Only one Cup Series driver can be confident heading into the elimination round at the Charlotte Roval, which will set the field for the Round of 8 in the Playoffs. Four drivers will lose the chance to fight for a championship at the Bank of America ROVAL 400 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and only Chase Elliott has a win that grants him an automatic berth.
In fact, Elliott is the first Playoff winner, as Elliott is the only championship contender to have won a race in NASCAR’s postseason.
But any Playoff drivers who want that on Sunday win will have to go up against Elliott’s record. He’s won twice in the four races at the track and sports a fifth-place average finish. Plus his win gives him the chance to take extra risks to try to find victory lane.
With the win, “now we can try to have a good weekend here at the Roval,” Elliott said. It “gives us an opportunity to short those stages and not have to go for stage points, and hopefully we have enough pace to fight for the win,” he added.
Still, Ryan Blaney, who’s also won, comes in with an-equally competitive 5.8-place average finish, and Joey Logano is the only other driver below tenth at 7.2, although he’s never won. Kyle Larson has also won a race at the Roval.
Other drivers will just be looking for a consistent race after a Playoffs that have seen the attrition of contenders each week.
“We’ll be aware of the points and not put ourselves in the position to fall out of the race,” said Ross Chastain, who enters third in the standings. “Aside from the that, we’ll just go and try and make fast laps.”
But racers on the cutoff line come in with extra stress. With William Byron’s penalty having been revoked, he now sits seventh in the standings. Daniel Suarez is the first driver above the cutline, with Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe tied twelve points below.
Briscoe’s goal is also to “stay out of trouble.” He added: “There can be a lot of chaos at the Roval. You can lose a ton of positions on restarts and certain turns. If you miss a turn, it can put you behind.”
“We’re not in a terrible position to be able to advance,” he concluded, “but we also can’t have a bad day. It’s tough to gain points, but all it takes is us not getting stage points and one of the guys in the bottom spots winning to knock us out.”
One driver who certainly will not be advancing is Alex Bowman. He’s out once again with concussion symptoms after a hard crash at Texas, and Noah Gragson will sub for him. Three other drivers beside him will also face the chopping block at the end of the race.
No One’s Ever Beaten Allmendinger at the Roval in the Xfinity Series
The Xfinity Series is also in an elimination race. Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina (3 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will set the field for the Round of 8 in the series.
AJ Allmendinger comes into it with some guarantees. Firstly, he’s the only driver to have locked himself into the next round of the Playoffs. And besides, he’s never lost a race at the track, being undefeated in three starts.
It’s a big week for Allmendinger, who just announced his return to full-time Cup Series competition with Kaulig Racing on Wednesday. And he’ll be racing in both series this weekend. He’s looking forward to his “favorite track on the NASCAR circuit.”
“This is a big doubleheader weekend for us,” Allmendinger said. “On Saturday in the Xfinity Series, we will be going for four in a row. We’re locked into the next round of the Playoffs, so it does take a little bit of pressure off everyone. Then on Sunday, we’re hoping to sweep the weekend.”
Noah Gragson is also locked into the Round of 8 by merit of his win at Texas. The rest of the field is less confident, especially Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst, Brandon Jones, and Jeremy Clements, who come into the race below the cutline.
“We have to race for points and then a win,” Herbst said. “I think we’ve seen improvement with our road-course program this year, so I’m hoping that helps us out. But honestly, the Roval is a beast of its own. I think it’s a wild card in its own way – just like Talladega.”
Still, “we know what we have to do heading into this weekend,” Herbst added.
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Bank of America ROVAL 400
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
The Date: Sunday, October 9
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,262,080
TV: NBC, 1 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 252.88 miles (109 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 109)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
The Date: Saturday, October 8
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,319,119
TV: NBC, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 155.44 miles (67 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 67)
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