The Cup Series continues on today with the 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Circuit of the Americas first opened for racing in 2012 and is a 3.426 mile, 20-turn road course that has played host to a variety of auto racing disciplines, including NASCAR, Formula One, Grand Prix motorcycle racing, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the GT World Challenge America, MotoAmerica and the Trans-Am Series. This year, NASCAR is using a different variation of the track, with drivers racing the shorter 17-turn, 2.4 mile layout. After two straight weeks of drafting tracks, the men will start to separate themselves from the boys as they navigate both right and left turns in Austin, Texas.
Today’s race serves as a great show of how aggressive can you get without crossing the line. Drivers can make up a lot of ground through the esses, but if they find all four of their tires on the wrong side of the track, they will incur a penalty, which is tough to rebound from on road courses unless a timely caution happens to fall. As we saw in yesterday’s Xfinity Series race, pit road penalties are pretty much an instant death sentence, unless you’re Connor Zilisch of course. Having to come from the tail of the field is such a costly penalty unless you’ve got a really fast car. So controlling the variables that you can goes a long way on a road course. No self-inflicted penalties. From there, it’s just a matter of keeping it clean. Circuit of the Americas is not the fastest road course on the circuit, but still requires a good handling car and some decent pace to make your way to the front. Staying patient is also going to be vital to success. 95 laps is an extremely long-time on a road course, so staying patient and taking what the track gives you can go a long way. I’ve seen some cars finish these races without a scratch on them, while others a look like they’re completely totaled. Finding the right balance of patience vs. aggression will pay dividends today, especially if there are a lot of cautions late and this turns into a demolition derby, which has happened more frequently than most would like. With drivers racing on this shorter layout for the first time, expect plenty of aggression and lots of great action all through the field.
The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix has been held annually since 2021 and has produced an elite list of winners to date, with Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick and William Byron all taking the victory once in this race.
Last year’s edition was won by William Byron, who started from the Pole and led a race-high 42 laps on his way to the victory. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs finished second and third, respectively, while Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top five. Seven drivers in total led at least one lap during the race.
Coverage of the 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix can be seen on FOX, with NASCAR RaceDay beginning at 2:30 PM EST and green flag coverage beginning at 3:30 PM EST.
Driver to Fade:
Josh Berry has gotten off to a rough start in his new gig with Wood Brothers Racing, finishing 37th at Daytona and 25th at Atlanta. The struggle has continued so far for Berry this weekend at Circuit of the Americas, ranking outside the top 25 in both Practice sessions and ultimately qualifying 35th out of 37 cars. Berry is a noted short track ace, but road courses have not been his friend since joining the Cup Series, logging a best finish of 22nd at The Roval last fall. Berry finished 35th in this race last year and is certainly on pace for a repeat performance today. Avoid Josh Berry at all costs, as he will log another finish outside the top 25.
Dark Horse:
Look, Alex Bowman gets a ton of flack, mostly for no reason. Is he the best driver out there? No, he isn’t. But, he’s won eight times for Hendrick Motorsports since joining them full-time in 2018, which frankly, isn’t that bad of a track record. He’s consistent, making the playoffs in six of his seven seasons, but also mid-tier, cracking the top 10 in points just twice during that stretch. Bowman did log one win, eight top 5’s, 17 top 10’s and an average finish of 14.75 last season on his way to a 9th place finish in the point standings, one of his most consistent years to date. Bowman has gotten off to a mixed start to his 2025 though, finishing 6h in the DAYTONA 500, but following that up with a 26th place finish at Atlanta. Fortunately for Bowman, Circuit of the Americas has proven to be one of his favorite tracks. In four appearances, Bowman has never finished worse than 8th in this race and has logged three straight top five finishes. Bowman started the weekend strong, finishing in the top five in both Practice sessions, but left some out there during qualifying, slotting into the 21st starting spot this afternoon. Bowman has dug himself into an early hole, but will certainly work his way towards the front before it’s all said and done. Lock in Bowman the Showman for a fifth straight top 10 showing at Circuit of the Americas!
Top 10:
Ross Chastain, like most drivers so far this season, has had a mixed start to 2025, finishing 40th at Daytona and 8th at Atlanta. Like Bowman, Chastain is also a big fan of Circuit of the Americas. Chastain picked up his first career Cup Series win here in 2022 and has one win, three top 5’s, four top 10’s and 45 laps led in four career starts in this race. This weekend has gotten off to a solid start for Chastain, who placed inside the top 10 during both Practice sessions and paced the field on 5 Lap Averages, all of which led to a 9th place starting spot today. Chastain has an edge on the competition this weekend, as he ran yesterday’s Xfinity Series race, where he ultimately finished in 8th after recovering from a pit road speeding penalty towards the end of Stage 2. Chastain may not necessarily have race winning pace this afternoon, but he will no doubt be a factor and pick up a fifth straight top 10 in this race and a second straight top 10 on the season.
Winner:
Really not going out on much of a limb today. Shane van Gisbergen first took the NASCAR world by storm in 2023 by winning at the Chicago Street Course in his very first start. van Gisbergen made the jump to NASCAR full-time in 2024, where he picked up three wins, all of which came on road courses, in the Xfinity Series on his way to a 12th place finish in the point standings. Things have gotten off to a mild start for van Gisbergen in 2025, with finishes of 33rd at Daytona and 23rd at Atlanta, but his luck will most certainly change this weekend. van Gisbergen has gotten off to a hot start this weekend, laying down the fastest lap of both Practice sessions before qualifying in 6th position for today’s race. One of the great road course racers of this generation, van Gisbergen has a very high ceiling for growth as he begins his first full-time season in the Cup Series. With the skillset already in place and a fast car awaiting him each and very week, van Gisbergen just has to go out and execute when it comes to the road course races on the circuit. He is one of the favorites for a reason and I predict that Shane van Gisbergen will pick up his first win of the season and second of his career with a victory at Circuit of the Americas!
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