4 days agoWe're just six races into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and we already have a two-time winner, as William Byron put on a dominating performance at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Byron's No. 24 Chevrolet was the fastest car in practice, qualifying, and the race at COTA. He led 42 of the 68 laps in the race, posting the fastest Green Flag Speed and the best Average Running Position. After the race, the Hendrick Motorsports driver stated, "Just super thankful to have this opportunity. It's just a lot of fun to win races, and it's really difficult, too." Byron now has six wins over the last 36 Cup Series races, the most of all drivers.Source: NASCAR.com
4 days agoIt ended up being another solid race day at Circuit of the Americas this past weekend for Ty Gibbs, who wound up finishing third after running near the front all day. His No. 54 Toyota was third-fastest in Green Flag Speed during the race and Gibbs ranked second-best when it came to Average Running Position. The sophomore Joe Gibbs Racing driver now has three top-five finishes over the past four races and has five consecutive top-10s. He is second in the points standings for the Cup Series. Now the series heads to Richmond, where Gibbs walked away with finishes of ninth and 15th in the two races there last season.Source: Fox Sports
4 days agoChris Buescher finished eighth in Sunday's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuits of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, TX. Despite being his fourth top-10 finish of the season, it was a rather uneventful day for the Texas native in the Lone Star State. Perhaps the biggest story coming out of the race is that Buescher finished with 48.45 DraftKings points, the sixth highest on the slate. While these results were not enough to earn him an appearance in the optimal lineup, he did return over 6x value on his $7,800 salary, which is considered a good play for the 25.96% that rostered him in DFS. Next up for the Cup Series is an Easter Night race at Richmond Raceway, a track Buescher won at last summer.Source: Racing-Reference.info
4 days agoOn Sunday afternoon, Kyle Busch finished ninth in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuits of the Americas, marking his second top-10 finish of the season. While a top-10 finish would normally be a topic of conversation, that is not why everyone is talking about Kyle Busch exiting the weekend. In turn one of lap 40, Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell went for the same spot on the track, leading to contact that spun Busch's No. 8 Camaro. Despite rebounding from the incident, the former Cup Series champion was clearly frustrated with his former teammate, resulting in a confrontation between the two. Although the microphones did not capture the entire conversation between the two, we did hear Busch warn Bell that retaliation was coming. While cooler heads may prevail, this is a situation to monitor moving forward, as it could impact Bell's value for DFS heading to Richmond and beyond.Source: Jayski.com
5 days agoJustin Haley had another strong run at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, qualifying 13th and crossing the finish line in 17th. The No. 51 Ford was 18th-fastest in Green Flag Speed during the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix and ranked 11th-best in Average Running Position. However, during post-race inspection, Haley's car was found to be too light and he was disqualified from the event. Due to the DQ, Haley will be credited with a 39th-place finish for the race. The statement from Rick Ware Racing regarding the disqualification was simply, "The car was just too light in post-race inspection."Source: Bob Pockrass
5 days agoMartin Truex Jr. had an eventful day at COTA. There was that problem on Lap 1. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver recovered enough to rack up eight points from Stage 2. Other than that, Truex Jr. led two laps. He fell back outside the Top 10 late before sliding back in at the end of the 68 laps. Simply, Truex Jr. has not had the best of seasons. However, his 51 stage points overall help him lead in points despite zero wins. Again, the No. 19 car does have four Top 10 finishes and has led a total of 124 laps. Truex Jr. and his Toyota figure to be in contention at Richmond on Easter Sunday. He has a win and five top ten results in six races there. Source: NASCAR.com
5 days agoA.J. Allmendinger started 14th on Sunday at COTA. The Kaulig Racing driver survived a little bit of attrition and managed to finish sixth on the road course. Allmendinger never led a lap and could not keep up with the contenders like William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs. Allmendinger did not contend for the stage points. After all, he drives part time at the top level while racing full-time in the Xfinity Series. He wa closer to winning that race until a late mishap. Sixth is better than a DNF at least. Source: NASCAR.com
5 days agoBecause of his blockbuster Supercars career, his Chicago Street Course win, and his Xfinity Series near-miss on Saturday, NASCAR analysts likely had overinflated expectations for Shane van Gisbergen's race at Circuit of the Americas. He won at Chicago largely because none of the then-NASCAR Cup Series regulars had experience there and he had vastly more experience racing in the rain, which is often regarded as a great equalizer in identifying road racing talent. However, COTA is a track where the NASCAR drivers had much more experience, and this year SVG drives for Kaulig Racing, which has much slower cars than Trackhouse Racing did last year. SVG came down to earth in this weekend's event, with a career-worst 20th-place finish after a course-cutting penalty and losing a gear. He will almost certainly win more road races in NASCAR, but he will probably need more NextGen experience before he regularly dominates them.Source: Racing Reference
