A lot on the line in Playoffs’ Elimination Race at the Charlotte Road Course
The intense NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 comes down to this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 elimination-race at 2 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 8 on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
The 12-driver Playoff field will be cut to eight as four driver’s title hopes will come to an end this weekend. Ever since the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has joined the NASCAR Cup Series postseason in 2018, it has proven to be a wildcard event with twists and turns that challenge the competitors along its multi-elevational 2.32-miles. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (Texas winner) and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (Talladega winner) have won their way into the Round of 8, leaving six of the eight spots still available come Sunday.
.@TylerReddick gets it done!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 7, 2023
He wins the #BuschLightPole and will lead the field to green tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/seLd4gYGjX
Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) in 1959 and the track’s first NASCAR Cup Series race was held on June 19, 1960 – won by Joe Lee Johnson in a Chevrolet. But it wasn’t until 2017, that the track underwent renovations to add what is now known as the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL), a 2.32-mile, 17-turn, multi-elevational road course that incorporates the oval portion of the track.
This season will be the sixth-time the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has hosted a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race (2018-2023) and the 2.32-mile track has occupied two different spots on the series postseason schedule – from 2018-2019 the Charlotte Road Course hosted the third race in the Playoffs (Round of 16 elimination race) and from 2020-2023 the sixth race in the Playoffs (Round of 12 elimination race).
The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2020-2022) is the fourth different track to host the sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (2004-Present); joining Martinsville Speedway (2004-2010), Talladega Superspeedway (2011, 2013-2016) and Kansas Speedway (2012, 2017-2019).
From 2018-2019, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course hosted the third race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – Ryan Blaney won the event in 2018 and Chase Elliott won the race in 2019.
A total of 12 different drivers have won the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, led by Jimmie Johnson with four postseason victories – all at Martinsville Speedway (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008). Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with three victories (2009, 2010, 2019) in the sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in Charlotte ROVAL wins with two (2019, 2020). Elliott did not make the Championship ‘Chase’ this year.
Here are the playoff standings and clinching scenarios entering Charlotte:
- William Byron – Clinched with win at Texas
- Ryan Blaney – Clinched with win at Talladega
- Denny Hamlin, +50 points above the cut line
- • Clinches with eight points (29th-place finish without stage points)
- Christopher Bell, +22 points above the cut line
- • Clinches with 36 points
- Chris Buescher, +19 points above the cut line
- • Clinches with 39 points
- Martin Truex Jr., +17 points above the cut line
- • Clinches with 41 points
- Kyle Larson, +15 points above the cut line
- • Clinches with 43 points
- Brad Keselowski, +2 points above the cut line
- Tyler Reddick, -2 points below the cut line
- Bubba Wallace, -9 points below the cut line
- Ross Chastain, -10 points below the cut line
- Kyle Busch, -26 points below the cut line
“If you have a catastrophic issue — or not even catastrophic, but just an issue — earlier in the day that puts you a lap down or something, you’re in big trouble,” Christopher Bell, who won last year’s roval race stated. “While we are in a really good spot and I’m thankful for that, we still have to dot our I’s and cross our T’s.”
“Me over-trying has sort of hurt my racecraft, if you will, where I haven’t been finishing, frankly,” Kyle Busch said. “With me and this Next Gen car, look at how many times I’ve spun out and crashed. It’s just stupid compared to what it has been over time. I’ve still got some work to do on figuring that out.”
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