Mike Joy: We are heading road racing for the first time in 2022, and it'll be at the famous Circuit of the America's! Lots of road course ringers in the field today, who will be the best around these 20 turns?
Race Details
Track: 3.426 Mile Road Course, 20 corners
Race Length: 60 Laps/205 Miles
Stages: 15/15/30
Fuel Window: 16-18 Laps
Tire Wear: Moderate
Race Start: 2:00 PM
Weather: 55° Overcast
Chance of Rain: 55%
Starting Lineup
Row 1: Alex Palou (R)/Shane Van Gisbergen
Row 2: Kyle Larson/Kamui Kobayashi (R)
Row 3: Juan Pablo Montoya/Scott McLaughlin (R)
Row 4: Kimi Raikkonen (R)/Chase Elliott
Row 5: Martin Truex Jr/Brad Keselowski
Row 6: Ty Gibbs (R)/Corey Heim (R)
Row 7: Jimmie Johnson/Joey Logano
Row 8: Ryan Blaney/Connor Zilisch (R)
Row 9: Noah Gragson/Todd Gilliland
Row 10: William Byron/Christopher Bell
Row 11: Denny Hamlin/John Hunter Nemechek
Row 12: Kurt Busch/Chase Briscoe
Row 13: Matt DiBenedetto/Kyle Busch
Row 14: Tyler Reddick/Justin Haley
Row 15: Chris Buescher/Ross Chastain
Row 16: Zane Smith (R)/Kaz Grala
Row 17: Anthony Alfredo/Sheldon Creed (R)
Row 18: Matt Kenseth/Brett Moffitt
Row 19: Gracie Trotter/Myatt Snider
Row 20: Michael McDowell/Casey Atwood
Row 21: Paul Menard/Hailie Deegan
Row 22: Landon Cassill
DNQ: Matt Tifft, Parker Kligerman, Tyler Ankrum (R), Ryan Sieg (R), Mika Hakkinen (R), David Ragan
1/60
Indycar Champion, V8 Supercar Champion. That's our legendary front row as we're green in COTA! Alex Palou leads the way into the sharp 2 turn, he gets clear of Shane Van Gisbergen as they head up towards the esses! Everybody gets through without trouble as Palou leads them up through the high speed section! Turns 3 thru 9 are all in this section as Palou leads into another hard braking zone, turn 11. Kamui Kobayashi gets past Kyle Larson for 3rd as they head down the longest straightaway in the entire sport! High speeds, up to 180 MPH, then heavy braking into turn 12. Palou leads Van Gisbergen, Kobayashi, and now Juan Pablo Montoya who sends it into the braking zone to get past Kyle Larson, who's struggling early on and there's trouble! John Hunter Nemechek goes around, it's a big stackup and lots of cars have picked up some damage, including Kyle Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, and Matt Kenseth. Palou leads through some winding sections, turns 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 before the tetra-apex of turn 18! High speeds, but very tricky as Palou extends his advantage over Van Gisbergen. The Indycar Champion and points leader of the NTT Indycar Series leads the opening lap!
2/60
Kamui Kobayashi down the inside of turn 12 on Shane Van Gisbergen, a little between road ringers and they both go wide, that opens the door for Juan Pablo Montoya to take the 2nd spot! Kobayashi keeps 3rd and SVG is the big loser as he drops 2 spots.
3/60
Chase Elliott has been on the move as he takes 6th from Scott McLaughlin in the early stages of this race. Elliott is pretty handy on road courses.
6/60
Jimmie Johnson moves ahead of Ty Gibbs for 11th place into turn 11, Jimmie made that look easy against the winner. The 48 team is riding high after a dominant victory last week at Texas.
7/60
Martin Truex Jr on the move, the points leader takes 8th from teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who's starting to struggle already with tires.
9/60
Big lock up for Alex Palou into turn 1 and he's in trouble! Palou misses the corner and he's gonna lose a couple places as Juan Pablo Montoya takes the lead! Kamui Kobayashi and Shane Van Gisbergen follow suit as Palou drops to 4th and has blistered tires.
12/60
Juan Pablo Montoya dives into the pits, Kamui Kobayashi and Alex Palou go with him! Some of the leaders are looking to flip the stages while it appears that others are going for the points. Shane Van Gisbergen stays out with Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott in tow.
