NASCAR COTA preview

After two great races to start the year, NASCAR will make its first right turns of the year as they travel down to the Circuit of the Americas.

The Cup drivers will run 95 laps around the 2.4-mile, 20-turn track.

Compared to the Formula 1 track, they essentially cut off the second sector of the track as they turn left after the S sectors.

All three series run again, but only two will run at COTA.

The Craftsman Truck Series will run at the St. Petersburg street course, as will IndyCar.

Due to running in a different state, there will be no higher series drivers running in trucks.

However, there are still some big names.

Four-time IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti will run in the #1, Colin Braun, a four-time Rolex 24 champion, will run in the Kaulig #25 for the first time in 15 years, and IndyCar driver-turned FOX analyst James Hinchcliffe will drive Spire Motorsports’ #77 after their win in Trucks in Atlanta.

Despite not having run in a decade and a half, I am going to go with Colin Braun to win this race.

His overall resume is so impressive, and I trust him more than anyone else on this grid to avoid getting involved in a major incident, given his well-rounded racing background.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will be joining the Cup drivers in the heart of Texas.

The three biggest names racing in NOAPS are the Trackhouse Cup trio of Shane Van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch, and Ross Chastain.

This race will almost certainly be a battle between Zilisch and Chastain, as no stock car racers on the planet come close to their performance on road courses.

I am going to give Zilisch a slight edge here, as I think his experience in the NOAPS cars from last year will give him a more comfortable feel than Van Gisbergen will have.

Finally, the Cup series.

Last year, this was the only road course that Van Gisbergen did not win.

In theory, this should be a battle between Zilisch and Van Gisbergen.

However, I am predicting Christopher Bell to make it back-to-back wins, not on pace, but rather on a bit of luck.

My prediction is that Van Gisbergen and Zilisch control the pace, but late in the race, they make contact at turn one, allowing Bell to take the win.

Edison Pellumbi is a first-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at ejp5889@psu.edu.