The NASCAR Cup Series has reached the Circuit of The Americas for a fifth consecutive year! This has been a regular on the Formula One circuit, but NASCAR only recently took it on their schedule in 2021. And, let’s just say every year, it has presented drivers with a challenge. The very first race ensured zero visibility for drivers, and a massive collision between Cole Custer and Truex Jr., where the former walked safe due to God’s grace! And for four years we have seen a 3.41-mile long road course with long straightaways, where our Cup drivers take 68 laps. But starting in 2025, the layout has been made shorter, the laps faster and the race longer.

Yeah! The long straightaways have been completely eliminated. Instead, NASCAR has decided to take two consecutive sharp left turns, which they are calling 6a, and 6b before the cars rejoin the old layout’s turn number 12. It sounds a bit complex, but it’s really just a shortcut, taking them directly from the exit of Turn 6  into Turn 12. Still, drivers are a bit cautious about approaching it! Recently, our undisputed road course king, Shane van Gisbergen, shared his thoughts on the changes!

Shane van Gisbergen predicts COTA run!

SVG is a three-time Supercar champion, so naturally, he’s a master of road courses. And he continued that form in NASCAR. Rather, he has been unbelievable. He won his Cup debut in 2023 on the Chicago Street Circuit. Then all his 2024 Xfinity wins came on road courses too (Sonoma, Portland, and Chicago). Even his 2024 Cup starts on road courses were consistent. The most recent being a P2 finish at ‘The Glen.’ However, for some reason, COTA hasn’t been kind to him in both Xfinity and the Cup. He finished P2 in Xfinity but got a 30-second penalty and was pushed to P27. In the Cup, his Kaulig car just did not have the pace. The best he could manage was P8 in the final stage, before spinning and ending his run in P20.

While clearly, the 3.41-mile track was a challenge for SVG. But now it’s shortened to 2.4, and he’s in a Trackhouse car, so maybe things will be different. And they already are looking positive. He was the fastest in practice (87.408mph) and then also got a P6 start in qualifying. So he seems to have figured out the new layout quite well. Also, the Xfinity Series raced there recently, so observing that race Shane van Gisbergen has predicted how the track would play out in the race.

He said, “It’s the second-best passing zone on the track after turn one. Cause watching those Xfinity cars you kind of have to sacrifice the exit to get a good run. So you can really dive to the apex to make a pass. I think it’s going to be really good passing zone,” which is true. In the Xfinity race, we saw Connor Zilisch climb from P32 to P1. So the passing zones are working well. For drivers, the track will remain mostly familiar to them, apart from the 6a-6b stretch.

But what could get tricky is not crashing into the tire barrier as drivers make that sharp left on turn 6. However, SVG is of the opinion that it is going to be moved in the race. “I don’t know. But I think in racing…you are gonna see it move a little bit. People clip it but I don’t know what else to do there.” How Carson Hocevar wrecked into it in the Xfinity race.

Also, unlike SVG, a few other drivers don’t think Turn 6 would be much of a passing zone!

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NASCAR drivers open up on COTA changes

Folks, Christopher Bell is coming from a win in Atlanta and he’s going to be eyeing a back-to-back at COTA. Especially after how the race went down last year. He came close but could not catch William Byron in the end. Eventually, Bell had to be satisfied with a P2 finish. But it seems like he’s having more trouble with the changed layout. The JGR driver is starting the race P19 and to him, the track feels awkward.

“It’s just awkward. It’s a very awkward corner with how you’re coming off of turn 6 the right hander in the esses. The whole car is like pushing you out track left and then you don’t really have a ton of visuals getting into (Turn) 6A there expect now they have a big, old tire pack which is good because that gives us a reference of where the apex is. I don’t know. I think it is a pretty high intense braking zone, but the thing is your car is automatically trying to take you track left, so I don’t know how big of a passing zone it’s going to be.” 

Even Kyle Busch thinks that turn 6 is going to be too tight to pass drivers there. It’s almost an acute angle! Busch, speaking about the changes, said, “I think you lose a couple passing zones. You lose Turn 11, all the way up at the top. You lose coming down into Turn 12 after the long straightaway. I don’t think going into Turn 6 is going to be a passing zone. It’s really tight. I mean, sure – guys are going to try and throw it in there and pass there, but it’s a 90-degree corner. It’s going to be slower and sharper than the frontstretch at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, when you come down into the turn on the front straightaway.” 

Still, Rowdy is starting P8, so who knows, he might navigate the changes and finally break his 58-race winless streak. Who do you think will conquer the new layout? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.