The Cup Series travels to Austin, Texas this week to race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). This will be the first road course race for the Cup Series in 2024 and the first time the teams will use the short track /road course aero package. The field is stacked so it should be a fun race at COTA. The EchoPark Texas Grand Prix can be seen Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
I am not sure what we saw last week, but I am just happy that the Fantasy Live picks survived the rubber melt-down at Bristol. The picks entered the race ranked No. 138 overall and the ended the race ranked No. 143 overall. That is not bad out of 152,000 entries. The picks are still outscoring 99.9% of the entries and we still have most of our allocations with our top drivers. The race at COTA should be easier to predict, so I am expecting another step towards the top of the overall standings. (Be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) for my Garage pick at the end of Stage two. @MrFantasyNASCAR )
CUP SERIES PRACTICE
The Cup Series had a 40-minutes practice session before they lined up for group qualifying. NASCAR gave the teams some extra track time Saturday, since they were using a new aero package. 40-minutes of practice would be plenty of time to make some long runs at COTA, but NASCAR broke the groups into two 20-minute practice sessions. We should still have enough data to handicap the race at COTA.
Here are the practice speeds for the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix…
FANTASY LIVE PICKS FOR COTA
TYLER REDDICK (8): I have already used Reddick twice this year and I hate to use him again, but COTA is one of the best tracks for the No. 45 team. Reddick started second, led 41 laps, won Stage 2 and won the race last year. The No. 45 car looks fast gain this weekend. Reddick posted the 12th-fastest speed and qualified 4th for the race. I will roll the dice with the No. 45 car Sunday.
TY GIBBS (10): Gibbs is having a great start to his 2024 season. He finished his last two road course races in the top-five (5th at Watkins Glen and 4th at the Charlotte Roval). The No. 54 car looks fast again this weekend. Gibbs posted the 2nd-fastest speed and qualified 2ndfor the race. He finished ninth at COTA last year. Gibbs should have a good chance to finish in the top-five Sunday.
WILLIAM BYRON (8): I was hoping to save an allocation with the No. 24 car Sunday., but Byron is too fast to pass up. William Byron posted the fastest speed in practice and won the pole for the race. Byron won Stage 1 and finished fifth at COTA last year. He should have a good chance to score a lot of Stage Points and finish in the top-five Sunday.
CHASE ELLIOTT (7): Elliott has been a beast on the road courses in his career. That includes his races at COTA. Elliott won at this track in 2021 and he finished fourth in 2022. The No. 9 car looks fast again this weekend. Elliott wasn’t fastest in practice, but I retweeted a post from his team. They said Elliott was simply taking it easy in practice to get his rhythm back at the track. Elliott qualified 9th. He should have a good chance to add another top-five finish to his road course resume.
ROSS CHASTAIN (10): Chastain has been a beast at COTA. He won the race in 2022 and he finished fourth in 2021 and 2023. Chastain posted the 7th fastest speed in practice and qualified 6th for the race. He should have a good chance to win again at COTA Sunday.
(GARAGE PICK) SHANE VAN GISBERGEN (10): We need to use SVG at whenever he is entered into one of the road course races. He is one of the best drivers in the field at these tracks and it gives us a chance to save our top drivers for the oval track races. The No. 16 car posted the 10th-fastest speed in practice and qualified 12th for the race. SVG will be a good insurance policy to have in the Garage Sunday.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.