15/60
Here comes Shane Van Gisbergen off of turn 20, he's gonna win the first stage ahead of Kyle Larson! Big points for some drivers that are hovering on the cutline.
Stage 1 Results
1 - Shane Van Gisbergen
2 - Kyle Larson
3 - Chase Elliott
4 - Brad Keselowski
5 - Corey Heim (R)
6 - Joey Logano
7 - William Byron
8 - Matt DiBenedetto
9 - Tyler Reddick
10 - Zane Smith (R)
17/60 -> Caution
Here comes the painful part of this strategy, making pit stops and losing all that track position as Shane Van Gisbergen leads about 15 cars into the pits. It'll be 4 and fuel for everyone as SVG will win the race off pit road but will drop all the way back to 28th
Race Off Pit Road
1 - Shane Van Gisbergen
2 - Kyle Larson
3 - Brad Keselowski (+1)
4 - Chase Elliott (-1)
5 - Joey Logano (+1)
6 - William Byron (+1)
7 - Corey Heim (-2)
8 - Matt DiBenedetto
9 - Tyler Reddick
10 - Zane Smith (R)
19/60
Juan Pablo Montoya and Kamui Kobayashi make up the front row for this restart and we're back underway! Neither of them get a particularly great start and Martin Truex Jr is gonna take them 3 wide into turn 1! Truex will take the lead as Kobayashi hits Montoya and spins him out! Montoya spins into the gravel and he could be beached! Truex leads Kobayashi, Alex Palou, Jimmie Johnson, and Ty Gibbs through the esses. Montoya escapes the gravel but he's down to last as there's more in the esses! Everything settles down with Truex leading the way.
21/60
Kyle Larson puts the bumper to Kaz Grala into turn 18 and Grala goes around! Larson getting impatient trying to carve through the field and he's definitely made Grala sour.
23/60
Jimmie Johnson dives into turn 1, he's ing Alex Palou for 3rd and he's gonna take the place away. Jimmie having another great run in the 48.
26/60
Shane Van Gisbergen has driven his way into the top 15, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are following him through the traffic! This strategy is working pretty well for them.
28/60
The leaders are into the pits, everyone in the top 8 are in as Noah Gragson stays out ahead of Christopher Bell, Shane Van Gisbergen, Joey Logano, and William Byron for some points.
30/60
Noah Gragson out of turn 4, he wins Stage 2 here at the Circuit of the Americas by a couple seconds. Some big points for the 25 team.
Stage 2 Results
1 - Noah Gragson
2 - Christopher Bell
3 - Shane Van Gisbergen
4 - Joey Logano
5 - William Byron
6 - Zane Smith (R)
7 - Matt Kenseth
8 - Ross Chastain
9 - Chris Buescher
10 - Brett Moffitt
32/60 -> Caution
Noah Gragson leads the cars that stayed out down pit road, they got their points but they'll have to pay the price. 4 tires and fuel, Gragson wins the race off pit road.
Race Off Pit Road
1 - Noah Gragson
2 - Shane Van Gisbergen (+1)
3 - Christopher Bell (-1)
4 - Joey Logano
5 - William Byron
6 - Matt Kenseth (+1)
7 - Zane Smith (R)(-1)
8 - Ross Chastain
9 - Chris Buescher
10 - Brett Moffitt
34/60
Martin Truex Jr on the inside, Kamui Kobayashi on the outside and we're green again! Drag race up the hill, Truex leads into turn 1 and he pushes Kobayashi a bit wide, that allows for Jimmie Johnson to slip by into 2nd! Alex Palou runs 4th and Chase Elliott runs 5th.
36/60
Chase Elliott down the inside of Alex Palou into turn 1, he's taking 4th place away from the pole sitter! Elliott is becoming a factor for this win, he's the fastest man on the track.
38/60
Noah Gragson and Shane Van Gisbergen are charging hard through the field, up to 14th and 16th after pitting at the end of Stage 2.
40/60
Down the inside of turn 12, Chase Elliott takes 3rd from Kamui Kobayashi! That 9 car is absolutely flying right now.
