The Playoff pressure escalated as NASCAR ended the Round of 12 with an elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, also known as the ROVAL.
The race course is partially on the infield road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway and partially on the oval portion of the track. That spawned the term “ROVAL.” The term has been used all three years the race has been part of the Cup Series circuit with the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
This year’s Bank of America ROVAL made history when the green flag waived. It was the first time the NASCAR Cup Series started a race with a wet track and all cars running on rain tires instead of slicks. That made an already challenging race more difficult. Drivers and teams had to decide when to switch from rain tires to slicks to have more speed. Change too soon and the lack of traction on a wet track could be devastating.
A few drivers made the switch earlier than most and gained an advantage for a short time. However, once all the drivers switched to slick tires that advantage was erased by caution periods. In the end it would come down to the right strategy and hard racing that would win the day.
Chase Elliott was one of 11 drivers that exchanged the lead 17 times during the race. He and William Byron tied for the most laps led at 27 laps out front each. The difference was when most of those laps were led. Chase raced his way to the front and held the lead for the final 18 laps of the race. That gave him back-to-back wins in the Bank of America ROVAL having won this race last year. It also gives him a four consecutive road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. That ties him with NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon for most consecutive road course wins. This is Chase’s first win of the 2020 Playoffs, but his third win of the 2020 season.
Joey Logano claimed the runner-up finish with Erik Jones finishing in third place. Fourth place went to Kurt Busch. Rounding out the top five was Ryan Blaney. See the complete race results for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 here.
In the bigger picture of the season, four drivers found their championship hopes end with the race on the ROVAL. Defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch did not advance to the Round of Eight. His streak of 15 years with at least one win remains in jeopardy of ending as he now has just four races to get a 2020 win after being eliminated from championship contention for this season.
Clint Bowyer made the announcement earlier in the week that he would be shifting from the driver’s seat to the broadcast booth with FOX Sports in 2021. He too now has just four races to secure a win in the 2020 season.
Austin Dillon and Aric Almirola were the other two drivers that were eliminated from the post-season driver field with a chance to win the championship.
Advancing in order of ranking for the start of the Round of Eight are: (1st) Kevin Harvick, (2nd) Denny Hamlin, (3rd) Brad Keselowski, (4th) Chase Elliott, (5th) Joey Logano, (6th) Martin Truex Jr., (7th) Alex Bowman and (8th) Kurt Busch. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.
The NASCAR Playoff field of drivers will be cut in half following the Round of Eight. That means there is less room for error and more importance placed on winning to advance over the next three races. The first chance comes in the winds of Kansas Speedway in the Hollywood Casino 400 Sunday, October 18th.
By: Buck Stevens
