With the first road course of the season on tap this weekend at Circuit of the Americas for the Echopark Texas Grand Prix, there are a few rule changes that fans should be aware of.
Some drivers have mixed feelings about some, others seem like no brainers, but overall, it should lead to a better racing product when the Next Gen cars hit the track this weekend after the Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series cars get their races in.
COTA’s New Restart Zone
The first of these is the pushing back of the restart zone, and what that could mean for the race itself. The old restart zone was in the middle of the straightaway coming out of turn 20. Now, though, the restart zone has moved significantly close to the turn, meaning that the drivers will have almost the entire length of the main straightaway headed into turn one to race. This video from NASCAR explains some of the reasoning behind the move.
The issue with the old restart zone was that when drivers got to the ever-dangerous turn one, the cars were far too close together. Drivers would leave track limits before the braking zone just so that they could make sure their nose was clean upon actually exiting the corner.
The thought behind the new restart zone is this – if some drivers (i.e. the back of the pack) still haven’t even made it through the corner yet when the leaders take the green, then the field itself will be more spread out than in years past.
‘Oh, was it really that bad before?’ Yes. Yes it was.
There are a few things to think about, though, with pushing the restart zone as far back as they did. Will the cars be too spread out by the corner entry? Will the gap between those at the front of the pack and the back be too wide? All of that remains to be seen, but it’s something to watch for this weekend when all the cars take to the track at once.
Stage Breaks are Back at COTA
Last season, stage breaks returned during road courses for the Charlotte ROVAL race, and they’re here to stay at all road courses until otherwise announced. There were still stages, but no cautions for them at every road course last year except for the ROVAL….
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