After the chaos at Talladega, there is just one more chance to make the Round of 8 and remain part of the NASCAR Playoffs, and that comes in the form of the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. Half road course, half oval, and host of the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday at 2 pm ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the unique facility is certainly no walk in the park itself.
The 17-turn track was added to the schedule in 2018 and has since contributed an outsize share of highlights and memorable moments, particularly ones that impact the Playoffs. The first race saw Jimmie Johnson go from racing for the lead to out of the Playoffs in a final corner wreck. The 2021 edition saw tempers flare between Playoff contenders Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick.
Odds via BetMGM
+400 – Shane van Gisbergen
+700 – Kyle Larson
+800 – AJ Allmendinger
+1000 – William Byron
+1000 – Tyler Reddick
+1100 – Christopher Bell
+1200 – Ty Gibbs
+1300 – Chase Elliott
+1400 – Ross Chastain
+1600 – Chris Buescher
As host of an elimination race, it just caps off a second round to the postseason that no Playoff driver has seemed to master. Non-Playoff drivers Ross Chastain won at Kansas and Talladega respectively, meaning more drivers who did not qualify for the Playoffs have so far won in the postseason than drivers who did.
The ROVAL may well continue that trend, as it’s a track with a propensity for new winners. The last winner at the ROVAL is AJ Allmendinger, and his Kaulig Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen is the odds-on favorite.
Playoff points entering Charlotte
1. (+74) William Byron
2. (+57) Christopher Bell
3. (+52) Kyle Larson
4. (+30) Denny Hamlin
5. (+26) Alex Bowman
6. (+25) Ryan Blaney
7. (+14) Tyler Reddick
8. (+13) Chase Elliott
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9. (-13) Joey Logano
10. (-20) Daniel Suarez
11. (-29) Austin Cindric
12. (-32) Chase Briscoe
But just because no Playoff driver has managed to win doesn’t mean that none have locked their spot in the next round. That is particularly true of William Byron, who has built up a huge advantage this round with a second-place finish at Kansas and a third at Talladega and has nothing to worry about in Charlotte. Similarly, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson carry large advantages. Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and Ryan Blaney all have cushions, although any of those drivers could be eliminated with an especially bad performance.
But it’s closer to the bubble where things get interesting. Chase Elliott enters with a 13-point lead over Joey Logano, something that could be made up on track. Elliott has been much more successful at this track than Logano at the past, with two wins to Logano’s none, but the driver of the No. 22 has a better average finish at the ROVAL over the last few years and could offer a fight.
Further back, Daniel Suarez is in range but likely needs some issue for a driver above the cutline to bring him in fighting range. However, a win guarantees a spot in the next round, so that could be the easiest ticket for Suarez; he came close to winning the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield road course last year, so he might have the pace. Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe, while not officially out of range, realistically need to win themselves as well.
“We kind of have to go in here with the mindset of winning the race, which simplifies things in a lot of ways,” Cindric said. “It certainly simplifies strategy thoughts and thoughts in preparation for the race. It’s not the situation you want to be in, but it’s something we’re certainly prepared to go after and fight for.”
Adding to the challenge, drivers will have to race on an unfamiliar layout for the infield road course. It won’t be so much an issue of learning the track, since the changes are slight, but it could certainly be an issue of learning how to race other drivers on it.
The biggest change is to the set of corners at the end of the infield complex before rejoining the oval, or ROVAL Turns 6 and 7. In previous years, the complex was a set of wider right and left turns leading to the banking, starting in the middle of the infield. That has been reconfigured, with a lengthened straight to the edge of the track before a tricky downhill right turn and a sharp left hairpin.
That means speeds will be slower heading back onto the track, but it also means that the pack will be bunched together with more potential for both passing and contact.
A few other changes include sharper hairpins before and after Turns 3 and 4 of the oval. The hairpin after Turn 4 is the restart area, too. That change will also bunch the field together in every restart for more passing and contact.
“I think both are gonna be something that kind of changes your approach from a driving standpoint. From the race and the flow of the race, I don’t know how much of that all changes,” Cindric admitted, suggesting that the fronstretch chicane in the restart area might have the biggest impact as it will make it more difficult to make an already-difficult corner. “That’s definitely something we’ll be looking for throughout the weekend.”
The drivers will get a chance to turn some laps on the track before qualifying, though. Practice will take place at 12:30 pm ET on Saturday and will be followed by qualifying at 2 pm ET.
It’s an Xfinity Series elimination race at the ROVAL
The Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina at the Charlotte ROVAL is a first for the Xfinity Series this season: a Playoff elimination race. It will whittle the postseason field down from twelve from eight.
For two drivers, elimination is not a worry at all. Sammy Smith won at Talladega, so he’s automatically locked in for the next round. Chandler Smith enters with a 64-point advantage to the cutline, an insurmountable margin.
Behind those two, several drivers can be confident of a large margin: Cole Custer and Austin Hill both have a 37-point advantage. Sheldon Creed (+32), rookie Jesse Love (+22), and Riley Herbst (+20) also fall into that category.
The real battle, at least entering the race, is between AJ Allmendinger, who has just a seven-point margin over Justin Allgaier. Shane van Gisbergen, a road course ace who has a very good shot at winning outright at the ROVAL, enters just three points further back from Allgaier, Sam Mayer enters three more points back, and Parker Kligerman enters another three back.
“We’re 37 points to the good of the cutline and should be in a good spot if we can just finish the race,” Cole Custer explained. “After finishing second last year, I think we’ll have a chance to go for the win, too.
“We’ve had fast cars on road courses, but it’s always hard when you have guys like Shane Van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger in the field. They’re the ones you have to beat to win on this style of track. I think we’ll be in contention, though, and find ourselves in the Round of 8 once again.”
All drivers will have to contend with some changes made to the track, which include a new hairpin turn in the transition from the chicane to the oval and tighter chicanes, all of which will bunch the racing up and generate contact.
Despite the changes, Custer hopes to rely on his past experience at the ROVAL in both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series.
“I think the Roval has been a good track for us throughout my career at Stewart-Haas Racing, and you even saw that in my return to the series last year. Road courses in general have been strong for us and we’ve been silent contenders almost every race. Our road-course cars have been really good this year, even if we haven’t always gotten the results,” he explained.
“Hopefully, we can continue to keep that up and secure our spot in the Round of 8 this Saturday. I think the Roval will be a good race for us even with some solid road-course aces in the field. We’ve always been able to compete with them and I think we’ll be able to do that again. We just need to have a fast car and not make mistakes to keep ourselves in the game at the end to easily advance.”
Xfinity drivers will get a feel for the changes in practice, which will start at 10 am on Saturday and will be followed by qualifying at 11 am.
