gettyimages-2177572030.jpg
Getty Images

There are many road courses around the wide world of motorsports, from the most famous circuits abroad to the many challenging courses that the United States -- a country known for its oval racing -- has to offer. But between all the ovals and road courses there are to be raced on, there is only one Roval. And yet again, its one annual race will go a long way toward determining who becomes a NASCAR Cup Series champion.

The Round of 12 in the NASCAR playoffs concludes this weekend with the Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, the only combination oval and road course of its kind. Since its introduction in 2018, this 17-turn, 2.32-mile course that combines the traditional Charlotte quad oval with the track's infield road course has become notorious for producing unpredictable racing, heightening tensions in the battle for the championship and producing dramatic twists and turns in ways that few other tracks in NASCAR can.

After winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, Ross Chastain enters this race on the verge of playoff elimination as he trails defending Cup champion Joey Logano by 13 points for the final spot in the Round of 8. Chastain, Bubba Wallace (-26), Tyler Reddick (-29), and Austin Cindric (-48) will all seek to make something big happen to try and keep their title hopes alive at a track known for erring on the side of spectacular.

Where to watch the NASCAR playoffs at the Charlotte Roval

When: Sunday, Oct. 3 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval -- Concord, N.C.
TV: USA | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)  

Starting lineup

Tyler Reddick won the pole for the Bank of America Roval 400 in qualifying on Saturday, posting a lap of 85.939 (95.510 MPH) to earn his second pole of the season and his first since Circuit of the Americas all the way back in March.

  1. #45 - Tyler Reddick
  2. #88 - Shane van Gisbergen (R)
  3. #54 - Ty Gibbs
  4. #5 - Kyle Larson
  5. #17 - Chris Buescher
  6. #71 - Michael McDowell
  7. #20 - Christopher Bell
  8. #19 - Chase Briscoe
  9. #16 - A.J. Allmendinger
  10. #1 - Ross Chastain
  11. #12 - Ryan Blaney
  12. #23 - Bubba Wallace
  13. #24 - William Byron
  14. #11 - Denny Hamlin
  15. #9 - Chase Elliott
  16. #10 - Ty Dillon
  17. #22 - Joey Logano
  18. #41 - Cole Custer
  19. #2 - Austin Cindric
  20. #99 - Daniel Suarez
  21. #7 - Justin Haley
  22. #6 - Brad Keselowski
  23. #35 - Riley Herbst (R)
  24. #38 - Zane Smith
  25. #48 - Alex Bowman
  26. #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  27. #77 - Carson Hocevar
  28. #8 - Kyle Busch
  29. #60 - Ryan Preece
  30. #4 - Noah Gragson
  31. #34 - Todd Gilliland
  32. #51 - Cody Ware
  33. #21 - Josh Berry
  34. #66 - Josh Bilicki
  35. #42 - John Hunter Nemechek
  36. #3 - Austin Dillon
  37. #43 - Erik Jones

Storyline to watch

One week after clashing with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs at New Hampshire, Denny Hamlin was involved in yet another run-in of tested allegiances, this time with Bubba Wallace and the 23XI Racing team that he owns. Running second to Wallace entering the final corner at Kansas -- and with Wallace's most likely path to the Round of 8 being a win -- Hamlin cut his driver little slack, charging into the corner and running the No. 23 up the track and into the wall.

As it turned out, neither Hamlin or Wallace won. Chase Elliott, on four fresh tires, took advantage of the situation to breeze past Hamlin coming off turn 4 and take the victory in dramatic fashion. But Hamlin defended himself on Actions Detrimental, saying that he is under no obligation to cut the cars he owns a break racing for a win given that he himself drives for a different race team.

"My responsibilities as the team owner come Monday through Saturday. It is not up to me to get 23XI into the Round of 8, if that makes any sense. That's not my responsibility," Hamlin said. "My responsibility is to get the 11 into the Round of 8. I'm the driver on Sunday of that 11. Joe pays me a lot of money to make sure that that car wins a championship, or has a shot to. 

