Right Turns and NASCAR?

NASCAR has been competing on Road Courses since day one. Recently Road Courses have been very popular with the fans and some drivers. When NASCAR heads to Road Courses the so called road course ringers come out from the shadows to compete. Guys like Max Papis, Jacques Villeneuve, Boris Said come to NASCAR to race cars ran by guys like Kyle Busch and cup regulars like that. NASCAR also has a wide variety of Road Courses.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has two main Road Courses it runs each year, Watkins Glen and Sonoma Raceway.

Watkins Glen is in New York. Its first race was in 1957 where Buck Baker took home the inaugural trophy home. Watkins Glen has 11 turns and as of late been a 90 lap race (Scheduled Distance). Tony Stewart holds the record of wins at 5 just by one over Jeff Gordon. Recently it’s been Marcos Ambrose, winning 2 years in a row (2011 and 2012.). Last season AJ Almindinger took the victory over Marcos in what would be Marcos final race at The Glen for now after leaving for Australia.

Sonoma Raceway is not as hard as Watkins Glen according to many drivers and teams. Sonoma is in California and its first race was in 1989 with Ricky Rudd coming away with the Victory! Jeff Gordon holds the record of 5 wins here. Recently drivers have got there first Road Course wins ever. Drivers like Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer have been the recent winners here gaining their first Road Course victories. Kyle Busch won this season winning now at both tracks multiple time.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series visits only 1 of the road courses that the cup series attends it also races at Mid-Ohio and Road America.

The Xfinity Seires first trip to Watkins Glen was in 1991 where NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte took the victory. The Xfinity Series stoped racing at the glen after the 2001 season but returned 2 years later where the Penske Dominance began. Penske has won 4 times since the series returned to The Glen with 3 different drivers. Marcos Ambrose and Terry Labonte are tied at 4 wins a piece. Marcos added number 4 last season defeating Kyle Busch.

Mid-Ohio came in on the road course scene in 2013 with the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200. Michael McDowell won the inaugural pole position while AJ Almindinger won the Inaugural race. Chris Buescher got his first victory last season. Ford has won both races at that track.

Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin has been a part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule since 2010. 5 races have been competed with 5 different winners. Carl Edwards won the inaugural race there in 2010. Chevrolet has the most wins here with 3, Ford has 2 wins.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series just recently began racing on road courses again!

A Road Course in Canada called the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Chase Elliott was the inaugural race winner and the following year Ryan Blaney won last year in a nail biting finish between him and Germain Quiroga.