Two of the national NASCAR series return to Circuit of the Americas in 2025. This time, however, they will take on a new layout.
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Circuit of the Americas announced the change on Wednesday. The track will shift from the 3.41-mile, 20-turn Full Course layout to the 2.3-mile, 20-turn National Course. This will eliminate roughly a 1-mile section of the backstretch.
COTA full course versus national course. https://t.co/CdiHuQHHuf pic.twitter.com/rJTbuoZxTx
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) November 20, 2024
COTA said in a press release that simulations create the expectation that lap times will be roughly a minute faster than in previous NASCAR races.
The National Course layout begins after the esses, a section of the track where several drivers received penalties last season. It rejoins the traditional course at the tail end of the backstretch.
To compensate for the shorter distance, NASCAR will increase the number of laps. The Cup race will go from 68 laps to approximately 100. SMI and NASCAR will finalize the exact number as the race weekend approaches.
NEW COURSE ACTIVATED. 😏
Watch as @NASCAR Cup Series driver @RossChastain tries out @COTA's National Course on @iRacing in anticipation of the 2025 #EchoParkGP!@TeamTrackhouse | #NASCARatCOTA pic.twitter.com/pLJ2IhCki8
— NASCAR at COTA (@NASCARatCOTA) November 20, 2024
"The move to the National Course will make a great race experience even better for our fans with more laps and more action," Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith said in a statement.
"Fans will have more laps to cheer for their favorite driver from the best seats, and the action will come faster with lap times reduced by roughly a minute. The National Course and its new pavement will provide the drivers, teams, and crew chiefs with a fresh look and a new challenge after running the Full Course the last four years at COTA."
The layout change is not the only adjustment NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports made ahead of the 2025 season. One of the biggest was removing one of the races from the weekend schedule. The Craftsman Truck Series teams will not compete at COTA in 2025 after making the trip four previous times.
Additionally, the Xfinity and Cup Series teams will compete on a different weekend. The last three COTA trips took place in late March. Next season's race weekend will take place on March 1-2.
