NASCAR describes road course ringers as "drivers who specialize in turning both left and right." The term "ringer" is a slang term commonly used in sports to describe a particularly good competitor brought in to win in a specific match rather than competing in the entire schedule. It can also describe an athlete performing in a lower classification than their actual level. The term does not relate to the shape of the race course; in NASCAR it refers to the driver typically racing in other circuits.
As of December 2025, current NASCAR national-level road courses include Circuit of the Americas, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, San Diego, the Charlotte Roval, Lime Rock Park, and St. Petersburg. Former road courses include Mosport, Riverside, Road America, Topeka, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Montreal, Portland International Raceway, and Mid-Ohio. Road courses on hiatus but slated to return include Chicago Street Course and Mexico City. For many years NASCAR only hosted two or three road course races per season, providing limited opportunities for ringers.
A road course ringer is often brought in if the usual driver is inexperienced at road courses or having a poor season and the team needs a strong qualifying run. Cup Series teams near the bottom of the top 35 in owner points hire a ringer to ensure they remain in the top 35 and keep a guaranteed starting spot in future races. It is not unusual for a lower-level team's best finish to come at a road course through the use of a road course expert. Road course ringers have frequently competed in championships that race primarily on road courses, often in IndyCar or sports car series such as ALMS or Grand Am.
NASCAR says that "perhaps the greatest road-course ringer in NASCAR history might be Dan Gurney" after he won four straight NASCAR races at Riverside, lapping the field at the 1964 event.
A. J. Allmendinger (2006–present) — Previously served as ringer in the Xfinity Series and for Kaulig Racing at Cup level before becoming full-time. Won as a ringer in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing in the inaugural 2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.
Mark Donohue (1972–1973) — Won the 1973 Winston Western 500 (Motor Trend 500 at Riverside) in a Penske Racing AMC Matador.
Ron Fellows (1995–2013) — Five Xfinity Series road course wins; 24 of 25 Cup starts were on road courses. Nearly won four Cup races, finishing second at Watkins Glen in 1999 and 2004, and dominating at Sonoma in 2001 with NEMCO and in 2003 with DEI. Won in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series mostly at Watkins Glen and once in Montreal.
Robby Gordon (1991–2012) — 2003 Road Course Champion.
Dan Gurney (1962–1970, 1980) — Five Xfinity Series road course wins; 9 of 16 NASCAR starts were on road courses. Won five NASCAR races as a ringer.
Kenny Habul (2012–2016) — 15 Xfinity Series starts, all road courses.
Tommy Kendall
Andy Lally (2007–2021) — Primarily road courses in Xfinity Series; nine top tens at road courses.
Justin Marks (2007–2018) — Primarily road courses in Cup and Xfinity Series; won the 2016 Mid-Ohio Challenge; current co-owner of Trackhouse Racing Team.
Max Papis (2006–2013) — 12 of 14 Xfinity Series races were road courses; currently a driving coach for Richard Childress Racing.
Nelson Piquet Jr. (2010–2016) — Won the 2012 Sargento 200 in the Xfinity Series.
Scott Pruett (2000–2008) — Following the 2000 season, ran only road races.
Kimi Räikkönen (2022–present) — Inaugural driver for Trackhouse Racing Team's Project 91.
Boris Said (1999–2022) — Only road course starts since 2010; running road courses for MBM Motorsports. Holds the only two poles by a road course ringer (one at the 2003 Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Sears Point Raceway). Won a Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal in August 2010.
Dorsey Schroeder
Brian Simo (1997–2012) — All road course attempts and starts except at Loudon in the 1998 Busch Series.
Alex Tagliani (2009–2020) — 13 starts, all road courses in Xfinity and Truck Series.
Shane van Gisbergen (2023–present) — Won his debut race, the inaugural 2023 Grant Park 220 street course race, driving the "Project91" Trackhouse Racing car. Three-time Supercars champion.
Jacques Villeneuve (2007–2022) — Ten road course starts; running road courses for Team Hezeberg.
Will Brown (2024–present) — Currently running road course races for Kaulig Racing.
Since the late 2000s, the ringer has steadily disappeared from the Cup Series. Contributing factors include: the Chase/NASCAR playoffs making it counterproductive for teams to sacrifice their full-time drivers' points in exchange for a possible win by a specialist; as a result, full-time drivers have been forced to become more proficient on road courses.
The decline was illustrated at the 2009 Watkins Glen race, where only one road course specialist was substituting for a driver in a fully sponsored, full-season NASCAR team — Patrick Carpentier for Michael Waltrip Racing. In subsequent years, road course specialists drove for rides that would start-and-park.
The trend reversed partially with the introduction of the Next Gen car, which improved road course performance and enabled programs like Trackhouse Racing's Project 91, designed to invite international road course ringers to the Cup Series.
The nature of Xfinity Series races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America often allows road course ringers, since they are not subject to NASCAR's seven-race restriction applied to Cup Series regulars. Because Cup Series drivers are prohibited from participating in the Camping World Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park during the playoff, a road course ringer is preferred as a substitute driver. NASCAR classifies road courses in the same category as tracks less than 1.25 miles, allowing drivers 16 and 17 years of age to participate.
A variant, the dirt track ringer, has appeared in NASCAR since the Truck Series organised the Eldora Dirt Derby. Teams have often added a dirt track ace, typically a sprint car or dirt late model driver. The Eldora Dirt Derby was replaced by the Corn Belt 150 in 2021, and NASCAR added a dirt race for both the Truck and Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway. Notable dirt track ringers have included Scott Bloomquist, Bobby Pierce, Logan Seavey, and Kyle Strickler. Truck Series regulars Stewart Friesen and Sheldon Creed began their NASCAR careers as dirt track ringers before racing full schedules.
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