Drivers round turn 16 during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, March 1, 2025 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Daytona … Atlanta … Austin. It’s already race week here in Central Texas at Circuit of the Americas, one of only two NASCAR stops in the state and the first ahead of the date at Fort Worth’s Texas Motor Speedway, which holds the other race in early May.
COTA’s road course is an enormous adjustment for NASCAR, which opened the season with the treacherous 200 mph speeds in the Daytona 500 and then took on the 180 mph-plus high banks of Atlanta last Sunday. Now they come to Austin, where the average speed at COTA will be about 95 mph with 30-35 mph in tight, harrowing turns.
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MORE:Â COTA, F1 agree to longterm deal for Austin track through 2034 season
The DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix will race Sunday afternoon. Practice rounds are Friday and qualifying is Saturday. Christopher Bell, driving the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, is the defending champion from 2025.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 12: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start Duel 2 for the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 12, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
“Yeah, talk about a change of pace,” Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, who’s coming off a second-place finish in Atlanta to Tyler Reddick, said in an Austin appearance. “No doubt it’s challenging, going from two superspeedways to a technical road course like COTA. But that kind of extreme variety is part of what makes our sport different. You gotta figure it out — or you get left behind.”
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Ross Chastain, who finished third at Atlanta, won the second NASCAR stop in Austin in 2022. The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing was flown into Austin recently to help promote the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne.
Ross Chastain (1) talks to Daniel Suarez (99) ahead of qualifying for the Sunday NASCAR EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
“It’s like fastball, fastball, curveball,” Chastain said. “We adapt, we always adapt. I really like how they’ve shortened the COTA course, because that brings us down the straightaways in front of the main grandstands more often. The fans get to see us a bunch more, rather than if we were way out on the far stretches of the place.”
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When/where: Friday-Sunday at Circuit of the Americas (Friday practice at 2 p.m. on CW, Saturday qualifying at 12:10 p.m. on FS1, Sunday race at 2:30 p.m. on Fox).
TV: Fox.
Tickets:Â Single-day or weekend passes available at nascaratcota.com.
Last year NASCAR shifted from the full 3.4-mile layout used by Formula One to a 2.3-mile National Course, resulting in quicker lap times and higher-intensity racing.
Chastain said the most logical reason for having the Austin race so early in the calendar is the weather. The first NASCAR race at COTA, in 2021, was held in late May. Monsoon-like conditions nearly washed it out. This weekend’s forecast is magnificent: upper-70s and low-80s with no rain in sight. Last weekend NASCAR endured mid-40s temperatures in Atlanta.
“Looking forward to the warmth and a world-class road course,” Chastain said.
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Castrol Ford driver Brad Keselowski (6) leads a group of cars through turn 17 during the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 2, 2025 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
NASCARÂ is celebrating first responders for this race weekend. Austin-area and Travis County EMS, police and fire departments can get free tickets, and more than 2,500 already have been distributed.
Chastain agreed to go through their drills one day at the sprawling 44-acre first-responders training facility in Southeast Austin. He engaged in pursuit tactics on the facility’s road course; joined the air support unit touring a helicopter; practiced life-saving skills with EMS paramedics; rapelled down the training tower to simulate rescuing a person and raced up and down a nine-story tower with Austin Fire and EMS workers.
“You get a better understanding and appreciation for what those people endure,” Chastain said. “It is amazing what they pull off. Think about all the lives they save.”
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First responders will offer exhibits at COTA throughout the weekend and are looking to recruit.
The NASCAR Austin races have produced five different winners, with Briscoe’s teammate Bell prevailing last year. Briscoe was 14th, his third straight Austin finish in the teens.
“I feel we’re pretty close to being a contender here,” he said. “I love road courses. COTA offers a little bit of everything. The esses are tricky. You really have to tamp down on some of the tight corners. It tests you. Patience is a big thing. Then you’ve got super high speed in the stadium section.”
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Briscoe is an Indiana native and unabashed Hoosiers fan celebrating the football team’s shocking national championship.
“It’s just incredible to think of where we’ve come from, all the losing and stuff,” he said. “I’ve been at that stadium where they had only 8,000 or 10,000 fans. And now? Top of the world. It should be motivation for all the underdogs in sports.”