Note: PRN has the radio coverage of today’s race.
Starting Lineup | Pit Assignments
The debut of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval has created several storylines to follow Sunday afternoon in the Bank of America 400.
The Great Unknown
Despite practice, qualifying and Saturday’s Xfinity Series race nobody knows for sure how Sunday’s Bank of America 400 Roval is going to play out. Predictions range from a crash fest to a single-file race determined by pit strategy and everything in between. While the new track has generated great intrigue and energy around NASCAR it remains to be seen just how the actual competition will turn out.
Strategy Game
Since it is technically a road course despite the hybrid nature of the circuit the possibility of fuel mileage and strategy determining the outcome has risen. While Sunday’s race is longer in distance than the two other Cup Series road courses at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, stage breaks on lap 25 and 50 will provide some crew chiefs with a window to gamble on stretching fuel particularly if there are a plethora of caution laps as some expect.
Final Practice Speeds | Second Practice Speeds
Playoff Push
The race is the final event for Round 1 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and four drivers will be eliminated from the championship picture when the checkered flag flies. Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin are below the cutline heading into the race and need to step up or face being knocked out of the title story. Hamlin and Jones will both have to start at the rear of the field in backup cars. Hamlin had an eventful Friday that saw the Joe Gibbs Racing driver suffer incidents in both practice and qualifying. Although Hamlin officially qualified in the 27th spot his team has elected to go to a backup car rather than repair the damage to the No. 11 Toyota. Jones made contact with the Turn 12 tire barrier and the outside wall in Saturday’s practice.
Moving On
Four drivers are locked into Round 2 of the Playoffs. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick – who just needs to start on Sunday to advance – do not have to worry about anything but winning on Sunday. With no playoff implications other than trying to accumulating additional bonus points, arguable the four top drivers in the series all have a “win or bust” approach. Keselowski topped the final practice session, but will go to a backup car after he hit the wall coming out of Turn 17.
Shell Shocked
The blue curbing, being called “Turtles,” around the chicanes could upset the cars or cause damage depending how they are hit. They are also in front of the tire barrier in Turn 12. After Bubba Wallace and Jones made contact with the barrier in practice, officials altered the angle of the tire-pack wall leaving the “Turtles” exposed as a potential obstacle.
“It’s less treacherous,” Truex Jr. said. “You’ve got about two feet of wiggle room, so if you screw up, you can just hit the turtles and not that thing.
“It’s definitely not good for the car and I purposely stayed off them all day, so there’s a little bit of speed there maybe for the end of the race, but we’re definitely going to try and stay off of them as much possible.”
See Also: Chicane Penalties Updated
New Face in Victory Lane?
There are some intriguing possibilities for a new winner in Sunday’s race starting with outside front row starter AJ Allmendinger. The veteran driver found out this week he would not return to JTG Daugherty Racing in 2019 with Ryan Preece taking the No. 47 seat. But he is considered one of the best road racers in the series and remains motivated to score a second career Cup win. Daniel Suarez (17th), Michael McDowell (18th), Justin Marks (31st) and Regan Smith (32nd) are other accomplished road racers in the field looking to take advantage of the challenges others may encounter.
