We’ve already been through track-specific NASCAR stats and the decline of the ringer when talking about road courses in this column in 2022, but Road America looms ahead for the NASCAR Cup Series field.
To quote Kurt Russell’s character Jack Burton in John Carpenter’s immensely fun 1986 film Big Trouble in Little China:
“It’s all in the reflexes.”
It feels appropriate, given that the day before Cup takes to Road America marks the 36th anniversary of the film’s release and that those reflexes need to be on point when these road course races get underway.
So, with the season hitting its exact halfway point after this weekend’s race at Elkhart Lake, let’s take a look at the chances for the most prominent drivers without a victory of 2022 at the 4-mile Wisconsin circuit.
A good chunk of drivers notable for road-course prowess have already won this season. Daniel Suarez scored his first career win at Sonoma Raceway, NASCAR Xfinity Series road-racing threat Austin Cindric did the same in the Daytona 500, and Kyle Larson, the defending champ and sweeper of NASCAR’s two road-course staples last season, won at Auto Club Speedway early on.
The parity (there’s that buzzword again!), though, has led to some surprises. Suarez had previously been solid at road courses, winning a stage at Watkins Glen International way back with Joe Gibbs Racing, but thoroughly dominated the late stages of Sonoma en route to the win. His Trackhouse Racing Team stablemate in Ross Chastain put together a great run at Circuit of the Americas and was there at the end, trading paint with AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman and scooting away for the win.
The finish to today’s NASCAR race at COTA.
Ross Chastain gets the last punch on AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman.
🎥 @NASCARONFOXpic.twitter.com/C92IgeXKST
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) March 27, 2022
That said, there’s a few outliers who haven’t been to victory lane on a road layout yet, or won a race in 2022, period. Let’s break down which drivers still seeking a win in 2022 have been historically best at making left and right turns.
Last Year’s Road America Event
Before that, a moment is needed to reflect on how last year’s race at Road America — actually on July 4 — went for some of these folks.
Hendrick Motorsports dominated the day laps-led-wise, with eventual winner Chase Elliott starting near the back but leading 24 circuits. Late mistakes set teammate William Byron, out front for 15…
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