The Circuit of The Americas is perhaps one of America’s greatest racetracks. With a rich history of hosting F1, WEC, MotoGP, and several other top categories, the circuit located in Austin Texas has also been a valuable asset to the Cup Series calendar. However, racing at the 3 1/2-half-mile road course has caught some slack from fans and drivers for the chaos that would ensue following the new restart zone.

With drivers entering turns as many as 9 cars wide at a time, the sport had to make a major change for the 2024 race. Now that the restart zone has been shifted closer to Turn 20, Chase Elliott’s crew chief was all praises for NASCAR’s decision.

Is NASCAR’s COTA change truly a ‘push in the right direction’?

This weekend in Austin, Texas finally brings back road-course racing to the Cup Series, and there is no man eager to prove himself more than road-course sensation Chase Elliott. While the last few years haven’t been fruitful for the #9 Hendrick Motorsports garage, this year could prove to be different, with NASCAR’s change to the restart zone intended to reduce chaos at COTA.

The older restart zone at COTA fell in between the last turn (20) and the straightaway right before the checkered flag. When drivers gunned it after the restart, the run-up to turn one was so little that many drivers from behind could get the jump on those right in front. Naturally, this resulted in some unwelcome divebombs and misfortunate wrecks. But for 2024, the officials have opted to push the restart zone back closer to turn 20, meaning the field will have a natural speed-breaker in the form of the corner.

While NASCAR believes this change will help the grid space out before the restart, the #9 HMS crew chief has his fingers crossed. Speaking on NASCAR Live, Alan Gustafson shared, “I hope it changes it a little bit. You know, what it turned into last year, it just, was a bit absurd in my opinion. It needs to be more about what I consider as racing, and not just going and crashing guys.” 

Speaking of the #9 Chevy, Gustafson believed the inside line would prove to be crucial. The 2020 Cup championship-winning crew chief also felt that Elliott would need to be aggressive on the restart to make the most out of it. With that said, Gustafson believes we might see significant improvement, but there will still be some carnage. He concluded, “What we’ll see I think, is a push in the right direction. I still think you’re gonna get dive bombs into the corner and some contact. You’re just hoping it’s not like I77.” 

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With Chase Elliott’s previous track record at road courses, the #9 is touted to be quite the formidable force on race day. But it’s not just the #9 HMS garage that believes NASCAR’s restart zone shift at COTA is a welcome change.

Kyle Larson joins fellow HMS insider to commend NASCAR’s COTA change

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If any driver is expecting NASCAR’s restart changes to work in his favor more than Elliott, it’s his teammate Kyle Larson. After securing pole position for the Xfinity race with the #17 HendrickCars.com Camaro, Larson will want to create as much distance from the dive bombers on restarts. While the HMS driver believes, we’ll only find out how the changes will affect racing once it commences, Larson felt NASCAR had reached the perfect solution.

Reflecting the thoughts of many insiders, Larson believes that turn 20 will act as a pacemaker for the pack before the restart. Naturally, this should help avoid all the bunching up. The 31-year-old stated, “So there, I believe, should be less of, kinda you know, seven wide into turn one and less dive-bombs and crashes and just the craziness. Which is good, I think, because even fans last year were like, ‘This is kind of dumb’, right? We looked like amateurs out there.” 

The HMS driver feels this time around, racing at COTA ought to be more ‘professional’. While the HMS driver didn’t dismiss the prospect of divebombs, he felt they wouldn’t be as exaggerated. Larson concluded, “I think it’s going to be a nice compliment to what the drivers wanted plus what everybody kind of needed as far as you know, just not crashing people.”

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After taking a look at the Hendrick Motorsports camp’s support for NASCAR’s COTA change, do you think Chase Elliott can take back his crown of Road Course King?