NASCAR returns to the racing hub of Charlotte this weekend and a familiar track. But it’s a fairly new race course within that Charlotte Motor Speedway.
They began racing the Charlotte “Roval” in 2018. It’s the final race of the playoffs’ Round of 12, with the championship contenders trimmed to eight drivers at the checkered flag. There was a time when NASCAR fans couldn’t imagine such an important race being run anywhere but a familiar oval.
But the sport’s road-racing history goes back 70 years.
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As unlikely as it all sounds now, NASCAR’s road-course visits started on a New Jersey airport and the first winner drove a Jaguar.
Al Keller drove his Jag to victory in the 1954 International 100 on a makeshift course at the Linden Airport. “International” it was — plenty of Jags, Austin Healeys, MG’s and even a Porsche in the field, while the visiting good ol’ boys like Lee Petty, Herb Thomas and Buck Baker stuck with their Dodges, Hudsons and Oldsmobiles.
More than a dozen road courses have been part of the NASCAR Cup Series over its 76 years. In the modern era, beginning in the early 1970s, only three were part of the scene. It was Watkins Glen and Riverside until 1988, then Sonoma replaced Riverside, which actually had two Cup dates each year from 1970-87.
This decade has seen a dramatic increase in road racing, with five on the schedule this year and another coming next year in Mexico.
Over the decades, it seemed like each particular era had one or two full-time Cup drivers who stood above the rest on road courses. For a while in recent years, Chase Elliott was that guy, but in the past few years, others have emerged as quality navigators of both left- and right-hand turns — Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick, particularly.
Let’s look at the Cup Series’ all-time road-course winners.
Jeff Gordon, 9 wins
During his Hall of Fame career, Gordon got two road courses a year — Sonoma and Watkins Glen. His five Sonoma wins included a run of three straight from 1998-2000, overlapping his run of three straight Glen wins from 1997-99. He also won Watkins Glen in 2001, giving him seven road wins during a nine-race stretch.
Tony Stewart, 8 wins
Like Gordon, Stewart got two chances year. His five Watkins Glen wins came between 2002-09. His 49th and final NASCAR win came at Sonoma in 2016.
Chase Elliott, 7 wins
Five of his first nine wins came on road courses. He was the man to beat for a few years but hasn’t won a road-course race since 2021 at Elkhart Lake. Unlike the two racers above, Chase has won on five different road courses, including Daytona’s layout in 2020.
Bobby Allison, 6 wins
All of Bobby’s road-course wins came at California’s Riverside Raceway between 1971-81. He won one each driving for Holman-Moody, Roger Penske and Bud Moore.
Ricky Rudd, 6 wins
Rudd overlapped the Riverside and Sonoma eras. His first Cup win came at Riverside in 1983 and his last at Sonoma in 2002. Road wins make up more than a quarter of his 23 career victories.
Rusty Wallace, 6 wins
Wallace won the last two Cup races at Riverside in 1987-88. He also won two each at Watkins Glen and Sonoma.
Tim Richmond, 5 wins
Four of his five road wins came at Riverside — two for Jim Stacy and two for Rick Hendrick.
Darrell Waltrip, 5 wins
All five of DW’s road wins came at Riverside. Four of them came during a six-race stretch from 1979-81.
Martin Truex Jr., 5 wins
Four of his five have come at Sonoma and the other at Watkins Glen. Though there’s talk of him running the occasional race after this final full-time season, this week might be his final road-course start.
Kyle Larson, 5 wins
All of his road-course wins have come since 2021 — two each at Watkins Glen and Sonoma, one at the Charlotte Roval. Four came during the 2021-22 seasons.
Other NASCAR drivers with multiple road-course victories
4 wins: Kyle Busch, Mark Martin.
3 wins: Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Geoff Bodine, Ernie Irvan.
