How To Watch NASCAR This Week:

Friday, February 28

NXS Kennametal Pole Qualifying (The CW App at 5 p.m. ET)

Saturday, March 1

NCS Practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying (Amazon Prime at 11 a.m. ET)

NXS Race: Focused Health 250 (The CW, PRN, SiriusXM at 2:30 p.m. ET)

Sunday, March 2

NCS Race: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM at 3:30 p.m. ET)

NASCAR & Circuit of The Americas, Etc.

Quick Track Facts & Insights: COTA

–        Construction began in 2010 on the world class road course known as the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), nestled on 1,500 acres of land just outside of Austin, Texas.

–        Circuit of The Americas’ iconic Turn 1, also known as “Big Red,” challenges drivers to an initial 133-foot climb right out of the gate.

–        Circuit of The Americas has two configurations to the road course. The first is the longer 3.41-mile circuit and the second is the 2.40-mile circuit. Both versions boast 20 turns and take advantage of the naturally undulating landscape.

–        COTA is also home to a 5,036-seat stadium, which houses the USL Championship League team, Austin Bold FC and Major League Rugby team, AG Rugby.

–        COTA also has an observation tower. Located on the outside of the track near Turns 16-18, the COTA Tower is 251 feet tall at its highest point, with an observation deck 22 stories above the track.

Significant Events at COTA:

•         December 31, 2010 – Construction began on America’s only purpose built Formula 1 track.

•         August 10, 2012 – Circuit of The Americas began an intensive paving process that is required to prepare the racing circuit and entire facility for the inaugural 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, scheduled for Nov. 16-18.

•         November 18, 2012 – Circuit of The Americas entered the record books as the first purpose-built Formula 1 racetrack in the country to host its own Grand Prix. An exuberant crowd packed the new facility to watch Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claim his fourth Grand Prix of the season and his second United States Grand Prix victory in five years having won the 2007 Formula 1 race last hosted in Indianapolis.

•         April 5, 2013 – Austin360 Amphitheater Opening Night – Circuit of The Americas opened the new, world-class Austin360 Amphitheater (now known as the Germania Insurance Amphitheater) with a performance by country music superstar Kenny Chesney and with rising star Kacey Musgraves. The crowd roared as Chesney kicked off the highly anticipated spring 2013 season for the 14,000-seated entertainment venue.

•         April 19, 2013 – Circuit of The Americas hosted the first of many amazing feats planned for the inaugural MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas when the Red Bull Air Force, a team of B.A.S.E. jumpers catapulted from the observation deck of the Circuit’s signature 25-story Tower and landed 251 feet below.

•         April 21, 2013 – MotoGP fans witnessed the debut of World Championship motorcycle racing during the three-day MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas on April 19-21. Spectators were treated to a history-making performance, as rookie Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez became the youngest rider in MotoGP history to win a Grand Prix at just 20 years old.

•         May 18, 2013 – The Pirelli World Challenge debuted at Circuit of The Americas with V8 Supercars as the supporting race. GT, GTS, Touring Car and Touring Car B-Spec teams raced around the 20-turn, 3.41-mile track as part of the race weekend. Johnny O’Connell won the inaugural race at COTA in the #3 Cadillac CTS-V.

•         June 28, 2013 – The Formula Sun Grand Prix is annual solar-car race where teams from colleges and universities around the world design, build, test and race solar-powered vehicles around a closed loop track. Each team has three consecutive days to complete as many laps as they can around The Circuit, and the team with the most laps completed wins the race.

•         September 22, 2013 – The Lone Star Le Mans is an endurance race for Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style cars that lasts for 6 hours and has no set number of laps. Car manufactures such as Porsche, Audi, Ferrari, Ford, Cadillac compete to design, build and race the fastest car.

•         October 25-27, 2013 – The inaugural U.S. Vintage Racing Championship was held at Circuit of The Americas on October 25th – 27th, 2013 and featured over 500 vintage race cars that competed in 12 different classes, with each class having their own respected National Champion.

•         June 5-8, 2014 – ESPN presented the inaugural X Games Austin at Circuit of The Americas. This sports action extravaganza took over the 3.41-mile-long track at The Circuit and Downtown Austin from June 5th-8th and featured over 200 athletes in many different sport disciplines. Fans who attended this event were able to witness the debut of Stadium Super Trucks and the return of BMX Dirt to the U.S.

•         2015 – X Games Austin returned to Circuit of The Americas for the second year in a row. Over 160,000 fans attended over 4 days making it the most attended X Games since 2004. The event took over The Circuit and debuted three new events including Moto X Flat Track, Moto X Quarter Pipe and Big Double Airs. In addition to the premier sports competitions, fans were able to enjoy the X Games Music Presents Series with performances from world famous artists such as Nicki Minaj, Metallica and The Glitch Mob.

•         July 4, 2015 – For 42 years running, American icon and Austin’s own Willie Nelson got together some of the biggest names in music to celebrate Independence Day Willie-style. Willie’s 4th of July Picnics have become a legendary Texas summer tradition, and this year the party came to COTA with over 20 top tier country artists across two stages. Circuit of The Americas became the setting for the biggest Independence Day celebration in all of Texas.

•         May 20, 2018 – Cars and Coffee Austin relocated to Circuit of The Americas for an eclectic showing of Texas’ finest automobiles. At this event, car enthusiasts and casual fans have the opportunity to admire a wide variety of cars ranging from classics hot rods to exotic supercars.

