For the first time in nearly a decade, NASCAR is doing something truly radical at Charlotte Motor Speedway: it’s going back to what worked.
This fall, the Bank of America 400 returns to Charlotte’s proper 1.5-mile oval, ending the ROVAL experiment for the playoff race and restoring the track’s long-standing role as a place where championships are shaped at full throttle. The move coincides neatly with NASCAR’s revival of The Chase format and, perhaps more importantly, with fans loudly reminding everyone that they quite like cars going very fast in large circles.
Since 2018, Charlotte’s fall date has lived on the ROVAL, a road course–oval hybrid that delivered chaos, curb-hopping, and the occasional playoff meltdown. It was clever. It was different. And now, like many clever ideas, it’s been politely thanked for its service and shown the exit.
With fan enthusiasm swinging back toward intermediate ovals—and with The Chase back in the picture—speedway officials decided it was time to return fall racing to the configuration that built Charlotte’s reputation in the first place.
“Charlotte Motor Speedway has always been about innovations and opportunity,” said Marcus Smith, president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports. “The ROVAL delivered dramatic racing when many fans were calling for a road course in the playoffs. Now there’s an energy around the return of The Chase and fans are seeing the excitement that oval racing continues to generate on mile-and-a-half tracks. This feels like the time to bring the fall race back to the legendary oval at a place where NASCAR history is made every year.”
For decades, Charlotte’s October race meant high speeds, tire strategy, and playoff pressure dialed to eleven. The 24-degree banking has a habit of exposing weaknesses—mechanical, strategic, and occasionally emotional. This fall’s Bank of America 400 restores the same layout that hosted Charlotte’s superspeedway event from 1960 through 2017, back when “playoff drama” usually involved engines expiring in spectacular fashion.
“For more than 20 years, Bank of America has been proud to put our name on the fall NASCAR event at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” said Kieth Cockrell, president, Bank of America Charlotte. “The return to oval racing and the Chase format in the Bank of America 400 will generate even more excitement for NASCAR fans this fall, and we are thrilled to continue to be a part of this great Charlotte tradition.”
All three of NASCAR’s national series will race on the oval during The Chase weekend, Oct. 9–11, turning Charlotte once again into a full-blown playoff proving ground.
“The voice of the passionate NASCAR fan is the starting point of every decision we make, and Marcus, Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR heard them loud and clear – with the return of The Chase, let’s return to the oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR president. “As The Chase returns, we are putting a spotlight on performance while honoring the tracks and traditions that have defined championship moments. Charlotte Motor Speedway’s historic oval has played a central role in some of the sport’s most memorable races, so bringing The Chase back to the 1.5-mile configuration for our fans simply felt right.”
Charlotte’s fall oval history reads like a highlight reel. NASCAR Hall of Famer Buddy Baker and FOX Sports analyst Jamie McMurray both scored their first Cup wins there in October. In more recent years, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have become the only two active drivers to win a fall Cup race on the Charlotte oval—a small but telling club.
“Moving the fall Charlotte race back to the oval really brings the sport back to its roots,” Keselowski said. “That race has so much history, and winning there is a big deal that I’ve been fortunate to do. The racing with the Next Gen car at Charlotte has been some of the best we’ve seen anywhere, and I think putting it back on the oval is going to create an incredible show. It’s the kind of race our fans expect and deserve.”
Even Chase Briscoe, whose national-series breakthrough came on the ROVAL, is on board with the change.
“I am pumped that we will be racing on the oval twice at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2026,” said Briscoe, driver of the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. “The ROVAL is a really special track in my career since I won the first race on the configuration, but with how the oval racing has been at Charlotte, I think the fans deserve two races on the track. As a race in The Chase, I think it will be a great event to showcase the best of our sport and still provide great racing for the fans.”
With its return to the oval on Columbus Day weekend, the fall Charlotte race becomes something of a NASCAR homecoming. It’s the one place where fans can tour the Hall of Fame, swing by race shops scattered across the region, and then watch playoff contenders wrestle with one of the sport’s most unforgiving intermediate tracks.
The ROVAL had its moment. Now, Charlotte is back to doing what it does best—fast cars, big stakes, and absolutely nowhere to hide.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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