"I mean, could you imagine the outrage if I just backed off and let him have it? Holy [expletive], people would lose their minds. But instead, I think Bubba said it very accurately, we were going for the win. Both guys were going for the win."

While Hamlin possesses a comfortable 48-point advantage on the Round of 8 cut line, Wallace went from potentially winning his way into the Round of 8 to sitting 26 points below the cut line, facing elimination unless he has a massively successful points day and likely receives some help along the way. In addition to Wallace, 23XI teammate Tyler Reddick is also on the brink of elimination as he stands 29 points below the cut line.

The immediate consequence of Kansas' finish could be that 23XI Racing has neither of its two playoff teams make the Round of 8, but the burden of the long-term consequences could very well end up falling on Hamlin and his No. 11 team. Should Wallace not advance beyond this weekend, it will be very interesting to see how much slack Wallace decides to cut -- or not cut -- his boss in the final four races of the season will be very much worth monitoring.

NASCAR news of the week

  • NASCAR has fined Carson Hocevar $50,000 for violating the sport's Personal Conduct Policy after an incident in which he endangered safety workers attending to his car after a late-race spin a week ago at Kansas. After spinning out and flattening multiple tires on his car, safety workers arrived at Hocevar's No. 77 only for Hocevar to rev his engine and spin his tires in an attempt to rejoin the field while the safety crew was at work preparing his car to be towed back to pit road.
  • Following last week's announcement that he will move to Trackhouse Racing in 2026 to serve as crew chief for Connor Zilisch, Richard Childress Racing has announced that Randall Burnett will no longer serve as crew chief for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 team and will be replaced by Andy Street for the remaining five races of the year. Burnett will remain with RCR in a support role through the end of the season. Burnett had served as the No. 8 team's crew chief since 2020 and has six Cup wins on his resume, but he has not won since 2023 and has overseen the worst statistical season of Busch's career. Busch has earned just two top fives and eight top 10s this season and is on the verge of going winless for the second straight year.
  • As part of their ongoing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have filed for a summary judgment on market definition. While NASCAR is historically recognized as being in the same market as other motorsports entities (F1, IndyCar, etc.), the teams have attempted to argue that the NASCAR Cup Series is such a specialized field that the teams that compete in it have no other relevant market to race in, thus giving NASCAR monopoly power over the market they compete in.

    Meanwhile, NASCAR filed for a summary judgment against 23XI and Front Row on Friday night, asking for a proactive ruling from the court against the teams, which included declarations from multiple team owners and executives espousing the benefits of the current charter system and how the legal dispute surrounding the sport has cast uncertainty on their investment. Those who made declarations included Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress, Brad Keselowski (RFK Racing), Carl Long (Garage 66), B.J. McLeod (Live Fast Motorsports), Roger Penske, Gordon Smith (Hyak Motorsports), Rick Ware, Cal Wells (Legacy Motor Club), and Jon Wood.

    "Today's filing demonstrates that NASCAR's charter system has the support of race teams throughout the garage, and that the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit is not in the best interests of the sport," read a NASCAR statement. "This lawsuit is not about antitrust; it is merely an attempt to renegotiate an agreement that was signed and is being honored by all other race teams. Together with our race team partners, we remain committed to delivering the best of stock car racing to our fans every weekend through our championship on Nov. 2, including this Sunday on the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway."

Pick to win

Shane van Gisbergen (-105 at DraftKings) -- After finishing 10th at Kansas to earn his very first top 10 finish on an oval, Shane van Gisbergen looks to cap off his historically dominant road racing season with his fifth consecutive win in a Cup road race. SVG won the pole at the Roval and led 21 laps before finishing seventh a year ago, and his command over the front of the pack has only increased since then. 

A fifth win this season will also add to his record for most wins by a driver in their rookie season, which he set with his fourth win of the year at Watkins Glen in August.