In NASCAR, a road course ringer, also known as road course specialist,[1] road course expert,[2] or a road runner, is a non-NASCAR driver who is hired by a NASCAR Cup Series or NASCAR Xfinity Series team to race specifically on road courses.
As of 2024[update], current NASCAR national-level road courses include Chicago Street Course, Circuit of the Americas, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, the Charlotte Roval, Mid-Ohio, and Portland International Raceway. Former road courses include Mosport, Riverside, Road America, Topeka, Mexico City, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Montreal. For many years, NASCAR only hosted two or three races on road courses in any of the top three divisions, providing limited opportunities for ringers. However, in some cases, the ringers have been able to pull off victories.
NASCAR describes road course ringers as "drivers who specialize in turning both left and right," and says that "perhaps the greatest road-course ringer in NASCAR history might be Dan Gurney" after he won four straight NASCAR races at Riverside.[3] He lapped the field at the 1964 event.[3]
- ^ Borden, Brett (August 10, 2007). "Road race twists bring out new faces". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ Network, Mike (June 22, 2008). "Infineon: How Well did the Road Course Ringers Race?". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ a b Aumann, Mark (April 17, 2008). "Gurney was the sport's first 'road-course ringer'". NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2009-03-15.