5 days agoAlthough Ross Chastain tends to struggle at many of the other road courses (particularly the rovals), he has consistently been a master at the Circuit of the Americas, where he now has a career average finish of 4.0 despite posting his worst-ever finish of seventh in the race on Sunday. Although Chastain faded in the second half of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, he was very strong overall, as he passed William Byron for the lead on a lap 34 restart (making him the first driver to pass Byron for the lead all season) before Byron retook the lead on lap 44 shortly before both drivers pitted. Chastain outran his finishing position somewhat, as he ranked fourth in average running position, fifth in speed, and sixth in driver rating, giving him probably his best run of the season to date.Source: Racing Reference
5 days agoChristopher Bell used an offbeat pit strategy to his advantage and finish second at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday. While most drivers pitted immediately before the pits closed in Stages 1 and 2 so they would inherit the lead after the erstwhile leaders pitted under caution, Bell waited until Stage 2 to ensure he would only need two pit stops. Although William Byron passed Bell early in Stage 2, Bell went on a furious final stint in the final Stage, including setting the race's fastest lap on lap 51, to slice his deficit from over fifteen seconds to less than one second at the end; he ranked second to his teammate Ty Gibbs in speed. The race did not come without controversy, though, as he spun out Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch early in the race. Busch confronted him after the event, but that shouldn't take away from Bell's electrifying final stint.Source: Racing Reference
5 days ago23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick finished in the fifth position during Sunday's EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. During Sunday's race at COTA, Reddick was expected to compete as one of the favorites and ran in the Top 5 through the first stage. Although pit strategy would shuffle him through the field and score stage points at the end of the first stage, Reddick steadily ran around the Top 5 most of the day until the end. Reddick led one lap and remains as one of only three drivers to collect top-10 finishes in each COTA race while gathering his third consecutive top-5 finish at the site this week. The driver of the No. 45 Toyota now has three top-10 finishes this season and led in each of the last four Cup events. As the Cup Series next heads to Richmond, Reddick is searching for his first top-10 finish there despite leading 81 laps and winning the first stage in his last appearance there. Source: NASCAR.com
5 days agoIn Sunday's EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, Chase Elliott placed 16th after an underwhelming performance. Although the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet started from the Top 10, he would struggle to remain there and did not capture any stage points. Despite running between the Top 15 and towards the latter part of the Top 10 most of the day, Elliott would catch a penalty for cutting the course on lap 39. Despite making up some of the track position, Elliott would never fully recover, reaching as high as the Top 15 before fading to 16th, his worst finish at COTA in three starts. With a lackluster finish for NASCAR's active wins leader at road courses, Elliott remains one of only three drivers to place in the Top 20 after all six races so far this year. Elliott will look to rebound at Richmond, where he finished in the Top 15 in each of the last 11 Cup events there.Source: NASCAR.com
5 days agoDuring qualifying for Sunday's EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, Kyle Larson gained a starting position of 15th, his lowest start position yet at COTA. In three COTA starts, Larson has mixed results, finishing second, 29th, and 14th, respectively. The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, however, did participate in this week's Xfinity Series race at COTA, where he ran well and won the race on a last-lap pass on Austin Hill and Shane Van Gisbergen. Larson is the current Cup Series points leader with one win and two top-5 finishes while leading four of the five Cup events so far. In practice, Larson was one of the fastest drivers in the field as he was among the top 10 fastest in every category on speed, and he scored the best overall lap average. Larson is one of the optimal DFS options of the week as he has great place differential upside with a car capable of competing for the win based on practice.Source: Driveraverages.com
5 days agoIn qualifying for the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, Denny Hamlin racked up a starting position of eighth, matching his best starting position at the site from 2022. In three races at COTA, Hamlin's best finish was 14th, while he scored three top-20 finishes. After five races so far this season, Hamlin has three finishes of 11th or better, including a win at Bristol. The driver of the No. 11 has been competitive through all races so far this year, as he led multiple laps in every Cup race so far this season. In practice, Hamlin was considered one of the slowest overall drivers, showcasing speeds outside of the Top 20 in all eligible categories. Despite his hot start to the season and high start position, COTA is one of his worst statistical tracks, and road course racing is Hamlin's weakness in the Cup Series. Hamlin's 2024 performance through the season alone makes him worth consideration, but DFS players should roster him with caution based on his history at road courses and at COTA.Source: Driveraverages.com
5 days agoRick Ware Racing driver Kaz Grala will start this week's EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas from the 23rd position. In his only previous COTA start. While driving for The Money Team Racing in 2022, Grala started 31st and placed 26th. In five races so far this season, Grala has two top-20 finishes and collected positive place differential four times. In practice, Grala's single lap time ranked 34th, ranked 22nd in overall lap averages, and ranked 19th in five consecutive lap averages. Based on practice speed and past road course results, Grala is a driver who is a serviceable DFS pick for the price, capable of placing around his starting position.Source: Driveraverages.com