The third race of the 2026 Cup Series season takes place this afternoon as drivers return to Austin, Texas, to Circuit of the Americas for the 2026 DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne. Utilizing a shorter track configuration for NASCAR racing, COTA will run as a 17-turn, 2.4 mile layout this afternoon. COTA has served as host to a wide variety of auto racing disciplines since it opened in 2012, including NASCAR, Formula One, Grand Prix motorcycle racing, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the GT World Challenge America, MotoAmerica, and the Trans-Am Series, just to name a few. After two weeks of luck and survival on the drafting tracks of Daytona and EchoPark, it now becomes a race of skill for drivers as they take to what is arguably the most technical of all of the road courses on the schedule.
With over 130 feet of elevation changes as drivers navigate their way around the track, this is the type of track that truly tests both the driver, as well as their car. Drivers have to remain vigilant as they make both right and left turns, navigate the esses, tiptoe their way through the tighter turns, and hold it wide open as they speed down the front stretch and up the hill into the true calamity corner that is turn one. Restarts will be aggressive (Over/under how many incidents caused by Carson “Hurricane” Hocevar today?), with drivers fanning out four and five wide and just full sending it into turn one. Lots of ground can be made up right there, but your day can go sideways real quick or end completely thanks to someone else’s aggression. Cars need to have pace to make passes, but the handling must be exquisite to handle all the different technical portions of the track that it will encounter this afternoon. The biggest changes this season are the addition of tire barriers through the esses and the increased horsepower in the cars. Drivers will no longer be subject to “judgment calls” from officials in determining whether they exceeded track limits on that portion of the track thanks to these new barriers. It’s not as aesthetically pleasing, but it’s the common sense choice. The horsepower is truly the game changer this weekend. More horsepower equals more speed. More speed equals more wear and tear on cars. This race shifts the advantage to those cagey veterans and road course aces (I don’t even have to say the name. You already know who we’re talking about.) that know a thing or two about patience and managing their equipment. 95 laps is a long-time around a road course, so staying patient, not abusing your equipment, and just making smart decisions will be vital to success today.
The DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne has been held annually since 2021 and has produced an elite list of winners to date, with Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Christopher Bell all taking the victory once in this race.
Last year’s edition was won by Christopher Bell, who came from a 19th place starting position to the front, leading eight laps on the way to victory. William Byron came up one position short in an effort to win this race for the second straight season, leading one lap on the way to a runner-up performance. Tyler Reddick started from the Pole and led nine laps on the way to a third place performance. Chase Elliott spun in turn one on the first lap of the race and drove his way back through the field for a fourth place showing. Kyle Busch led a race-high 42 laps on the way to a fifth place showing. Shane van Gisbergen led 23 laps on the way to a sixth place finish, Michael McDowell led three laps on the way to an 11th place finish, Bubba Wallace started from second position and led four laps on the way to a Stage One victory and 20th place finish, A. J. Allmendinger led two laps on the way to a 30th place finish, and Ryan Preece led three laps and won Stage Two before finishing the race in 33rd position.
Coverage of the 2026 DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne can be seen on FOX, with NASCAR RaceDay beginning at 2:30 PM EST and green flag coverage beginning at 3:30 PM EST.
In his first season at Spire Motorsports, Daniel Suarez has gotten off to a better than expected start in 2026, finishing 13th at Daytona and 5th at EchoPark to rank seventh in the Driver Standings to start the campaign. A solid road course racer, Circuit of the Americas has proven to be an enigma to Suarez in his career. Suarez has three top five qualifying runs at COTA, but that has not led to great finishes for him, finishing 24th or worse in all five career starts at the track. With an average finish of 30.2 at COTA, this is statistically the worst track for Suarez in his Cup Series career. Suarez seems to be right on track for another “routine” race at COTA, logging the eighth fastest lap of Practice before qualifying in 23rd position. Our favorite amigo, I predict that Suarez will cool off this afternoon and struggle to find much success on the track on the way to finishing outside the top 25.
It’s tough to call a Hendrick Motorsports driver a dark horse, but out of the four drivers, Alex Bowman definitely ranks a step behind his other teammates (William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson) in terms on on-track success. The 2026 campaign has gotten off to a rough start for Bowman, finishing 40th at Daytona and 23rd at EchoPark to rank 32nd in the Driver Standings. Not exactly a promising start for someone who has only missed making The Chase once in the last eight years, but sitting just 27 points below the cutline, Bowman has 24 more races to climb his way up the standings. Fortunately for Bowman, we come to the track that is statistically his best track on the circuit (among active tracks). In five trips to COTA, Bowman has three top five finishes and has never finished outside the top 10. Bowman has only qualified inside the top 10 twice at COTA, but that doesn’t seem to matter, as he consistently finds his way to the front by the end of the race. Like Suarez above, Bowman is checking all the boxes for another “routine” race at COTA, laying down the seventh fastest lap of Practice before qualifying in 16th position. I have no doubt that Bowman will methodically work his way forward on the way to a sixth straight top 10 finish at COTA.
In a championship format that now rewards consistency, Chase Elliott has to be licking his chops. A team that will top 10 and top 20 you to death, Elliott has gotten off to a strong start in 2026, leading on the final lap of the Daytona 500 before finishing in fourth and logging an 11th place finish at EchoPark. Slotting into third in the Driver Standings, Elliott is currently the best driver on the track who does not race for 23XI Racing. Winner of the inaugural monsoon race at COTA in 2021, Elliott has three top four finishes at this track and has never qualified outside the top 12. Elliott had the 13th fastest lap of Practice, but he showed really solid pace, ranking sixth on 5 Lap Averages and fourth on 10 Lap Averages, all of which led to a top five qualifying effort. Elliott qualified third last year, got spun in turn one on the first lap, and ultimately drove back through the field to claim a fourth place finish. He knows how to execute passes at this track, and with another great qualifying effort, expect Elliott to make some noise this afternoon. There may not be race winning pace in the #9 car (What else is new, though?), but Elliott will run up front all race long and claim another top 10 COTA finish.
Did you really think we weren’t going to pick him? Shane van Gisbergen is the absolute man when it comes to road course racing, and, frankly, it’s not even close. In 12 Cup Series starts, SVG has six wins, seven top fives (no post is complete without a 6-7 reference), 10 top 10’s, 11 top 20’s, and has led 342 laps. Pretty damn dominant if you ask me. Throw in five more wins and eight more top five finishes on road courses in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and SVG is very much running a step or two ahead of the rest of the competition. COTA has been arguably SVG’s weakest road courses (if there really is such a thing), finishing 20th here in 2024 and leading 23 laps on the way to a sixth place finish last season. Van Gisbergen didn’t exactly torch the field in Practice or qualifying yesterday, logging the 20th fastest lap of the session and qualifying in 13th position for today’s race, but he showed solid overall pace, ranking third on both 5 and 10 Lap Averages. Winner of yesterday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at COTA and winner of the last five Cup Series races on road courses, it continues to be SVG versus the field, and until someone else steps up to the plate and dethrones him, there is absolutely no reason to bet against him. Give me Shane van Gisbergen for a sixth straight Cup Series road course victory with a win at Circuit of the Americas!
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