The NASCAR Cup Series travels to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) this week for some road course racing. I am sure glad the drafting track portion of the schedule is completed. The drivers I picked for the races at Daytona and Atlanta did not have any luck. The race this week, and the rest of the races on the schedule should be easier to predict. There are a handful of drivers who consistently finish in the top-10 at COTA and these are the drivers I am sticking to this weekend.
Here are my picks for the race at COTA ….
DRIVER GROUP GAME PICKS FOR COTA
GROUP A DRIVERS
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN (9): COTA ranks as the worst road course track for SVG. He finished 20th in 2024 and 6th last year. Do we really think SVG is going to struggle in Austin? He has won five road course races in a row. SVG led the second-most laps, scored the most Stage Points and had the best Driver Rating at COTA last year. He is just too good on the road courses to fade this weekend.
WILLIAM BYRON (9): The chances of Shane van Gisbergen being in my starting lineup are very high. That means I need a driver for qualifying points and as a backup, just in case aliens kidnap SVG this weekend. The best pick should be Byron. He qualified on the pole in two of the last three races at COTA. Byron also won this race in 2024 and he finished 2nd last year. Byron is a good driver to score bonus points for qualifying and he should finish up front Sunday.
GROUP B DRIVERS
TYLER REDDICK (9): Momentum is real in NASCAR and Reddick has it. He won the first two races of the season (Daytona and Atlanta) and he is my pick to win Sunday. Reddick has the best average starting position in the five races at COTA. The worst he has ever started at this track is 4th, so Reddick has a great chance to score bonus points for qualifying. Reddick also finished 3rd, 5th, 1st, 5th and 9th in his five starts in Austin. Reddick checks all of the boxes this week, so there is a good chance that I will use an allocation with the No. 45 car Sunday.
KYLE BUSCH (7): I used Busch at Daytona and Atlanta, so I am down to seven allocations with the No. 8 car. I am not worried about how many times I use Busch early in the season. I do not plan to use him for a long time after the race Sunday. Busch dominated the race at COTA last year. He led 42 of the 95 laps, finished 4th in both Stages and he finished 5th in the race. Busch also finished 9th at COTA in 2024 and 2nd in 2023. This is one of the best tracks for Busch, so he gets a spot in my lineup this weekend.
ALEX BOWMAN (8): Bowman has been “Mr. Consistent” at COTA. He finished 9th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 8th in his five races at COTA. Bowman doesn’t always qualify up front, but he is one of the best at moving through the field to get to the top-10 finish at this track. Bowman leads the Cup Series in green flag passes at COTA over the last three seasons. I am not sure if I will use Bowman in my starting lineup, but he is a good driver to have on your team as an insurance policy Sunday.
ROSS CHASTAIN (9): The last pick in Group B came down to Chris Buescher or Ross Chastain. Buescher has consistently finished in the top-10 on the road courses, but Chastain has more upside to finish in the top-five. Chastain won at COTA in 2022 and his average finishing position at this track is 5.6. Chastain also has Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch to share notes with this week. I would not be surprised if Chastain wines up in my starting lineup Sunday.
GROUP C DRIVERS
AJ ALLMENDINGER (9): Allmendinger is a boom or bust driver at COTA. He always runs up front, often scores Stage Points and he finishes in the top-10 when he stays out of trouble. The problem is that trouble often finds Allmendinger in the road course races. He is just too good on the road courses to fade. I will have Allmendinger in my lineup, but I need to see how fast his practice speed is compared to Connor Zilisch before I decide to use him in the race.
CONNOR ZILISCH (9): Zilisch made his Cup Series debut at COTA last year and it did not go very well. Zilisch was running in 14th-place when Daniel Suarez knocked Zilisch into the wall. Zilisch finished dead last in the race, but I am not worried about last year. This young man has a lot of talent and he has more experience in the Cup Series car. Zilisch won the O’Reilly Series race at COTA last year. He has a good chance to finish in the top-10 in the Cup Series race Sunday.
* Be sure to check back Saturday night for my starting lineup.
SPEEDWAY COLLECTIVE PICKS
GROUP A DRIVERS
TYLER REDDICK: Reddick has the momentum and the stats to win the race Sunday. What has been the secret to the success of the No. 45 team in 2026? Their new “AirSpeed” headquarters has an “Xfinity Speed Center” built into it. This is like a lab filled with engineers analyzing data in real time during the race. This data is relayed to the crew chief to help him make critical decisions to get Reddick to the front. This new off-site command center helped Reddick win the first two races and it should help him again Sunday.
WILLIAM BYRON: I will pair Byron with Tyler Reddick in Group A. Byron finished his last two races at COTA in the top-five and there is no reason why he cannot do it again Sunday.
GROUP B DRIVERS
ROSS CHASTAIN: COTA is the best road course track for Chastain. I also like the fact that TrackHouse Racing will have Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch on the track collecting data in Saturday’s practice. This should help Chastain run up front.
CONNOR ZILISCH: I could play it safe and go with Alex Bowman or Chris Buescher in Group B. Both of these drivers consistently finish in the top-10 at COTA. I decided to swing for the fences… We do not know what we are going to get from Zilisch Sunday. He has a chance to dominate this race or he could finish dead-last, like he did in 2025. I trust Ross Chastain in this lineup, so I will take a chance with Zilisch as my second driver in Group B.
GROUP C DRIVERS
SHANE VAN GISBERGER: SVG won the last five road course races so he is a lock for Group C whenever the Cup Series races on these tracks in 2026.
KYLE BUSCH: Busch and Shane van Gisbergen dominated the race at COTA last year. They led the most laps, scored the most Stage Points and both drivers finished in the top-six. They should be the two best drivers in Group C Sunday.
GROUP D DRIVERS
DANIEL SUAREZ: Suarez is the best road course driver in Group D. He finished 7th in his last two road course races (Charlotte Roval and Watkins Glen). His luck hasn’t been great at COTA, but he has the talent to finish in the top-10 Sunday. I am not sure if I will use Suarez Sunday, but I will have my eye on him in practice.
TODD GILLILAND: Gilliland learned a lot about road course racing when he had Michael McDowell as a teammate. He finished 10th at COTA last year and finished 10th at this track in 2023. Gilliland should have a good chance to be the best driver in Group D Sunday.
* Be sure to check back Saturday night for my starting lineup.
FANTRAX PICKS
* Each league in Fantrax is different. Some leagues have bench drivers and award qualifying points and others do not. The two leagues that I am playing in do not have bench drivers. Also, most leagues (including mine), do not require your lineup to be set until minutes before the race starts. My picks will change after practice and qualifying for most races. If you need bench drivers, you can use my picks from the Driver Group Game.
* Be sure to check back Saturday night for my starting lineup.
Good Luck Sunday!
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