Was it a work of art? A masterpiece? A race for the ages?
No.
But was Sunday’s inaugural Bank of America Roval 400 entertaining? You’d be lying if you said otherwise.
Nobody knew what to expect at the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s hybrid Roval. Predictions ranged from Armageddon to a single-file parade.
In all honesty Sunday’s race was a little of both. There were times of craziness with a byproduct of crashed cars including a Talladega-worthy multi-car pile-up that brought out the red flag. But there were also stretches of cars strung out all around in the 2.28-mile circuit sometimes in parade formation.
As things went on the intensity level heightened with fuel mileage strategy thrown into the mix and the playoff picture being impacted on nearly a lap by lap basis. However the race needed that seminal moment to put it over the top and it happened on the last lap.
Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson crashing while going for the win might not be in the same category as Donnie Allison vs. Cale Yarborough in the 1979 Daytona 500. But it definitely will have its place on the NASCAR highlight reel for years to come.
Racing purists are no doubt holding up their collective noses. But fans craving unpredictability and playoff intensity are probably on hold right now with the CMS ticket office looking for 2019 tickets.
- Charlotte’s creation of the Roval was a success before a competitive lap was turned over the weekend. The amount of buzz and energy around the race was exactly the shot in the arm the sport has needed for some time. Not since the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994 has there been such a sense of anticipation about a new track or venue. While the racing itself wasn’t a start to finish nail biter and there will no doubt to tweaks made to the track layout by 2019, the Roval resonated around the NASCAR community simply because it provided something different. If there is a lesson to be learned it shouldn’t be an immediate rush of similar road circuit-oval track hybrids but rather how important it is to provide more variety in scheduling to re-energize the sport and its fanbase.
- Saturday’s Xfinity Series race will spark one of the tweaks that will come to the Roval next year and that’s the addition of laps. Chase Briscoe’s first career series win came in a snappy race that ended in about 90 minutes. NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell Tweeted after the race he expected the sanctioning body would increase the distance next year to give fans more. Quite frankly I’m torn. Elapsed time of a sporting event has no bearing on it being interesting and entertaining. Saturday’s race could have easily stretched to more than two hours had there been additional caution flags. Finding the “sweet spot” for length of races continues to be an experiment for NASCAR and the 2018 Xfinity Series Roval race will be another test.
- Two young drivers will get their shot at Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing in 2019. Richard Childress Racing announced Daniel Hemric will take the seat of the team’s No. 31 ride being vacated by Ryan Newman, who heads to Roush Fenway Racing. Meanwhile JTG Daugherty will hand the No. 47 entry to Ryan Preece, who takes over from veteran AJ Allmendinger. Both announcements provided opportunities to two talented drivers who are being hired more on talent and promise than checkbooks. While Hemric has the backing of current Xfinity Series sponsor South Point Casino migrating with him, team owner Richard Childress seemed more interested in pumping life back into his middle of the pack program. Preece has proven his worth in limited Xfinity Series chances including a win with for Joe Gibbs Racing and now climbs the ladder to the top rung. It’s a refreshing turn of events.
- Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway is one of the most prestigious late model stock car races in the country. The historic Virginia short track hosted a stellar field and huge crowd under the track’s LED lighting system Saturday night. Unfortunately after 180 laps of exciting racing the final 20 laps turned out to be a mess. CE Falk was declared the race winner without technically leading a lap. Because of chaos that necessitated three overtime finishes whoever crossed the start-finish line to take the final green flag was declared the winner when the last extra segment was stopped again for a crash. That was Falk. But it took 15 minutes to figure things out and more than two hours to complete the last 20 laps. There were crashes, upset drivers, “media” members inserting themselves into situations that should have any future credentials revoked and just overall chaos. It’s a tremendous event that deserves to be the Daytona 500 of LMSC racing. It’s a shame things went to askew at the end on Saturday night.
The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Motor Racing Network.
