For road course races in the NASCAR Cup Series, it seems that fans are treated to one of two options, with no in between: a calm, orderly procession or an absolute fustercluck of epic proportions.
Sunday’s (March 24) EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix was very much the former, as the race had no cautions outside of the two stage breaks, the first such race in the Cup Series since Road America in July 2022.
It was quite the whiplash when compared to the triple overtime, demolition derby finish that was required to finish last year’s Cup race at Circuit of the Americas. And when I say that road course and street course races are bipolar with nothing in between, that’s not an exaggeration when we take a look at all the races run in the Next Gen era.
| Track/Date | # of Cautions | Overtime? | Final Green Flag Run | Total Laps (Scheduled) |
| 2022 COTA | 9 | Yes (1x) | 2 Laps | 69 (68) |
| 2022 Sonoma | 4 | No | 23 Laps | 110 |
| 2022 Road America | 2 | No | 30 Laps | 62 |
| 2022 Indy RC | 5 | Yes (1x) | 2 Laps | 86 (82) |
| 2022 Watkins Glen | 5 | No | 4 Laps | 90 |
| 2022 Charlote ROVAL | 4 | Yes (1x) | 2 Laps | 112 (109) |
| 2023 COTA+ | 8 | Yes (3x) | 2 Laps | 75 (68) |
| 2023 Sonoma+ | 2 | No | 15 Laps | 110 |
| 2023 Chicago SC+ | 9 | Yes (1x) | 2 Laps | 78 (75)* |
| 2023 Indy RC+ | 1 | No | 77 Laps | 82 |
| 2023 Watkins Glen+ | 1 | No | 30 Laps | 90 |
| 2023 Charlotte ROVAL | 7 | No | 10 Laps | 109 |
| 2024 COTA | 2 | No | 35 Laps | 68 |
+Race did not have cautions for stage breaks.
There were five races (of 13) with one or two cautions, four races with seven or more cautions, five races with an overtime finish and five races with a 20-plus lap green flag run to the finish. That’s about as opposite as it can get.
The carnage was so bad at COTA in 2023, the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2022 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2022 that new restart zones were implemented for the following year to prevent drivers from barreling into turn 1 while running six-wide and junking half the field.
That appeared to do the trick for COTA in 2024, although there weren’t many restarts to put the new rules into action. As for how the race ran without any cautions for cause?
“I don’t know,” Christopher Bell said after the race. “Obviously, it got really spread out and I’m sure that helped, as cautions typically breed cautions here.”
“I feel like everyone’s gotten pretty familiar with all the parts and pieces [of the car], and there’s a lot of really good…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …