The Cup Series drives on today as it visits the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the 2025 Bank of America ROVAL 400. A 17-turn, 2.32 mile layout, the Roval is a unique road course that utilizes both the high banking of Charlotte Motor Speedway and the technical portions of the infield course. The Roval became a part of the NASCAR schedule in 2018, replacing the 300 mile fall race that had previously been held since 1960. Following today’s race, the four lowest ranking drivers in the Playoff Standings will see their championship aspirations come to an end, setting up the Round of 8 to begin next week in Las Vegas.
Track position is king on road courses, plain and simple. The Gen 7 car has proven that passing is difficult on this type of track, so drivers will need to stay patient as they work their way toward the front over the course of 109 laps. Managing your equipment will be so important today, especially with the beating and banging that will ensue. The elevation changes from the flat to the banked portion and the modest amounts of air that will be caught when driving up over the turtles can be rough on both the car and the driver. Patience is a virtue. Tempers will flair. The ol’ chrome horn will undoubtedly be used. Four drivers will see their shot at a championship come to a close this afternoon. How desperate will drivers get as we’re coming down the stretch? What is a driver willing to do when their back is against the wall? Today will most certainly produce plenty of fireworks and another storied chapter in the brief history of this race.
The Bank of America ROVAL 400 was first held in 2018 and has produced a solid list of winners in its short existence, including Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and A. J. Allmendinger, just to name a few. Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson share the record for most wins in this race, with each driver winning this race twice (Elliott in 2019 and 2020, Larson in 2021 and 2024), while Chevrolet has won five of the seven Roval races.
Last year’s edition was won by Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 62 laps on the way to his second career Roval victory. Christopher Bell led one lap on the way to a second place finish, William Byron finished in third, Austin Cindric finished in fourth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five. A. J. Allmendinger led 14 laps and won Stage 2 on the way to a sixth place finish, Polesitter Shane van Gisbergen led 21 laps on the way to a seventh place finish, Tyler Reddick led six laps and won Stage 1 on the way to an 11th place finish and Alex Bowman led five laps and finished in 38th position after failing post-race inspection.
Coverage of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 can be seen on the USA Network, with pre-race beginning at 2:30 PM EST and green flag coverage beginning at 3 PM EST.
Taking the low hanging fruit a lot today. Sorry in advance. Josh Berry sucks on road courses. That’s it. That’s the entire post. But for real though, Berry has struggled greatly in his Cup Series career on tracks that require both right and left turns, posting just one top 20 (13th at Sonoma this season), three top 25’s and five finishes of 30th or worse in 10 career road course starts. Don’t get me wrong, Berry is a great driver. His bread and butter is the short tracks, though, and Wood Brothers has always been a player on drafting tracks and intermediate tracks. Berry has been checkers or wreckers of late, posting one top five, three top 10’s and five finishes of 30th or worse in his last eight starts, highlighted by a runner-up performance two weeks ago in New Hampshire. This weekend initially showed promise for Berry, who posted the 19th fastest lap of Practice, before struggling on his qualifying lap and locking in a 33rd place starting position. Berry finished 22nd in his lone Roval start last season, clawing his way through the carnage from a 36th place starting position on that occasion. In a race that will undoubtedly be filled with chaos, expect Berry to be a part of it this time on the way to another finish outside the top 25 on a road course.
The best driver not to make the playoffs, Chris Buescher has still had a solid 2025 campaign, posting four top 5’s and 15 top 20’s, with a best finish of second coming at Michigan over the summer. Traditionally a road course ringer, Buescher hasn’t been as heavy of a threat with the arrival of SVG, posting a respectable one top five and three top 10’s this season on the road courses, with a best finish of 3rd coming at Watkins Glen, the race he won last season. Since 2022, Buescher has been one of the most consistent on road courses, posting one win, five top 5’s, 16 top 10’s and leading 62 laps in 22 starts. Buescher has been the model of consistency at the Charlotte Roval in his career, with one top five, three top 10’s and seven top 20 finishes in seven career starts at the track. Buescher is going to be a threat today, ranking inside the top 10 on 5 Lap Averages and inside the top 5 on 10 Lap Averages on the way to a 5th place qualifying effort, his best ever at the Roval. A win isn’t out of the realm. He is one of the few to ever go toe to toe with SVG and beat him straight up. Being outside the playoffs, Buescher has nothing to lose. Expect plenty of aggression on the way to a top 10 finish this afternoon.
The heavy favorite on road courses for well over a decade, A. J. Allmendinger has been cast aside since the arrival of SVG on the scene. But let’s not forget just how good Allmendinger has been in his career on road courses, posting three wins, nine top 5’s and 23 top 10’s in 48 road course starts in the Cup Series, not to mention his 11 road course wins in the Xfinity Series. Since winning the Roval race in 2023, Allmendinger has had some struggles on the road courses, whether that be getting caught up in accidents or having part failures on his own car, posting just four top 10’s and three finishes of 30th or worse over his last 10 road course starts. Overall, the Roval has been Allmendinger’s best track, and, frankly, it’s not even close, posting five wins, seven top 5’s and nine top 10’s in 10 career starts across both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Allmendinger has led 89 laps at the Roval across five Cup Series starts, finishing 7th in 2018, 38th in 2021 (lost an engine), 4th in 2022, 1st in 2023 and 6th in 2024. So far this weekend, Allmendinger has seemed to recapture some of his Roval mojo, laying down the fastest lap of Practice and ranking 2nd on 5 Lap Averages on the way to a 9th place starting position. Allmendinger will be one of the favorites to win today, and for good reason. Expect him to work his way forward early and be a player late on the way to another top 10 Roval finish.
Did you really think we weren’t going to pick him? Shane van Gisbergen has been an absolute stud on the road courses this year, with four wins (each of the last four road course races) and five top six finishes in five road course starts. SVG has started on the Pole three times and on the front row four times on road courses this season, leading a mind-boggling 244 laps in those five races. SVG is the favorite today, and it isn’t even close. I don’t care how much the haters bitch and moan or whip out the tried and true “One Trick Pony” comment, the man is an absolute beast on road courses, like it or not. It doesn’t really matter how well SVG does in Practice, he puts it together for qualifying and on race day. SVG only laid down the 17th fastest lap of Practice yesterday, which sounds concerning, but he ranked inside the top five on 5 Lap Averages and paced the field on 10 Lap Averages before nabbing another front row starting spot, rolling out from the second position this afternoon. Deep exhale. SVG has some past reps at this track, finishing 7th in the Cup Series race last year after leading 21 laps from the Pole and finishing 3rd in the Xfinity Series race last year after leading seven laps from the Pole. At the end of the day, SVG truly has nothing to lose. He’s in top-tier equipment, he’s at a track that is his specialty and he’s already been eliminated from the playoffs, so he’s not looking for a good points day. He’s just here to win. Checkers or wreckers. No in-between. Really going out on a limb this afternoon, but expect another absolute belt to ass performance from Shane van Gisbergen, who I predict will take the best of the Cup Series to school once again on this way to a fifth straight road course victory in 2025 with a win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course!
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