5 best NASCAR Cup Series teams on road courses

NASCAR may be known for its oval racing but the league has been hosting road courses since its inception in 1948. Throughout the years, certain teams stand out when their cars need to turn left and right to the checkered flag, such as road course win leader Hendrick Motorsports.

While driver skill is arguably the most important factor in winning road courses, teams play a huge role as well. They ensure their cars have been optimized to the ideal setup and balance, depending on the road course.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the NASCAR teams that excel outside the ovals.

Hendrick Motorsports

As mentioned earlier, Hendrick Motorsports won the most road courses in NASCAR’s history with close to 30 victories. Jeff Gordon is the driver with the most road course wins with nine, followed by Chase Elliot winning seven wins across five road courses: Watkins Glen, Charlotte Roval, Daytona Road Course, Circuit of the Americas, and Road America.

Kyle Larson won at 2024 Sonoma Raceway - Source: Imagn

The Concord-based team’s most recent road course victory was at Sonoma Raceway, where Kyle Larson took his 26th career win. He was being trailed by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. before the 44-year-old retiring driver ran out of gas on the last lap and ended up finishing at 27.

Joe Gibbs Racing

Speaking of Joe Gibbs Racing, the Huntersville-based outfit garnered about 15 wins on road courses. Tony Stewart leads the way with six wins in the Cup Series. Behind him is Martin Truex Jr., who amassed five wins, mostly in Sonoma.

While Denny Hamlin hasn’t won a lot of races outside the oval, the 54-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Toyota driver got one at Watkins Glen in 2016.

23XI Racing

23XI Racing may be a relatively newcomer to the sport but it has shown prowess on road courses, particularly with Tyler Reddick. The No. 45 Toyota driver won seven Cup races—two of which were on road courses, including one at the Circuit of the Americas with 23XI last year.

Tyler Reddick was victorious at COTA in 2023 - Source: Imagn

Reddick also showed up at the rainy street race in Chicago earlier this year, where he finished second behind Alex Bowman. Meanwhile, teammate Bubba Wallace only had two top-10 finishes on road tracks.

Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing perhaps has one of the strongest driver lineups on road courses. Both Shane Van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger are deemed the king of road courses in the Xfinity Series, with the latter joining the NASCAR Cup Series full time next season. All of Allmendinger’s two Cup Series wins were on road tracks.

The only two wins Kaulig Racing has bagged came from two road courses: Indianapolis in 2021 and Charlotte Roval in 2023.

Trackhouse Racing

Shane Van Gisbergen, meanwhile, will be leaving Kaulig Racing to drive for Trackhouse Racing full time next season. His only win in the NASCAR Cup Series was recorded in the street race in Chicago last year. SVG will be joining Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez next year—both winners on road courses. Chastain took the victory at 2022 COTA, while Suarez won the 2022 Sonoma.

As opposed to legacy teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Trackhouse Racing and Kaulig Racing have yet to rack up wins. However, they should put up a good fight with their strong driver lineups on road courses next season.