This year at the iconic Circuit of the Americas, NASCAR returns for the fourth time since Chase Elliott won the inaugural EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in 2021. The next two years saw Trackhouse Racing ace Ross Chastain take out AJ Allmendinger for his first Cup Series victory, and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick win the most recent edition at COTA. As a result, Reddick’s #45 and Chastain’s #1 have emerged as holding some of the best odds of coming out with a victory in Austin. 

But, there are plenty of emerging storylines as we finally hit pause on the ovals to get ready for some road-course action this year, with a brand new stage set to follow up on last week’s Goodyear controversy overshadowing Denny Hamlin’s victory in Bristol. There are some notable additions. The likes of F1 star Kamui Kobayashi manning 23XI Racing’s third entry in Austin, as well as 3x Supercars champion SVG getting ready to ring out the Texas road course with Kaulig Racing’s #16. So what is it that the fans truly need to know heading into the sixth race week of the season?

The Favorites and New Faces at the 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grandprix 

NBC Sports has labeled Reddick a “heavy favorite” with +400 odds of securing a consecutive COTA finish. Chastain boasts an average finish of 16.0, and he is one of the only drivers to have two top-5s on the 20-turn circuit. The Trackhouse ace is also a dominant competitor, inching for his first victory in 2024. The New York Post, on the other hand, has Chastain and his Trackhouse teammate Daniel Suarez as underdog favorites at +310 for the duo to finish within the Top 10 at COTA.

Nevertheless, some sleeper favorites for the Texas Grand Prix are new additions Shane van Gisbergen at +900, as well as his Kaulig teammate, AJ Allmendinger who is unsurprisingly NBC’s sleeper favorite considering the #13 driver has already won at COTA twice, albeit in the Xfinity Series. Nevertheless, all the Dinger’s three Cup Series victories have come on road courses. 

Additionally, Truck Series mainstay Timmy Hill will enter the road race backed by MBM Motorsports and sponsored by Amptricity, in the #66 car for the first time in three years. 24 Hours of Le Mans’ Japanese champion Kamui Kobayashi will also be making his return with 23XI Racing after fishing 33rd at the Brickyard last season. It is important to note that RFK’s Chris Buescher with his consistent 10.6 average finish at COTA, and Hendrick Motorsports’ inaugural Texas GP champ, Chase Elliott, are strong contenders to watch out for as well.

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Schedule for the Weekend & Where to Watch

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Saturday, March 23rd kicks off with Cup Series practice, allowing teams to fine-tune their machines for the main event. Fans can catch the action live on FOX Sports 2 at approximately 10:00 AM ET. The tension builds as qualifying for the Cup Series follows at 11:30 AM ET on FOX Sports 1. Witness drivers eyeing the coveted pole position that grants a strategic advantage for Sunday’s race. 

The afternoon heats up with the XPEL 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at 1:30 PM ET, broadcast on FOX Sports 1. Witness the rising stars of NASCAR battle it out for checkered flag glory across 42 thrilling laps. As the sun dips lower, COTA will roar for the Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at 5:00 PM ET.

And finally on Sunday, March 24th. The NASCAR Cup Series takes the green flag for the much-anticipated 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Fans can witness NASCAR’s top superstars figure out the grueling 68-lap unforgiving Texas circuit on FS1 at approximately 3:30 PM ET. Viewers in Canada can get their fix of the latest NASCAR action on TSN and Viaplay Group for the UK.

Focused Health 250 Starters at COTA

Many Cup stars will be pulling double duties at Austin, and it was apparent when Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson took the pole with a new track record of 2:12.08 at COTA. This is Larson’s 7th pole win in NASCAR’s second division, the Xfinity Series, and his Hendrickcars.com #17 Chevrolet could very well take the California native to his 15th career win on Saturday. 

Starting alongside Larson will be, as many had speculated, Shane van Gisbergen and his #97 for Kaulig Racing and Weathertech. The Kiwi road star showed impressive speeds throughout qualifying, only to finish second to Larson’s new track record. Finishing in third was Ty Gibbs as Larson beat Gibbs’ 2023 round one qualifying lap time record of 2:12:929 by barely a second. He will be running the “He Gets Us” backed #19 Toyota. Gibbs will be accompanied on Row 2 by Phoenix Xfinity race winner, Chandler Smith in P4.

The Dinger will look for his third Xfinity victory with a solid P5 spot, and beside him on Row 3 will be racing journeyman driver for Jordan Anderson Racing, Sage Karam in the #26 CRC Brakleen Toyota. The rest of the top-10 will be rounded off by Sheldon Creed (#18), Cole Custer (#00), Daniel Hemric (#11), and Sam Mayer (#1), in that respective order.

XPEL 225 Starting Lineup

At just 17 years of age, North Carolina native, Connor Zillisch won his first-ever pole position in COTA. That too, in his first-ever Truck Series start, for Spire Motorsports’ #7. This is a big seat to fill for Trackhouse Racing’s rising star, considering Kyle Busch’s early season dominance with the #7 Truck. Moreover, Zillisch broke Ross Chastain’s previous track record and even posted better times than the Xfinity cars with the fastest lap time of 2:11:983 on the 3.41-mile road circuit. 

His starting partner in the front row, Corey Heim was almost seven-hundredths of a second behind the first-time Truck Series driver. Heim will be looking for his 6th CTS victory in just his 46th race, manning the #11 Tricon Garage Toyota Tundra. His #17 teammate, Taylor Gray follows him in P3, coming off of three top-10 displays in the last four races. Starting alongside him will be last year’s ROTY and Daytona Truck race winner Nick Sanchez, while the “Melon Man” Ross Chastain returns in his familiar #45 Chevy Silverado, looking to get one back on the rookie after losing his track record at COTA.

The rest of the top 10 include British driver and CTS debutant Jack Hawksworth at P6, followed by Taylor Gray’s brother, Tanner in P7. Layne Riggs (P8), Ty Majeski (P9), and Phoenix winner Christian Eckes came in at the 10th spot.

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