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.
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