Shane van Gisbergen Leads NASCAR Cup Practice at COTA Short Course
Shane van Gisbergen led NASCAR Cup Series practice at Circuit of The Americas, posting a top speed of 87.408mph (98.846s) on the modified short course layout. William Byron and Carson Hocevar completed the top three with speeds of 86.891mph and 86.853mph respectively.
Ryan Blaney (86.801mph) and Alex Bowman (86.741mph) rounded out the top five positions during the extended two 20-minute practice sessions.
Three IndyCars racing at sunset
The practice featured notable performances from several drivers:
- Chase Elliott (6th, 86.701mph)
- Kyle Larson (7th, 86.640mph)
- Kyle Busch (8th, 86.626mph)
- Daniel Suarez (9th, 86.621mph)
- Ross Chastain (10th, 86.573mph)
Cup Series debutant Connor Zilisch, driving the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, placed 17th with a speed of 86.397mph. Some established drivers struggled to find pace, with Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski finishing 32nd and 33rd respectively.
Kyle Larson demonstrated strong long-run potential, leading the best 10 consecutive lap average ahead of Elliott, Bowman, Blaney, and Suarez.
The weekend features two key changes:
- Speedway Motorsports implemented a shorter course configuration with modified corners after the esses
- Goodyear introduced a new tire compound
All 37 entered teams will make the field for the race, including the Open team entry from Trackhouse Racing. Cup Series qualifying follows at 12:30 p.m. ET.