CONCORD, N.C. -- Alan Gustafson and Rudy Fugle feel that the playing field is pretty even for Sunday’s inaugural race at Circuit of The Americas. While there has been an uptick in the NASCAR Cup Series racing at road courses, COTA provides a unique set of challenges that aren’t easy to prepare for.
“There’s some pretty significant braking zones,” Gustafson said of the difficult aspects of the course. “The brakes will be taxed pretty hard. There’s a lot of slow-speed and a lot of high-speed corners, which makes it tough. A lot of corners you really got to slow down for and then really accelerated off of. The high-speed esses we really have to transition quickly from left to right – it’s got everything.”
However, Gustafson and Fugle both have a slight advantage over many other drivers heading to the Texas venue this weekend. Both their drivers, Chase Elliott and William Byron, have had a chance to test at the track this year.
“We all work together when you have something new,” Fugle said. “We have good notes from teammates; the No. 9 went and tested there. William is a great road racer, as well. We went and spent some time with a Trans Am car in January, so he got acclimated with the track. I got to go and see what the track looked like and see some of the struggle spots.”
Elliott was able to test a Cup car at the track in March. Gustafson said that testing was instrumental in how their team will prepare for this weekend’s race and allowed both him and Elliott to become a little more familiar with the road course’s feel.
“There’s no replacement for time on the track, so we were able to get on the track and understand some of the characteristics and be able to know setup aspects to the car,” Gustafson said. “(Elliott is) certainly familiar with the corners, so that’s the biggest thing; getting an opportunity to be prepared and have everything lined up for when we go back.”
Fugle is keeping his eye on the prize and will strive to help Byron earn his second win of the season and his first road course victory. It would also mean a Hendrick Motorsports driver would be another inaugural winner at a brand-new road course.
“Being able to do that is something we strive to do because it’s always cool to your name as the first winner, so that’s the goal,” Fugle said. “The biggest thing about COTA is it’s a different animal. It looks very fast but it’s also very technical. There’s 20-something corners where you can get messed up, and it’s going to be hot and slick. I think it’s pretty hard to get around there by yourself, let alone with racing 40 other cars. It should be interesting.”
The first Cup Series Circuit of the Americas race will begin Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.