremely efficient solution so NASCAR no longer has to closely watch and make penalty calls.