The Roval.
Where It Is
Ok, so there are some things you should know about the Roval. First of all, it’s NUTS.
Well, kind of. It’s a road course, and in something that’s become a thing in NASCAR, it exists in the infield and on the track of a traditional NASCAR speedway, in this case Charlotte. Also in something that’s become a thing in NASCAR, they’ve made some changes to the chicane/rumble strip/turtles or whatever, the curbing, after it had some issues during the Xfinity race yesterday. It’s chaotic. It’s still pretty new. It’s liable to be a big old mess.
Very fun.
When It Is
Green flag at 2:30 PM EDT
How to Watch
NBC
Whom to Watch
This is the final race of the Round of 12, meaning the winner (if a playoff driver) will move on to the Round of 8, as will the top drivers in the standings until we get to eight. With that…Playoff drivers, their place in the standings, their odds to win the race:
1. Denny Hamlin (locked into Round of 8 via winning already this round; 11-to-1)
2. Kyle Larson (22 points ahead of first driver out; 9-to-2)
3. Joey Logano (21 points ahead of first driver out; 20-to-1)
4. Brad Keselowski (20 points ahead of first driver out; 40-to-1)
5. Martin Truex, Jr. (20 points ahead of first driver out; 7-to-1)
6. Ryan Blaney (15 points ahead of first driver out; 22-to-1)
7. Chase Elliott (9 points ahead of first driver out; 11-to-5)
8. Kyle Busch (last driver in, 9 points ahead of first driver out; 10-to-1)
9. Kevin Harvick (first driver out, 9 points behind last driver in; 25-to-1)
10. Christopher Bell (28 points behind last driver in; 15-to-1)
11. William Byron (44 points behind last driver in; 13-to-1)
12. Alex Bowman (52 points behind last driver in; 25-to-1)
How NASCAR Should Script It
You’ve got beef between Harvick and Elliott. Use it.
Elliott’s the favorite here, a road course wizard in need of some good points. Harvick also needs points. If the latter wrecks the former going for the win, things are going to explode, and who should come through? Well, obviously it should be a Bell/Byron/Bowman race to the finish then, with Bell triumphing because remember how fun it was when Bell won at the Daytona road course back at the beginning of the year?
Xfinity
A.J. Allmendinger triumphed yesterday (he’ll be racing in the Cup race as well), putting him in the lead heading into the Round of 8 over there, narrowly ahead of Austin Cindric, with Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, and Brandon Jones rounding out the remaining field.
