WEEKEND HOT LAPS: Chaos Incoming at the ROVAL?
BOTTOMS UP!
If the drinking word at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval this weekend is chaos the track’s alcohol sales will be record-breaking.
There hasn’t been many drivers, crew chiefs or even car owners who haven’t used that word when asked what to expect of the newly designed hybrid oval/road course at CMS.
The modifications done to the track, particularly the now hairpin layout in Turn 7, have drivers expected contact, calamity, and yes chaos.
“They’re probably going to get the action that they wanted and the fans probably want,” said AJ Allmendinger, who has five Roval wins, one in Cup and four in the Xfinity Series.
“It, to me, opens a lot for dive bombs and just the dumb stuff that we do. … It’s definitely going to add a new challenge compared to what we faced in the past.”
Track President Greg Walter said the changes were done to create more passing opportunities and better competition.
"We have this culture here of being constructively discontent,” Walter said. “It's funny we've seen some drivers out here, come out here, take a 'walk,' but they are all down there at Turn 7, to see how that's gonna impact them. So, it's fun, right? At the end, it's about the fans. Our heart is to put on a good show for the fans.
"And in the road courses, braking zones, equal passing zones, and hopefully what we've done is create two new passing zones.”
Not every driver believes the creation of more passing zones and opportunities were the root of what the track decided to modify the layout.
“I think it’s set up for chaos, truthfully,” Denny Hamlin said. “I think that they were very strategic, making sure to put us to a decision what might be fast, the normal racing line will be fast, but there will be an option to short cut it and just wipe out whoever is in front of you.”
That’s exactly how the inaugural Roval race went back in 2018 when Jimmie Johnson hit Martin Truex Jr. heading for the checkered flag, spinning both drivers out and opening the door for Ryan Blaney to win. There’s a good chance similar scenarios will play out on Sunday and track officials may very well be smiling.
ROVAL TEAM
It is hard to believe Sunday will be the seventh Cup race held on The Roval with Blaney taking that inaugural outing. But in terms of average finish in the six races held on the track, Blaney ranks fifth in average finish at 10.17. Alex Bowman, the winner at the Chicago Street Circuit race earlier this summer, leads the list with a 6.40 average finish. Tyler Reddick is next at 7.0 followed by Chase Elliott (8.17) and Joey Logano (8.67).
Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, William Byron and Ty Gibbs complete the top-10.
PICKS TO CLICK
Three of the first five Cup Series Playoff races have been won by non-Playoff drivers and the series heads to an already challenging track that has been modified even more. Add those two things together and it’s no surprise the odds for Sunday’s Bank of American Roval 400 are interesting, to say the least.
The Kauling Racing tandem of Shane Van Gisbergen (+350) and AJ Allmendinger (+750) are the favorites from DraftKings Sportsbook. But even the discrepancy between the two numbers is intriguing with SVG viewed as the clear-cut prohibitive choice to take the checkered flag despite Sunday being only his 12th career Cup Start.
Kyle Larson leads the regular drivers on the board coming to Charlotte at +850 to win his sixth race of the season. The numbers quickly jump up to four digits with Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell at +1000, William Byron and Ty Gibbs at +1100 and Chase Elliott at +1200. The remaining Playoff driver with the longest odds to win Sunday is Chase Briscoe at +450.
The story for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race is similar but even more of an emphasis on the Kaulig teammates. Gisbergen is below even money at -110 in search of his fourth series victory of 2024. Allmendinger is next at +275 with Sam Mayer the only other driver below four digits at +950. Defending series champ Cole Custer carries +1400 odds into Saturday’s race.
SHORT TRACK ATTACK
It’s one of the busiest weekends in short track racing of the year around the country with a number of prestigious and high-profile races on the schedule. Indiana’s historic Winchester Speedway will take center stage with the CRA Jegs All-Star Tour 100 and CRA Late Model Sportsman Series on the agenda highlighted by Sunday’s running of the 53rd Winchester 400 for the ASA Stars National Tour super late models on the high-banked, high mile track.
Thompson Speedway in Connecticut hosts the 62nd World Series of Speedway Racing including the American Canadian Tour/PASS late models as well as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 150.
There are two races left for the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Series and Saturday’s race at Tri-County Speedway finds Connor Hall leading Brenden “Butterbean” Queen by just one point.
Jefferson Speedway has the rescheduled Wisconsin State Championships on Friday and Saturday at the 1/4-mile paved oval. Late Models, Sportsman, and the Midwest Truck Series will be in action.
Finally, Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Illinois will be the site of the Bahama Bracket Nationals Friday through Sunday. The unique format was a staple at Rockford Speedway before the Illinois track was shuttered at the end of last season. Cars (and trucks) of any kind or division all compete against one another with race lineups determined by qualifying times. The mix-and-match concept usually results in a very diverse look in starting lineups and feature races.
Pete Pistone is a veteran motorsports and general sports reporter/journalist with nearly 30 years experience. During his career he has worked for media outlets such as WGN Radio, The Chicago Sun-Times, Chicagoland Television (CLTV), CBS Sports, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM. Pistone has been with SiriusXM since 2008 and co-hosts “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) with Mike Bagley, which airs Monday through Friday at 7 am ET. He is also the host of “Fantasy Racing Preview,” a weekend show focusing on NASCAR gambling and fantasy racing, which is part of the channel’s NASCAR Cup Series pre-race programming. Additionally, Pistone is a member of the SiriusXM College Sports team as an on-air personality and contributor on Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372). He is one of the hosts of “Big Ten Today” and can also be heard on “Big Ten Whip Around,” a weekly hour-long program spotlighting a variety of sports around the conference. Pistone is also the host of several specials as well as providing a range of digital content for both the NASCAR and Big Ten channels. A Chicago native, Pistone resides in the northern suburbs of the city with his wife and daughter.