Strange observation on nodejs infinite loop functi

Question

I recently came across the article Tail call optimization in ECMAScript 6. I was interested in testing the TCO behavior (Even though I later found that the TCO was not supported by nodejs 8+ as mentioned by the article) and found behavior that I could not understand.

1. Plain loop function

   'use strict';
   
   process.on('SIGTERM', () =>
   {
       console.log('SIGTERM received');
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   process.on('SIGINT', () =>
   {
       console.log('SIGINT received');
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   process.on('uncaughtException', (error) =>
   {
       console.error('Uncaught exception', error);
       process.exit(1);
   })
   
   process.on('unhandledRejection', (error) =>
   {
       console.error('Unhandled rejection', error);
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   let counter = 0;
   
   function test()
   {
       console.log(`Counter: ${counter++}`);
       test();
   }
   
   console.log('Test started');
   
   test();
   
   console.log('Test ended');
   

   This version of code produces:

   Test started
   Counter: 0
   ...
   Counter: 10452
   Uncaught exception RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded
       at WriteStream.removeListener (events.js:306:28)
       at write (console.js:130:12)
       at Console.log (console.js:135:3)
       at test (/test.js:31:13)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
       at test (/test.js:32:5)
   

2. Async loop function without any await within the function

   'use strict';
   
   process.on('SIGTERM', () =>
   {
       console.log('SIGTERM received');
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   process.on('SIGINT', () =>
   {
       console.log('SIGINT received');
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   process.on('uncaughtException', (error) =>
   {
       console.error('Uncaught exception', error);
       process.exit(1);
   })
   
   process.on('unhandledRejection', (error) =>
   {
       console.error('Unhandled rejection', error);
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   let counter = 0;
   
   async function test()
   {
       console.log(`Counter: ${counter++}`);
       test();
   }
   
   console.log('Test started');
   
   test();
   
   console.log('Test ended'); 
   

   This version of code produces:

   Test started
   Counter: 0
   ...
   Counter: 6967
   Test ended
   

3. Async loop function with await within the function

   'use strict';
   
   const bluebird = require('bluebird');
   
   process.on('SIGTERM', () =>
   {
       console.log('SIGTERM received');
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   process.on('SIGINT', () =>
   {
       console.log('SIGINT received');
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   process.on('uncaughtException', (error) =>
   {
       console.error('Uncaught exception', error);
       process.exit(1);
   })
   
   process.on('unhandledRejection', (error) =>
   {
       console.error('Unhandled rejection', error);
       process.exit(0);
   })
   
   let counter = 0;
   
   async function test()
   {
       await bluebird.delay(1);
       console.log(`Counter: ${counter++}`);
       test();
   }
   
   console.log('Test started');
   
   test();
   
   console.log('Test ended');
   

   This version of code runs non-stop.

In Summary:

1. plain loop function: stops at counter 10452 and throws RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded
2. Async loop function without any await within the function: stops at counter 6967 without any error
3. Async loop function with await within the function: runs non-stop

Can anyone explain this behavior differences or point me to any keyword i can google?