AUSTIN, Texas — The picturesque scenes of the historic Circuit of The Americas road course make for a beautiful visual leading into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race there (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). So too do differing in-race strategies, not knowing which is ultimately playing out the best until the closing laps.
Since the implementation of stage racing nearly a decade ago, the dominant car at road courses, more often than not, has elected to forego earning maximum stage points and pit late in the opening two stages to be in position for the win come the end of the race. On the flip side, cars that weren’t in position to win on that given day tend to chase stage points, pit during the stage break and attempt to drive through the field in the final stint.
With The Chase format returning in 2026, every point matters. Every strategy call is heightened, particularly at road courses where stage points can be more evenly spread throughout the field…