Top 3 NASCAR drivers who dominate road courses with the NextGen car feat. Chase Elliott

For the longest time, NASCAR used to be dominated by oval tracks, where drivers had little use of hard braking or turning right. And while the sport has been visiting road courses as early as in 1948, the number of non-oval race tracks has increased a lot in the past decades. And there are some drivers who just run better than others on a more conventional racing circuit.

The arrival of the NextGen cars in 2022 has made racing on road courses more driver dependent than ever due to some of the drastic technical changes from GEN 6 cars. The independent rear suspension, the sequential transmission, and the wider 18-inch wheels have all made the cars more responsive to the driver inputs.

This means some drivers have adapted to the challenges of road courses better than others. These include hard braking zones, changing elevations, and tight chicanes.

With the first road course race of the season upcoming at COTA, let's take a look at three NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have been dominant on these types of tracks since 2022, including the fan favorite Chase Elliott.

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#3 Chris Buescher is the top NASCAR driver at road courses

Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 car for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, has been the top performer on road tracks since 2022. He has an average finish of 8.82 in the 15 races he has competed on road courses with the Gen 7 car. His best finish is the race win he secured at Watkins Glen International last year, leading the second highest number of laps (19) after Ross Chastain.

Including the win, Buescher has three podium finishes, four top-5 finishes, and 12 top-ten finishes in 15 outings, giving him an incredible finishing average and the only driver whose rating is under 10. 2023 was a breakthrough year for Chris Buescher, where he went on to win three races for RFK Racing in the regular season championship.

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#2 NASCAR's most popular driver Chase Elliott sits in second

Hendrick Motorsports star Chase Elliott is always one to bet on whenever it comes to road course racing. He sits right behind Buescher in the standings for best average finish at 10.63 in 14 races since the arrival of the Gen 7 cars.

While he hasn't won any road course race in three years, Elliott has the most top-five finishes under his belt at seven. He also has nine top-10 finishes and has led a total of 147 laps in his 14 outings. With the COTA race weekend just two days away, Elliott is one of the favorite picks both for NASCAR fans and Insiders to do well in the race and finish high up in the points.

#1 Tyler Reddick has won thrice on road tracks since 2022

Despite being third in the standings for the best finishes on road courses since 2022, 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick is one of the most dominant. He sits behind Elliott at 11.18 as his average finishing spot in the last three years. However, he has three wins under his belt in the same time period.

His first career win came at a road course in the Gen 7 car at Road America in '22. Reddick followed it up with another win at the Indianapolis Road Course Race the same year. His next road course win came at Circuits of the Americas in the following year. He has six top-fives and 11 top-ten finishes in his 15 outings. He has also led the most laps among the top three with a tally of 189.

Last year, Reddick emerged as the contender for the NASCAR title by making his way into the Championship race at Phoenix and has already had a good start to the 2025 season.

All three drivers have a good shot at confirming their place in the NASCAR playoffs early in the season by winning at the type of track that has suited them well in the past.