NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Win with New Charlotte Roval Chaos?
The ever-challenging Charlotte Roval is on deck for the NASCAR Playoffs, but with another twist. The infield exit and the frontstretch chicane have both been tweaked, making an already-technical course even more difficult. 2024 marks the seventh year going left and right inside the Charlotte Motor Speedway hybrid track. Who are some drivers that have performed here before and could earn Sunday’s victory? Here are a few contenders to watch out for in the Bank of America Roval 400.
Chase Elliott
Once hailed as king of road courses, Chase Elliott has yet to find the same success in the Next Gen Car. The two-time Roval winner has an above-average chance at taking an eighth road course win on Sunday, though. Hendrick cars are slowly returning to their dominant road course pace, as shown with Alex Bowman’s Chicago Street Course win. Elliott says past notes will mean very little with the course redesign though, and he sees it as a brand new venue.
“I kind of look at it like it’s a new racetrack, truthfully,” Elliott said. “That section of the track is going to change the entire flow of the lap there, so I’ve been kind of approaching it as a new track with my preparation. I’ve spent some time in the simulator, just trying to really memorize the track and where the little bumps are. Typically those track scans are pretty good. I think that’s probably one of the best things about the simulator is that a driver can go and get familiar with the track layout; surface content, roughness, so on and so forth. It’s really about all I feel like I can do until we get some time on-track.”
Elliott’s been one of the most consistent across the Roval’s short history. Driver No. 9 has four top-10s across six starts, and over 100 laps led here. Elliott enters elimination Sunday as the last man currently in the elite eight. A big performance may be needed to secure Elliott’s postseason fate.
Joey Logano
A sneakily great driver around the Charlotte Roval is Joey Logano. The Penske veteran boasts five top-10s in six starts, and an 8.7 average finish. Logano has not won on a road course in nine years, however. The 22 also finds themselves as the first ones outside the Round of 8 cut. A 13-point deficit is far from impossible to make up on-track, but a win is their easiest path to the next round.
Should Logano employ a max-stage points strategy for Sunday, he does have the experience and confidence here to erase that gap. Logano opting for this approach may limit his chances at the overall victory though. Either way, team 22 does have options to attack Sunday and potentially break back into the top eight.
Shane van Gisbergen
The Xfinity Series road course crown seemingly dropped by AJ Allmendinger has been picked up by Shane van Gisbergen. The New Zealander has three Saturday wins this year all on road courses, beating his teammate four times. SVG is no stranger to success on Sundays either, and double-duty will only make him better. SVG has never ran a competitive lap on the Roval. Despite this, two races on deck have him listed as a favorite for the Cup event.
“The Roval is such a unique track and unlike anything I’ve ever raced,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s a pretty cool track, with the blind crest and hairpin spot and it’s going to be a challenge for me. We don’t really run on tracks with big curbs, so it’s going to be interesting to feel the curbs and learn how much I can take and use and how to pass. Just a lot to learn this weekend in my WeatherTech Chevy Camaro, but it will be a lot of fun!”
The Supercars ace is trying to stay alive in the Xfinity title chase, and will trophy hunt with Kaulig Racing on Sunday. SVG is beyond used to learning new race tracks on the fly now. The Charlotte Roval should be a heavy advantage for him across both halves of this doubleheader weekend.
*Editor’s Note: Shane van Gisbergen will drive the No. 13 Chevrolet Camaro at the Roval.
Kyle Larson
2021’s Roval winner, Kyle Larson hopes to join teammate Chase Elliott as a two-time victor on this course. Larson is far from a road course novice, owning five checkered flags including Sonoma from June. If anyone is expected to learn this new course the fastest, Larson should get up to speed in no time at all.
“I was able to turn some laps (on the newly configured) Roval in the simulator last week,” Larson said. “The changes to the track create another passing zone but could also create chaos if drivers make late moves there. With our finish at Talladega, we’re in a much better points position entering this race than years past, but we still have to execute and put together a solid race this weekend.”
Thanks to his Talladega top-five, Larson is sleeping peacefully heading into the Roval cut race. The 5 is 52 points inside the Round of 8, and will likely clinch a spot before Sunday’s checkers. The winningest driver of 2024 will try and make it a six pack of trophies this weekend.
Christopher Bell
Another past Roval winner, his 2022 triumph here kickstarted Christopher Bell’s clutch run to the Championship 4. Can history possibly repeat itself for the No. 20 Toyota? Much like Larson, Bell has a significant points buffer that eases many concerns about such a daunting new Roval layout.
“I’m excited about going to the Roval with the pressure off because of our points position,” Bell said. “This weekend is all about getting ourselves locked in and then having fun and trying to add a few more playoff points if we can to help ourselves in the next round.”
Bell has laps led in three of his four career starts on the Charlotte Roval, showing a great acumen for this course. A win is far from necessary for the team gunning for a third-straight Championship 4 appearance. Another checkered flag would however build up late season momentum for this crew, in seemingly annual fashion. Many people saw Bell as a dark horse title threat; he cannot be counted out just about any week.
Kyle Busch
Only one man enters Sunday with three-straight Roval top-fives–Kyle Busch. Despite being winless on this Charlotte layout, the last three seasons have not seen Busch be worse than fourth. Already having studied the new turns, Busch believes the track’s tweaks will be hectic.
“Anytime there are changes made to a road course I think it is always directed towards creating additional passing zones and improving the quality of racing,” Busch said. “So hopefully that happens. I think the area of the racetrack before in Turns 6, 7, and 8 was always single file, follow the leader, so maybe now you’ll have guys pull out a line and try to make a pass in the hairpin before getting back up on the big track.”
Talladega was another prime winning opportunity laid out for Kyle Busch that did not deliver. The No. 8 survived the historically-huge wreck and was a front runner in overtime. Trying to pull out and make a third lane however, nobody went with Busch to help him. The Roval was the end of the postseason line for Busch a year ago; he has a chance at a redemptive win this time around.
Sunday may just be the biggest curveball drivers will be thrown this season, let alone in these Playoffs. The Charlotte green flag will fly Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The new configuration should yield closer racing, more contact, and perhaps a dive bomb chance or two.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter
Photo Credit to Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
