The debate over how many road courses belong on the NASCAR schedule has sparked plenty of arguments among fans. Some think there are too many, while others believe a handful is just right.
Few topics stir up more online debate than the appearance of winding, technical tracks on the racing calendar — especially as the 36-race season winds down.
But as things stand right now, NASCAR’s schedule features just four road course events: Circuit of the Americas, Watkins Glen, this Sunday’s inaugural race in San Diego, and next weekend’s stop in Sonoma.
Just four. That’s the entire list.
Gone are the road races at the Roval, Mexico City, Elkhart Lake, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Daytona.
In 2025 — what appears to be the final season of NASCAR’s road course-heavy era — the series visited six such layouts, matching the number it ran in 2023 when the Chicago Street Course wound through Grant Park. Five road courses hosted races in 2024.
Racing down Michigan Avenue, making a trip to Mexico City, and battling the widely unpopular Roval at Charlotte are chapters that likely won’t be revisited — and many fans would say good riddance.
Most drivers are perfectly comfortable with that direction.
Then again, most drivers aren’t Shane van Gisbergen.
This weekend at the Naval Base Coronado layout in San Diego, the conversation will revolve heavily around the New Zealander, who enters as the clear odds-on favorite to claim his eighth career NASCAR win — every single one of them coming on road courses.
Van Gisbergen, piloting the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, carries betting odds of minus-160. His 7-for-14 road course record speaks for itself, and fans tuning in will be watching to see whether any of the other roughly 37 drivers can find a way to beat the self-proclaimed King of the Road.
His 19-year-old teammate Connor Zilisch holds the second-best odds at plus-650, though his rookie season has been a rough one — he sits 34th in points, has five DNFs, and has yet to crack the top 10. His strongest result was a 14th-place finish at COTA, followed by a 20th at Watkins Glen. Road courses are considered his strength, so this weekend could offer a chance for a much-needed breakout performance.
Further down the odds board, Daniel Suarez sits at plus-5500. The Mexican driver says he’s been drawing lessons from Spire Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell, who carries odds of plus-1400. Suarez compared the challenge of racing on a brand-new street circuit to his experience at Chicago several years ago.
“It kind of reminds me of three years ago (at) Chicago for the first time. A lot of new things, a lot of new challenges,” Suarez said at Nashville Superspeedway last month. “I believe that our road course program on the (No. 7) team is getting much better, especially because we are leaning more on (McDowell’s) 71 team.”
Suarez has been on a roll lately, climbing to eighth in the standings. He already has one of Spire’s two wins this season, and notably, he captured his first career victory at Sonoma — next week’s race — back in 2022, the first of his three Cup wins.
McDowell, meanwhile, has two career victories, including one on the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit three years ago.
The unique dynamic this weekend is that van Gisbergen will be racing on a brand-new track where no Cup Series driver has any prior experience — a factor that could easily produce yet another familiar result. Can anyone find a way to dethrone the King of the Road?
