NASCAR has oval tracks and road course layouts, so why not combine the two? That’s what will happen Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America Roval 400, where drivers face off in the third round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, knowing four of the 16 postseason racers will be eliminated.
The concept for combining the two types of courses was devised by Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith three years ago, and discussed and refined until this year’s debut. The layout incorporates both the asphalt oval as well as the infield for a 2.28-mile track with 17 turns.
“We just didn’t have the same pizzaz that all the excitement around those first two races have,” Smith said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “There’s so much chatter about there not being a road course in the playoffs. There’s a lot of chatter about there being too many intermediate mile and a halves. I could kill two birds with one stone here. Let’s change it up and run the Roval.”
Smash-Up Practice Runs
Drivers had a chance to get a look at the course in July, and there was definitely a learning curve. Practice runs produced several wrecks.
“Ten or so guys wrecked by themselves testing there,” Alex Bowman told USA Today. “You don’t see Cup guys make mistakes like that very often at all, so it’s just a really tough place to get around.”
Aric Almirola said drivers will have a hard time devising a strategy during the race.
“I think the hardest part of the Roval is all of it. I really don’t know what the best opportunity to pass is. I have got some ideas but until you get cars on the race track running around each other,” Almirola said. “It’s going to be hard to identify that.”
Jockeying for Playoff Position
Sportsbooks aren’t really sure what to make of the new race and when setting the odds decided on Kyle Busch as the 3/1 favorite. Martin Truex Jr. is next at 5/1, with Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick at 8/1.
Busch won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte earlier this year, but that was on an oval track. He does have four road course victories, so it is not a shock that he is the top pick.
With his victory last week, Busch is guaranteed to advance, as is Keselowski, who won at Las Vegas two weeks ago. Four drivers, however, won’t be moving on to the next stage after this race.
Denny Hamlin might be one of them. He is currently 16th of 16 drivers, and knows that he needs a big race for his season not to be over. The Roval is not the optimal place to pass, but Hamlin was encouraged when he came here in July for the open test.
“I learned quite a bit from the Charlotte test, I thought we were one of the best cars there at that test,” Hamlin said. “I am optimistic, but I tell you it’s going to come down to qualifying well with the limited amount of passing zones at that race track, you can definitely get stuck behind somebody for an extended period of time.”
