NASCAR at COTA: How to watch, TV schedule, drivers to watch for Austin

Ready for some road racing?

After five races on oval tracks to begin the 2024 season, the NASCAR Cup Series is gearing up for left- and right-handed turns this weekend at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.

The 20-turn, 3.426-mile track is the only course that currently holds both NASCAR and Formula One races. It gives drivers a unique challenge with sharp turns, long straightaways and steep elevation changes.

Here’s everything you need to know for the 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix:

NASCAR at COTA entry list

Thirty-nine drivers will race in Austin – the 34 full-timers, plus five others.

Kaulig Racing will field cars for a pair of 2023 Cup road course winners  – A.J. Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen, who both currently race full-time in the Xfinity Series. 23XI Racing will also add a new entry this weekend, with Japanese star Kamui Kobayashi making his second Cup start in the No. 50 Toyota.

Elsewhere, Kaz Grala will drive for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time effort this season and Timmy Hill will make his first Cup start since 2021 for MBM Motorsports.

Here’s the full entry list for COTA:

Car number	Driver	Team	Sponsor
1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Worldwide Express
2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Discount Tire
3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Get Bioethanol
4	Josh Berry	Stewart-Haas Racing	Overstock
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	HendrickCars.com
6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Castrol
7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Gainbridge
8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Mark III Employee Benefits
9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	NAPA Auto Parts
10	Noah Gragson	Stewart-Haas Racing	Rush Truck Centers
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Interstate Batteries
12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Menards
13	AJ Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	LeafFilter Gutter Protection
14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Mahindra Tractors
15	Kaz Grala	Rick Ware Racing	N29 Capital Partners
16	Shane van Gisbergen	Kaulig Racing	WeatherTech
17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Fastenal
19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Bass Pro Shopd
20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	DEWALT
21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Motorcraft
22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Shell/Pennzoil
23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Mobil 1
24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	RaptorTough.com
31	Daniel Hemric	Kaulig Racing	Cirkul
34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Love's Travel Stops
38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ruedebusch
41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Haas Tooling
42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Romco Equipment
43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Family Dollar
45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Monster Energy
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Palmolive
48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Ally Financial
50	Kamui Kobayashi	23XI Racing	Mobil 1
51	Justin Haley	Rick Ware Racing	Fraternal Order of Eagles
54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Monster Energy
66	Timmy Hill	MBM Motorsports	Amptricity
71	Zane Smith	Spire Motorsports	Focused Health
77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Delaware Life
99	Daniel Suarez	Trackhouse Racing	Freeway Insurance

When is the NASCAR race this weekend at COTA?

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA is set for Sunday, March 24, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. The 39-car field will be split into two groups (found here), with each group practicing for 40 minutes on Saturday (two 20-minute sessions for each group).

Two-round qualifying will be immediately after practice on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET. Here’s how it works:

• First round: 15 minutes for each group (same groups as practice). Drivers can make unlimited laps.
• The five fastest drivers from each group advance to the second round. Starting positions 11 through 39 are set based on speeds from the first round.
• Second round: 10 minutes for the 10 drivers who advanced. Drivers can make unlimited laps. The top 10 starting positions are determined based on single-lap speeds from the second round.

NASCAR TV schedule this weekend at COTA

Saturday, March 23 (FS1, FS2 and streaming online)

• Practice: 10 a.m. ET, FS2, FOXSports.com
• Qualifying: 11:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com

Sunday, March 24 (FOX, FS1 and streaming online)

• NASCAR RaceDay: 2 p.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
• NASCAR RaceDay: 3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOXSports.com
• EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix: 3:30 p.m. ET,  FOX, FOXSports.com

NASCAR COTA past winners, race history

NASCAR has held three races at COTA with three different winners from three different organizations.

Chase Elliott won the inaugural event in 2021 when the race was shortened due to heavy rain. The following year, Ross Chastain picked up his first career win after a thrilling last-lap duel with AJ Allemdinger and Alex Bowman. In 2023, Tyler Reddick survived three overtime restarts to score his first victory with 23XI Racing.

NASCAR at COTA favorites, drivers to watch

Young drivers have bested the veterans in COTA’s brief history.

Drivers who were under 30 years old have led 139 of 198 laps completed at COTA, with Elliott, Chastain and Reddick all winning in Texas before their 30th birthdays.

Elliott, who missed last year’s race due to injury, leads active drivers with a 2.5 average finish in two COTA starts. Chastain has three top-fives in three starts for an average finish of 3.0, while Bowman (4.3) and Reddick (5.0) also have top-five averages in three starts.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Austin Cindric both have 17 career laps led at COTA, which is tied for the fourth-highest total. Kyle Busch is another potential sleeper after finishing second in 2023 and leading 12 laps in 2021.

Van Gisbergen and Allmendinger, of course, are the ringers who could steal the show. SVG won the Chicago Street Race last summer in his first-ever NASCAR start, while Allmendinger won the most recent road course race in Charlotte last fall. Even though they are both Xfinity Series drivers, they are sure to be threats this weekend.