42/60
15 year old debutee Connor Zilisch has been quiet all race long, but he's climbed into the top 10 ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Very solid showing for a sports car star in the making.
44/60
The leaders are in their fuel window now, here comes Martin Truex Jr and Jimmie Johnson! Both of them will take tires and fuel and they're away for the final time today!
45/60
Chase Elliott, Kamui Kobayashi, and most of the group that flipped Stage 2 are into the pits, having to pit earlier than those who took the points, it's 4 and fuel as Elliott keeps 3rd from Kobayashi.
47/60
Noah Gragson and Shane Van Gisbergen have entered their fuel windows and they're in for tires and fuel, along with others that pit at the end of Stage 2.
49/60
Kyle Larson to the inside of Kamui Kobayashi for 4th, Larson takes the spot and he's had himself a great day here at COTA.
50/60
Paul Menard is slowing and he's come to a stop on the backstretch, caution is out! He's in a dangerous high speed spot on the racetrack with no nearby escape roads, so a full course caution has to come out to recover that car.
52/60 -> Caution
None of the leaders are taking their chances losing track position, the only takers are some cars towards the tail of the lead lap topping off on fuel.
54/60
Martin Truex Jr on the inside, Jimmie Johnson on the outside and we're green once again with 7 to go! A little up the hill, Truex hits the side of Johnson into turn 1, Johnson goes wide, Chase Elliott hits the back bumper of Truex and sends him wide as well, Chase Elliott takes the lead of the race! Kyle Larson moves up to 2nd as Truex slides on the curbs, the dominant car of the day is in trouble!
56/60
Jimmie Johnson has caught back up to Martin Truex Jr with a head of steam, and Johnson ships the 16 into turn 12! Johnson takes 3rd away as Truex slips back to 6th.
57/60
A chess match going on at the front, a couple road course aces in Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are trading fast laps. Can Larson catch that 9 car?
59/60
Kyle Busch has had himself a day, diving underneath Kamui Kobayashi for 4th! Busch takes the spot away and he's gonna end up with a great finish today.
60/60
Final lap! Kyle Larson chasing after Chase Elliott into turn 1, Larson throws it in and gains a big chunk of time! Half a second between the top pair as they head through the esses, the gap staying around the same as they round turn 11 onto the long backstretch, Elliott weaves back and forth to break the draft but Larson closes, he sends it, pulling alongside Elliott, but ducking right back behind into turn 13! Through 14, 15, and 16 heading into 17, Larson goes for it and he tags Elliott, and Chase spins around! Kyle Larson has a big tire rub but it won't matter, here he comes through turns 18, 19, and 20, Kyle Larson wins at COTA!
EchoPark Texas Grand Prix Results
1 - Kyle Larson (1 Lap Led)
2 - Jimmie Johnson
3 - Kyle Busch
4 - Kamui Kobayashi (R)
5 - Chase Elliott (7 Laps Led)
6 - Martin Truex Jr (28 Laps Led)
7 - Ty Gibbs (R)
8 - Shane Van Gisbergen (5 Laps Led/Stage 1 Winner)
9 - Connor Zilisch (R)
10 - Noah Gragson (6 Laps Led/Stage 2 Winner)
11 - Alex Palou (R)(8 Laps Led)
12 - Christopher Bell
13 - Corey Heim (R)
14 - Juan Pablo Montoya (5 Laps Led)
15 - Brad Keselowski
16 - Joey logano
17 - William Byron
18 - Todd Gilliland
19 - Kimi Raikkonen (R)
20 - Ryan Blaney
21 - John Hunter Nemechek
22 - Denny Hamlin
23 - Kurt Busch
24 - Matt DiBenedetto
25 - Scott McLaughlin (R)
26 - Chase Briscoe
27 - Tyler Reddick
28 - Zane Smith (R)
29 - Justin Haley
30 - Brett Moffitt
31 - Matt Kenseth
32 - Chris Buescher
33 - Ross Chastain
34 - Kaz Grala
35 - Gracie Trotter
36 - Sheldon Creed (R)
37 - Anthony Alfredo
38 - Myatt Snider
39 - Casey Atwood
40 - Michael McDowell
41 - Hailie Deegan (-1)
42 - Landon Cassill (-1)
DNF
43 - Paul Menard
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