•         March 24, 2019 – Circuit of The Americas hosted the inaugural INDYCAR Classic race — the second round of the 2019 INDYCAR season. Colton Herta took first place, becoming the youngest INDYCAR race winner of all time.

•         September 28, 2019 – Circuit of The Americas laid dirt on the track and welcomed the American Rallycross Championship to Austin, TX on September 28th, 2019. The American Rallycross Championship serves as the feeder championship to the FIA World Rallycross Championship for North America. Rookie, Tanner Foust became the youngest Rallycross Champion after fighting against Subaru Rally Team USA for first place.

•         November 27, 2020 – In 2020, COTA debuted an all-new event to help the community celebrate the holidays in a safe and festive way. The holiday spectacular consisted of a one-mile driving attraction that immersed visitors in over 6 million holiday lights synchronized to joyful holiday classics. The drive featured a 60-foot spiral light tree, giant light sculptures of beloved holiday icons, and an unforgettable finale featuring Santa himself.

•         December 18, 2020 – Circuit of The Americas named the opening corner of its track ‘Big Red’ in honor of The Circuit’s co-founder Red McCombs.

•         May 21-23, 2021 – The inaugural EchoPark Texas Grand Prix was a NASCAR Cup Series Race that took place at Circuit of The Americas on May 21st, 2021. The race was originally scheduled to be 68 laps around the 3.41-mile track but was shortened to just 54 laps due to heavy rain. The Hendrick Motorsports Team drivers, Chase Elliot and Kyle Larson, pulled off an exciting finish in first and second place. The NASCAR Cup Series featured supporting races by the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series during the race weekend.

•         November 20, 2021 – Circuit of The Americas welcomed The Rolling Stones to the Super Stage on November 20, 2021 as part of their critically-acclaimed NO FILTER tour. This marked the last tour date of the NO FILTER tour and the rock ‘n’ roll legends’ first time reuniting since the 2020 postponement. The Stones were electric on the Super Stage and performed hits such as “Start Me Up” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

•         January 24, 2022 – Circuit of The Americas’ track was recently resurfaced to create the ideal racing environment for the upcoming races and events. Ground penetration radar and laser mapping equipment & software was used to map the track and identify the different repairs needed.

•         June 29, 2023 – T11 Car Condos officially broke ground this summer. COTA and T11 project representatives gathered for a sunny photo-op last week to mark the exciting occasion. After celebrating The Circuit’s 10th birthday last October, this groundbreaking denotes the beginning stages of COTA’s expansion project years in the making.

•         May 6, 2024 – Plans for a comprehensive reconstruction of COTALAND are set in motion with the installation of the first permanent piece of the new amusement park. Leading this transformation is The Palindrome, the first rollercoaster of its kind in the United States, featuring an exhilarating drop of over 130 feet and a unique mechanism that allows the track to reverse direction mid-ride.

Additional Historical Circuit of The Americas Information:

·       Located outside of Austin Texas, Circuit of the Americas is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track. 

·       In July of 2010 Tavo Hellmund announced plans to build the track on an 890 acre tract of land in Travis county.  Billionaire Red McCombs was announced as the projects largest investor.

·       The original name for the facility was “Speed City” but the owners originally anticipated selling the naming rights to parts of the facility for $7 million. On April 12, 2011 it was announced at a press conference that the track would be named “Circuit of The Americas”.

·       The circuit’s homologation design was submitted to the FIA for approval in December of 2010, designed by HKS Inc and Tilke Engineers & Architects. Hermann Tilke is one of four designers recognized by the FIA and has been commissioned to design Formula One tracks some of which include: Sepang International Circuit, Bahrain International Circuit, Shanghai International Circuit, Istanbul Park Racing Circuit, Valencia Street Circuit, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Yas Marina Circuit, Korea International Circuit and the Buddh International Circuit, Sochi Autodrom, Kuwait Motor Town, Hanoi Street Circuit.

·       HKS Inc., a Dallas based architecture firm, lists of notable projects include: AT&T Stadium Arlington TX, SoFi Stadium Inglewood CA, U.S. Bank Stadium Minneapolis MN, Lucas Oil Stadium, The Palazzo Las Vegas NV, Atlantis Paradise Island The Bahamas

·       Construction began in December of 2010 and on June 13, 2012, Charlie Whiting the FIA appointed race director of Formula One declared the track construction satisfactory for F1 racing. The final step was the use of GPS based 3D paving to lay down the racing surface. The first layer of asphalt was finished August 3, 2012, and the final layer was finished on September 21st.

·       Mario Andretti drove the ceremonial first laps in a Lotus 79, the same car he drove to the 1978 Formula One Championship.  A crowd of 117,429 watched the first Formula One race in November 2012.

·       The circuit has been host to a great number of racing and live sporting events including Formula One (2012-2019, 2021), MotoGP World Championship (2013-2019), Blancpain GT World Challenge America (2013, 2015-2021), American Rallycross (2018-2019), Porsche Supercup, FIA World Rallycross Championship, V8 Supercars, American Le Mans Series, Rolex Sports Car Series, IMSA Weather Tech Sports Car series, IndyCar series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the Summer X Games.

·       For 2025 NASCAR will run a new layout, the ‘National” layout the 20 turn 2.4 mile course eliminates a mile of the backside of the full course.  The lap count has been increased from 68 laps to 95 laps to account for the shorter course.