Folks, well before Shane van Gisbergen was crowned as the road course king, there was someone else on the throne: Chase Elliott. From his first road course win in the 2018 Watkins Glen race, he’s won 6 road course races. Domination! And the last one came at Road America in 2021. However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has struggled ever since the next-gen car rolled out. He’s had good runs, but hasn’t won a single race!

Since the next-gen car debut in 2022, Elliott ran 14 road course races, finishing 7 with a top 5. But still, the whole NASCAR community is waiting for the 2024’s Most Popular Driver to get back to his old road course form. The next race is the Circuit of The Americas. Elliott won here in 2021…but now it’s a new layout and a new challenge. However, the #9 driver is leaving no stone unturned and has a game plan for getting the crown back!

Chase Elliott remains cautious ahead of COTA

This would be the fourth year of COTA, but this time the track will be shorter than before. The series earlier raced on the 3.41-mile, 20-turn full course layout but now is shifting to a 2.3-mile, 20-turn National Course. Basically, the long 0.62 mile straightaway exiting the esses is getting cut short, and instead, drivers would have to take a left before that. And also the 68-lap race will now be 100 laps!

And the layout change might make things tricky. The left turn is nothing but a corner enabling more passing and here it would be challenging for the leaders to keep the pack at bay. Earlier, on the straightaways, drivers could gain enough gap before that sharp u-turn. But that probably would change now. And Chase Elliott is not taking any chances of going un-prepared for this one. In a recent interview, he revealed his preparations for COTA.

He said, “I think that is the excitement for me is just seeing what that is going to be like. Switching it up. I know everybody’s gonna adapt really quickly as they always do and nowadays we have opportunities with simulators and things of that nature to get your bearings. So I intend on taking advantage of that before we get there trying to get a good feeling and lay of the land before the actual race.”

And we know Elliott is quick to adapt to new tracks. When the Cup Series returned to Bowman Gray Stadium for ‘The Clash,’ Elliott had no problem bagging the pole, leading 171 laps of the 200 and finally taking the checkered flag. So a new layout at COTA shouldn’t be much of a problem for the HMS driver. In fact, for him, it’s all about finding the rhythm. “And as I always say it’s all about finding a good rhythm and flow at those racetracks and being able to reproduce lap time. And try to go out there and make it happen,” he added.

Also, while Elliott prepares, we hope he knows which is the actual circuit that NASCAR will race over the weekend. Recently there has been a lot of confusion about it!

Trending

1

NASCAR Star Drops Life-Changing Announcement as Racing Community Melts Over Welcome Surprise

2

3x Daytona 500 Champ Left in Tears Accompanying Tony Stewart’s Rival Into the Motorsport Hall of Fame

3

Richard Petty’s Son Betrays the King’s NASCAR Legacy With Humble Dale Earnhardt Claim

4

Kyle Larson Uncovers Welcome $18 Million Surprise Amidst NASCAR’s Michael Jordan Lawsuit Tussle

5

When Jeff Gordon Became Enemy of the People After Paying the Greatest Dale Earnhardt Tribute

Which is the new COTA layout?

NASCAR in November 2024 revealed that the 2025 race would run on the track’s national course. And that layout has the same 20 turns but the turn 6 and turn 7 are much smoother. What began the whole confusion was when ‘nascaratcota.com’, the official page selling the tickets for the race…showed the seating chart. The layout in this photo is different from what NASCAR shared in November.

Here the turns 6 and 7 are much sharper! The turn 6 is actually a hard left at an acute angle where the car would almost have to do a 180. That’s tricky! While these two photos created much confusion, NASCAR on their X handle has released another photo of the layout. Here they are drawing comparisons between the old layout and the new one. But in this image, the turn 6 is not as dramatic as on the COTA ticket website. Here it looks like more of a straightforward 90-degree left turn.

Well, as of now, no confirmations have come on which is the correct layout. Hopefully, Elliott knows and is running the correct one on the simulator. What we know for sure is that the straightways have been cut. The track length is not 3.426-mile for the upcoming race. And most likely, from the X post, it’s clear NASCAR is not using the national course.

Which layout do you think they will run on race day? Share your thoughts in the comments down below.