NASCAR gave drivers a bit of what they desired this season — higher horsepower. They are now performing at 750 HP on many tracks, up from 670 HP in 2025. As drivers do love this, Daniel Suarez is one to note how this may affect racing this weekend at COTA. As the field tries to beat Shane Van Gisbergen, it will not be so easy.
No Cup Series driver has the ability of Van Gisbergen on a road course. Why is that? One prime reason is that Van Gisbergen is elite at managing his tires. As the golden eagles wear on in the long run, Van Gisbergen keeps them clean, and thus, he jumps out to these massive leads.
Horsepower at COTA
(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Suarez interviewed with PRN, and he gave us great input on how this weekend will play out with the newly elevated horsepower. "I think SVG is going to have an even bigger advantage," Suarez states. Suarez explains that Van Gisbergen is elite at braking with the tires and thus, far better at managing his wheels over the field.
More horsepower plus higher speeds equals more tire wear. As it is, Goodyear has sets with the sole aim of wearing down the tires. That makes for better racing, as everyone would agree. That is the situation this week at COTA, as NASCAR will use the same tires as last year.
Suarez explained that Van Gisbergen had been elite in the past but was also reeled back due to horsepower and tire wear limitations. With its factor being more and more prevalent, Van Gisbergen gains that much more of an advantage. As protecting the tires matters more and more to the overall pie of what it takes to win, Van Gisbergen's advantages inch even further ahead of his competition.
Despite his dominance, Van Gisbergen has never won in his two races at COTA in the Cup Series. This may change this weekend, as DraftKings has him at +120 to win the race, far above Connor Zilisch at +350, and the rest of the field far behind.
In nine career road course starts, Van Gisbergen has won four times with only one finish outside of the top-10. When including street courses, Van Gisbergen has won six out of 12 starts with 10 top-10 finishes. With the performance factor now weighed in, it is reasonable to assume that Van Gisbergen has at least a 50% chance of winning this race. That is the world we are living in.