All three National Touring Series descend on Circuit of the Americas (COTA) this weekend for the first road course race weekend of the season. Some drivers in the lower series specialize in road course racing, and these are the 5 best current road course racers in the lower series.
A.J. Allmendinger has more than established himself as the “Road Course Ace” of the Xfinity Series. He has 11 wins on road courses in his Xfinity Series career, which comes before mentioning his 3 road course wins in the Cup Series. Simply put, he’s the best out there currently.
Whether it’s Xfinity or Cup, Allmendinger is a threat, and it doesn’t matter which road course either. He’s won races at COTA, Watkins Glen, Portland, Indianapolis, Road America, and Mid-Ohio. While someone later on this list has a stronger pedigree on road courses in other series, Allmendinger has the deepest in the Xfinity Series specifically.
Corey Heim is the defending Truck Series road course race winner, and that win came after a 6th-place finish at COTA earlier in the season. While not nearly as experienced as other drivers in the series, putting a truck into victory lane vaults any driver up the list of road course racers.
Heim continues to show the same consistency shown throughout his Truck Series career. Road courses are just another avenue to show off his incredible raw talent.
Australian Supercars star Shane Van Gisbergen burst onto the NASCAR scene in 2023 by winning the Chicago Street Race, his first NASCAR start. Now, he’s full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in arguably the best road course equipment at Kaulig Racing. He and Allmendinger form a dynamic road course duo.
SVG’s 80 career wins in Supercars show just how good he is on road courses. Those skills translate incredibly well to stock cars, and he will be a threat to win any road course race.
Ben Rhodes had some competition for the second Truck Series slot on this list, but he has a win on road courses which drivers like Tyler Ankrum and Stewart Friesen cannot say. That win came at the Daytona Road Course in 2021, and it was by no means a fluke. Rhodes has 7 top-10 and 4 top-5 finishes in 14 career road course races.
His performance in 2023 was quite impressive as well. With two top-10 finishes in both races including 19 laps led at Mid-Ohio, Rhodes continues to race well on road courses.
While not as dominant as other drivers on this list Sam Mayer pulled off 3 clutch road course wins in 2023 in the Xfinity Series. Regardless of how these wins came about, he put himself in that position to win races, and that took some serious skill.
Mayer is a driver in need of a boost at COTA as he currently sits 24th in points. Could COTA be where he gets his boost?
These are the best road course racers in the lower series. Will they dominate both at COTA and for the rest of the season?
Lionel Racing finally confirmed the first wave of 2026 NASCAR Authentics 1:64 scale diecast for Monday morning, with the line of retail-exclusive diecast featuring a new look for the new year.
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Chase Pistone, a former competitor on the short track racing circuit in addition to NASCAR’s National Series, has passed away. Pistone, now a successful Legends Car owner, was 42.
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Three races in, the 2026 season is finally starting to show its hand. COTA shifted narratives, exposed weaknesses, and raised new questions about contenders, pretenders, and everything in between.
From substitute drivers being forced into action to points gaps growing faster than expected, COTA delivered more than just a road course chess match. There were momentum swings, reputation hits, and at least one young driver stacking up enemies before stacking up results.
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