AUSTIN, Texas – After two weeks on drafting tracks, NASCAR is making its first visit to a road course this weekend with a trip to Circuit of The Americas
.
Practice and qualifying for the Cup Series
were held on Saturday morning with track position always at a premium when it comes to road course racing in the Next Gen era.
Thankfully, Hendrick Motorsports should be well set up for Sunday’s main event. All four drivers
turned in solid laps, led by a run of 1:37.913 by Chase Elliott in the session’s second group, good for fifth on the starting grid. Not far behind was William Byron in group one with a lap of 1:38.381, earning the 10th spot. Rounding out the group, Kyle Larson will roll off 15th (1:38.514), and Alex Bowman 16th (1:38.542).
The Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets
showed speed in practice as well. Larson’s best single lap of 1:39.347 was fourth best on the board with Bowman not far behind in seventh (1:39.512).
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Both Elliott and Byron have a Cup Series win at COTA while Larson visited victory lane in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series
in 2024. Bowman, meanwhile, is one of only two drivers to have finished in the top 10 in all five Cup races at the complex, and his average finish of 5.2 is also second best.
Sunday’s race is set for a 3:30 p.m. start and will air on FOX
. The weekend’s NOAPS race was slated for a 3 p.m. green flag later on Saturday and will air on the CW.
Here’s a look at how the cars will roll onto the starting grid: