NASCAR's Martin Truex Jr. wants another crack at 'world-class' COTA in the spring
The eyes of the racing world will be firmly focused on Texas the next two weekends.
NASCAR will haul its playoff show into Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, and then Formula One will make its Austin stop at Circuit of the Americas on Oct. 22-24.
While Lewis Hamilton and the F1 crowd start setting up shop in the ATX within days, one former NASCAR Cup Series champion aims to stop spinning his wheels in the state, even taking a peek ahead to a 2022 return engagement at COTA.
More:NASCAR at COTA: How will this race differ from the Formula One tilts in the past?
Martin Truex Jr. has reached the Cup playoffs seven years in a row, with four trips to the final four and a series title in 2017. He's third in this year's playoff standings. Truex has 31 Cup victories — but none in Texas.
"Hard to believe," he said. "We've been so close so many times. I'm sure we've led more laps in Texas than anyone else who's never won there. It's interesting how many ways we've been able to figure out how to lose that race. Hopefully this year we find a way to win it."
The 41-year-old New Jersey native crashed out early on NASCAR's first stop at COTA in May, his 35th-place finish the worst of the season. He was 13th in the All-Star race at TMS in June. Yet he has two seconds, a third and five top-10 finishes in the past five Texas playoff races.
"Speed is the first thing that comes to mind at TMS," Truex said of the Fort Worth track. "It gets faster the later you go in the race. There's so much speed in the corners too. It takes a high commitment level. You're basically running wide open all the way around by the end. Just crazy fast."
More:Chase Elliott wins Circuit of the Americas' first NASCAR Cup Series race
Circuit of the Americas' 3.4-mile road course is a different animal from Texas Motor Speedway's 1.5-mile high-banked oval. Truex wants another crack at COTA, and that will happen March 25-27, 2022.
A deluge of race-day rain in Austin's inaugural NASCAR foray made track conditions miserable and led to a shortened EchoPark Texas Grand Prix, which Chase Elliott won.
"I look forward to going back," Truex told the American-Statesman. "The venue, the crowd there, no question they deserve another shot. That was a race I was pointing to. I want to see what our team can do in drier conditions.
"The rain really messed it up. We got in a pretty bad wreck. I could not see a foot in front of my car down the backstretch. It was like a monsoon."
Afterward some media analysts pegged COTA as a one-and-done, concerned about the quality of racing over the long course, but NASCAR wanted a second try at Austin's hot market. Speedway Motorsports, which controls TMS, has a two-year lease with COTA for the stock cars.
"I don't expect the racing to get too spread out," the driver of the No. 19 Toyota Camry said. "I think the whole series, the drivers, the teams, everybody is eager to go back. COTA is a world-class course, and I know guys and their families enjoyed visiting Austin."
The late March date should bring drier conditions, at least by Austin meteorology norms.
"Give us better weather, and I think we can put on a really good show," Truex said. "Forget what happened this year."
More:'Calamity' will mark the beginning of NASCAR's EchoPark Texas Grand Prix in May
First things first. Austin is gearing up for the F1 Aramco U.S. Grand Prix next weekend. The long-range forecast calls for pleasant conditions, highs around 80 and a low chance of rain. The cargo planes carrying the equipment will begin arriving Saturday and Sunday.
Formula One is enjoying a rise in popularity in the United States, with TV ratings up nearly 40%. The Austin race is sold out, according to COTA. F1 also is experiencing one of its tightest title races, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen leading perennial favorite Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes 262.5-256.5 in the points race.
COTA is the only place that holds an F1 and a NASCAR race, and Truex said that creates a fascinating contrast for fans.
"It's like comparing an F-16 fighter to a jumbo jet," he said. "The stock cars are big and heavy, a lot of horsepower, not a ton of downforce. We're kind of trying to finesse the car; it doesn't really want to do the things you're trying to make it do. But that helps make it interesting.
"On the flip side is an F1 car that is basically an airplane running upside down. It's so stuck to the track, very light, thousands of pounds of downforce, huge tires, just really fast. Totally different cars, totally different approach.
"No reason you can't appreciate both."
Texas two-step
Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Cup race
What: NASCAR Cup playoff race in round of eight
When: 1 p.m. Sunday (NBC)
Where: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth
Tickets: $49-$150
Aramco U.S. Grand Prix
What: Formula One race, 17th of 21 events
When: Oct. 22-24 (ABC)
Where: Circuit of the Americas
Tickets: Sold out