Battle for NASCAR's 'King of the Road' Heads to COTA

After two consecutive weeks of superspeedway racing to kick off the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the series heads to Austin, Texas and the picturesque Circuit of the Americas road course this weekend. Sunday's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix will serve as an interesting race as we're all still trying to understand who the dominant force on road courses will be as we head through the new season.

For years, it was Jeff Gordon, who was the guy to beat at road courses. Then, it became Tony Stewart. And recently Chase Elliott had his turn at being the seemingly unstoppable force on road course layouts.

However, parity has taken over. 16 of the 37 drivers that will compete in Sunday's race have reached victory lane on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series through their careers. That is a large number of drivers (43.2% of the field), which shows just how wide-open road course racing has become in recent years.

That being said, who are some of the top contenders to pull through this weekend?

Chase Elliott

No driver in Sunday's field has more career wins on a road course than Chase Elliott, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who has seven victories on tracks with left and right turns, including a win at Circuit of the Americas in 2021.

However, while Elliott has the most wins on road courses of anyone on the entry list this weekend, he hasn't captured a win on a road course since the adaptation of the Next Gen car in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022.

While he hasn't won on a road course since the 2021 season, Elliott hasn't forgotten how to drive at a road course. In fact, Elliott has registered at least one top-five finish at all seven road course race tracks, which have hosted a NASCAR Cup Series event since 2022.

Can he find that little extra something that he needs to find victory lane on Sunday? We'll see. If he does, it would be quite the popular win.

Shane van Gisbergen

No 'who could win at a road course' preview piece could ever be considered complete without including SVG, who scored a win in his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2021 at the inaugural Chicago Street Race.

While that win remains SVG's only through four career NASCAR Cup Series starts on road courses, the 2025 Rookie of the Year contender narrowly missed out on his second career win last year at Watkins Glen International.

Van Gisbergen had the race lead in the closing laps, but made a mistake while under duress on the final lap, which allowed Chris Buescher to take his first career win on a road course instead. SVG picked up three wins on road courses last year in his rookie NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign. Expect him to be in the mix on Sunday.

Tyler Reddick

Reddick has emerged as one of the brilliant road course racers in the modern NASCAR Cup Series ranks. He won this event at Circuit of the Americas in 2023, and he has three wins on road courses in his brief Cup Series career.

The key to Reddick winning the event will likely hinge on his performance in Saturday's qualifying session as all three of his NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses have come from fourth or better.

Reddick has a career average start of 7.8, and an average finish of 12.4 on road course layouts, and he has led 200 of the 2,094 laps he's completed on road courses in his career.

William Byron

Byron is the defending winner of this race, and through all four races at COTA, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet boasts a career average finish of 7.3 at the facility.

With a Daytona 500 win already in his back pocket, as was the case last season, Byron and his crew chief Rudy Fugle can completely go for a win-or-bust strategy in Sunday's race, which could prove to be what helps the driver collect his second victory through the opening three races of the 2025 campaign.

Connor Zilisch

If you're looking for a potential surprise race winner, how about Connor Zilisch? The 18-year-old racer is making his NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend. While teenagers making their debut in the top form of motorsports in the United States doesn't usually seem like a situation destined for success, this could be lined up perfectly for Zilisch.

The driver, who took home the win in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen International a season ago, says he is more comfortable with the specs on the Next Gen car than he is the NASCAR Xfinity Series car. The stiff suspension and sequential gear shifter are what Zilisch cut his teeth with in the TransAm, and MX5-Cup ranks on the path to where he is today.

“Honestly, I feel like the cup car is more like what I'm used to," Zilisch explained in a media availability. "You know, racing, sports cars, I've run a sequential gearbox in a TA car, and MX5 Cup car. You know, I think the build of the car is a lot more like I'm used to. It's a stiffer platform, it's an independent rear suspension. Everything is more like [what] I'm used to racing sports cars."

The young racer speaks like a battle-tested veteran in interviews, and he has not hidden his desire to best Joey Logano's record as the youngest winner in NASCAR Cup Series history. Logano was 19 when he pulled off the feat in 2009. Zilisch won't turn 19 until July.

Honorable mentions: Ross Chastain, and AJ Allmendinger

Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images