The Round of 12 will end with another style of “Wild Card” race. This weekend’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 will eliminate four more drivers from the post-season.
There have been just three NASCAR Cup series races held on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. That means there is very little in the notebooks for the teams to use to set-up their cars. After the “Wild Card” race at Talladega, 11 of the drivers in the Round of 12 have to perform if they want to advance in the Playoffs.
One set of notes all of the drivers have is the data for the track and the race.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Data
Track Size: 3.67-kilometers / 2.28-miles
Track Type: Road Course
Number of Turns: 17
Elevation Change: 35 degrees
Bank of America ROVAL 400 Data
Season Race #: 32 of 36 (10-10-21)
Playoff Race #: 6 of 10
Race Length: 109 laps / 400 kilometers / 252.88 miles
Stage 1 and 2 Length: 25 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 59 laps
Here are the Round of 12 Playoff drivers listed in order of best overall driver rating on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
Chase Elliott – 124.5
Kyle Larson – 110.1
William Byron –105.2
Martin Truex Jr. – 103.0
Kevin Harvick – 102.3
Ryan Blaney – 100.4
Joey Logano – 98.1
Brad Keselowski – 95.5
Alex Bowman – 87.8
Christopher Bell – 85.0
Kyle Busch – 78.8
Denny Hamlin – 69.4
There have only been two drivers win so far in the three races held on the ROVAL in the NASCAR Cup Series. Both of those drivers are currently championship contenders in the Round of 12. Both of those drivers are close enough to the cut line they could end the race on the wrong side of it.
Ryan Blaney (2018 Winner)
Chase Elliott (2019 & 2020 Winner)
There are just way too many “what if” scenarios that could play out this weekend among the 11 Round of 12 drivers not locked in the Round of Eight. Denny Hamlin is the only driver that can throw caution to the wind and do whatever he wants in the race. His win in this round assures him a chance at the championship regardless of where he finishes.
We will find out what happens (and who advances) starting at 1 p.m. central time (2 p.m. eastern time) in the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Sunday, October 10th.
By: Buck Stevens
