FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS ADVANCE
For the second consecutive season, all three of NASCAR’s top touring series will be competing on the road course at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. This also marks the second straight weekend that the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Xfinity Series will be part of a doubleheader on Saturday. The NASCAR Cup Series is scheduled to close out the two-day show on Sunday afternoon. Here’s a look at some of Ford’s road racing history as COTA hosts the first of six Cup road course events this year.
This Week’s Schedule:
Saturday, March 26 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 1 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, March 26 – NASCAR Xfinity Series, 4:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Sunday, March 27 – NASCAR Cup Series, 3:30 p.m. ET (FOX)
ONE YEAR AGO
Todd Gilliland became the first NASCAR driver to win a national series event at Circuit of the Americas when he captured the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race last season. In a weekend that was hampered by rain, Gilliland was able to manage the mixed conditions of dry and wet pavement to win by nearly eight seconds. Gilliland, who registered his second series win that day, will be looking for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory this weekend as he continues his rookie season driving for Front Row Motorsports.
FORD’S ACTIVE ROAD COURSE CUP WINNERS
There are three current drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series race on a road course with Ford. The most recent winner was Ryan Blaney, who captured the inaugural event at the Charlotte Roval in 2018. Kevin Harvick, who goes into this weekend with 23 career Ford victories in just over five years, got his first with the Blue Oval in 2017 when he won at Sonoma. Joey Logano scored his Cup victory at Watkins Glen International in 2015, which completed a weekend sweep after he won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race one day earlier.
OTHER FORD ROAD COURSE WINNERS
Besides the drivers mentioned above, Ford has six other active Cup competitors who have won on a road course in either the NASCAR Cup, NASCAR Xfinity or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Brad Keselowski (Watkins Glen NXS with Ford, 2013); Chris Buescher (Mid-Ohio NXS with Ford, 2014); Michael McDowell (Road America NXS, 2016); Austin Cindric (NXS wins with Ford at Watkins Glen, 2019; Mid-Ohio, 2019; Road America, 2020, Daytona Road Course, 2020; and Indianapolis Road Course, 2021); Chase Briscoe (NXS wins with Ford at Charlotte Roval, 2018; and Indianapolis Road Course, 2020); and Todd Gilliland (Circuit of the Americas NCWTS with Ford, 2021).
FORD ROAD COURSE WINS IN THE MODERN ERA (1972-Present)
Circuit of the Americas is one of eight road courses the NASCAR Cup Series has competed on in the modern era, joining Riverside International Raceway (1958-88), Watkins Glen International (1957-Present), Sonoma Raceway (1989-Present), Charlotte Motor Speedway (2018-Present), Daytona International Speedway (2020-2021), Road America (2021-Present) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2021-Present). Ford has produced a total of 19 combined wins at those facilities from 1972-Present. Mark Martin leads the way with four victories, including three straight years at Watkins Glen, while Ricky Rudd, Marcos Ambrose and Geoffrey Bodine have two each.
