Cup Series Intelligence v1.1: COTA

Tech Section: 2026 Road Course Framework

Seasonal Learnings & Speculation

The 2026 season marks a major technical pivot with the 750 horsepower upgrade for road courses. Speculation centers on how the increased power will interact with the reduced downforce aero package to create more passing opportunities in COTA's technical sectors. Goodyear's consistency with the 2025 tire setup allows teams to rely on existing notebooks for long-run fall-off strategy.

Car Package & Rule Updates

Package: 750 hp engine (up from 670 hp). Short-track/road-course aero: 3-inch rear spoiler, reduced downforce, fewer diffuser strakes, and mandated A-post flaps.
Rule Enforcement: Harder enforcement of track limits at Turn 6 and Turn 19. Additional officials and tire packs are deployed to prevent shortcuts.

Goodyear Tire Specs (D-5242)

Familiar setup used at all six road courses last season. Consistency is key for team strategy planning.

Inflation: LF: 20 psi | RF: 22 psi | LR: 17 psi | RR: 17 psi
Allotment: 7 Dry Sets / 6 Wet Sets

Pre-Race Section

Schedule & Penalties

Practice/Qualifying: Sat, Feb 28, 12:00 p.m. ET (Prime Video).
Penalties: Monitoring technical inspections for aero-compliance under the new HP package.

Weather Impacts

Monitoring for rain. Wet-weather tires (6 sets) and mandatory wiper/flap assemblies are ready if track conditions are declared "Wet."

Drivers & Teams Section

Qualifying Order Metric (Top 10)

Pos	Car No.	Driver	Metric Score
1	33	Jesse Love	58.700
2	54	Ty Gibbs	35.800
3	21	Josh Berry	34.100
4	88	Connor Zilisch #	32.100
5	47	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	31.800
6	8	Kyle Busch	31.000
7	3	Austin Dillon	30.500
8	35	Riley Herbst	30.000
9	5	Kyle Larson	28.700
10	34	Todd Gilliland	28.000

Pos

Car No.

Driver

Metric Score

Jesse Love

58.700

Ty Gibbs

35.800

Josh Berry

34.100

Connor Zilisch #

32.100

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

31.800

Kyle Busch

31.000

Austin Dillon

30.500

Riley Herbst

30.000

Kyle Larson

28.700

Todd Gilliland

28.000

Weather & Track Metrics Section

Official Social Buzz

Engagement is focused on the **HP Upgrade** and how it will change the braking zones in the "Esses." Key drivers in the news include Tyler Reddick (points leader) and Connor Zilisch (road course specialist debut).

NASCAR Cup Series Intelligence v1.1