Three new drivers were added to the NASCAR Cup Series road course winners list last season; including 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who earned two road course wins last season driving for Richard Childress Racing at Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, and also Trackhouse Racing teammates Ross Chastain, who won his first career Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas, and Daniel Suárez, who earned his first career Cup Series win at Sonoma Raceway.
"It was such a crazy day and I had so many thoughts in my head,” said Daniel Suárez reflecting on last year’s Sonoma win. “I mean, it was a rough road getting to Victory Lane, but that moment was so worth it. Not just for me but for my family, Julia, these guys believe in me - Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me to get to this point. A lot of people in Mexico - Jay Morales and Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn't. I was just very happy we were able to make it work."
Active Road Course Winners (13) | Total Wins | Sonoma | WGI | Charlotte | Daytona | Indy | COTA | Road America |
Chase Elliott | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Kyle Busch | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Martin Truex Jr | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kyle Larson | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tyler Reddick | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Kevin Harvick | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
AJ Allmendinger | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Christopher Bell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Joey Logano | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ryan Blaney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Denny Hamlin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Daniel Suárez | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ross Chastain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Of the five former road course winners entered this weekend looking for their first win of the season, Chase Elliott will most likely have the biggest spotlight focused on him on Sunday. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Elliott, has been sidelined twice this season from injury (six races) and suspension (one race) and returns this week needing a win to make the Playoffs this season. Elliott leads all active drivers in road course wins with seven (Watkins Glen, two wins; Charlotte ROVAL, two wins; Road America, one win; COTA, one win).
“For me personally, just looking forward to getting back to work and just trying to get in a groove because I don’t really feel like I’ve been in one throughout the year,” Elliott said. “It’s been kind of stop-and-go all season, unfortunately. But the way I see it is there’s 11 races left, and we pretty much need to go win one of those to get in (the Playoffs). So that’s where my head’s at right now.”
Though Elliott hasn’t won at Sonoma, he has made six series starts posting two top fives and four top 10s. His average finish at Sonoma is 13.3. Plus, he has some stout pre-race Loop Data stats as well – Average Running Position (11.474, second-best), Driver Rating (97.6, second-best), Fastest Laps Run (27, eighth-best), and Laps in the Top 15 (410 laps, 65.9%, 11th-most).
Though Elliott undoubtedly will be a force to contend with this weekend, the remaining four drivers that are former road course winners looking for their first win of 2023 are nothing to sneeze at.
Defending Sonoma winner, Daniel Suárez, has made five series starts at Sonoma posting one win and average finish of 12.2 – best among active drivers with more than one start. Suárez has also led 47 laps on the 1.99-mile track.
Suárez’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain has made three starts at Sonoma posting two top-10 finishes, including a seventh-place finish in last season’s race.
Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger is always a contender for the win when the NASCAR Cup Series competes on road courses. Allmendinger not only has a two Cup Series road course wins, but he also has the all-time most road course wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with 11 of 16 career wins coming on road courses. Allmendinger has made 11 series starts at Sonoma posting two top-10 finishes.
Last but not least, is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick who will be competing at Sonoma Raceway for the final time this weekend, as Harvick has announced his retirement from full-time racing at the end of the season. In his illustrious career, Harvick has already put up two road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series; including one at Sonoma Raceway in 2017, and one at Watkins Glen International in 2006. In total, Harvick has made 21 series starts at Sonoma putting up one win, seven top fives and 11 top 10s.
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