NASCAR introduced stage racing across all three national series in 2017, and that meant breaks at two predetermined laps in each race (three in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway) to make each race a three-stage (four at Charlotte) race.
Points are awarded to the top 10 drivers at the end of stage one and stage two (and stage three at Charlotte), with 10 points to the stage winner down to one point for the 10th place finisher.
The addition of stage racing meant an interesting twist to the strategy element of each race, given the fact that it meant guaranteed caution flag periods at predetermined lap times. It's even more significant on road courses, since you don't lose a lap in the pits.
But in 2023, NASCAR altered the stage format at road courses, and at the street course in Chicago. Stages still existed, and points were still awarded at the end of each, but there was no more guaranteed caution flag at the end of each stage.
This was a short-lived change from NASCAR.
Before the 2023 playoffs, NASCAR reverted to the old format, which affected the lone road course playoff race at the Charlotte Roval.
NASCAR claimed that the change was made because they wanted to use the same format for all 10 playoff races, since the other nine playoff races were all oval races with stage breaks.
But it was relatively clear that they weren't pleased with the racing product on the road courses without the stage breaks when they made the decision to fully revert to the old format for the 2024 season. Many of the fans weren't super thrilled either.
Unsurprisingly, the old format remains in place in 2025, with no further changes made ahead of the season's first road course race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) this Sunday afternoon. There are set to be two stage breaks and three stages in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.
The 2025 season also consists of road course races at Sonoma Raceway, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Watkins Glen International, and Charlotte, plus the street race in Chicago.
23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, who won at COTA with no stage breaks in 2023, took the pole position for the 95-lap race at the 20-turn, 2.3-mile (3.701-kilometer) Austin, Texas road course, a course that hasn't previous been used by NASCAR at COTA.
A full starting lineup can be found here.
Tune in to Fox at 3:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix from COTA. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action!