Another elimination race is here.
Four more drivers will see their championship hopes dashed on Sunday when the Cup Series rolls into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the Round of 12 finale.
Competitors will have a unique challenge at the North Carolina track, which is dubbed the “Roval” because it uses a combination layout of Charlotte’s infield road course and traditional oval. And in 2024, the track has added some layout tweaks to the 17-turn layout that will undoubtedly impact the race.
So, who is racing in Charlotte? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And what drivers could contend for the win? Here’s everything you need to know for 2024 Bank of America ROVAL 400:
When is the NASCAR race at the Charlotte Roval?
The Bank of America ROVAL 400 is set for Sunday, Oct. 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Before the race on Sunday, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. The 38 drivers will be split into two groups (found here), with 20 minutes of practice scheduled for each.
Then, the field will compete in two-round qualifying. Here’s how it works:
- The 38 drivers will remain split into their two groups.
- First round: 15 minutes for each group. Drivers can make unlimited laps.
- The five fastest drivers from each group advance to the second round. Starting positions 11 through 38 are set based on speeds from the first round.
- Second round: 10 minutes for the 10 drivers who advanced. Drivers can make unlimited laps. The top 10 starting positions are determined based on the best single-lap speeds from the second round.
What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?
Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC with Marty Snider, Kim Coon and Dave Burns reporting from pit road. Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:
Saturday, Oct. 12 (USA Network streaming)
Sunday, Oct. 13 (NBC and streaming)
NASCAR Charlotte Roval entry list, drivers
Thirty-eight drivers will race in Charlotte – the 34 full-timers, plus four others.
Two Xfinity Series regulars will step up into the Cup Series on Sunday, with road course ringers A.J. Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen driving for Kaulig Racing. Then there’s part-timers Kaz Grala for Rick Ware Racing and Josh Bilicki for MBM Motorsports.
Here’s the full entry list for Charlotte:
| Car number | Driver | Team | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Busch Light |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Menards |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | BetMGM |
| 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing | Bed Bath & Beyond |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | HendrickCars.com |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Castrol |
| 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | Mattress Warehouse |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Lenovo |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | UniFirst |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Beef A Roo |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Sport Clips |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Discount Tire |
| 13 | Shane van Gisbergen | Kaulig Racing | WeatherTech |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford Performance |
| 15 | Kaz Grala | Rick Ware Racing | Meat N’ Bone |
| 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Celsius |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Fifth Third Bank |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | DeWalt |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | DEX Imaging |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Shell/Pennzoil |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Leidos |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Valvoline |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Cirkul |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Love’s Travel Stops |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Boozy Jerky |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | United Rentals |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Mobil 1 |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Family Dollar |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Monster Energy |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Harris Teeter/Totino’s |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Ally |
| 51 | Corey LaJoie | Rick Ware Racing | Schluter Systems |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Interstate Batteries |
| 66 | Josh Bilicki | MBM Motorsports | NCSHPfoundation.org |
| 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports | Ambetter Health |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Delaware Life |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Choice Privileges |
NASCAR Charlotte Roval predictions, picks, favorites
There have been five different winners in the six races at the Roval, but a few standouts have typically dominated races.
It all starts with Elliott, who is the only two-time winner. He has an 8.2 average finish, plus a series-best 109 laps led and 111.2 driver rating in six starts. Even though he’s winless in the last three races, he’s still won a stage in two of those three events.
Beyond Elliott, the next four drivers with the best average finishes at the Roval included four playoff contenders: Bowman (6.4), Reddick (7.0), Logano (8.7) and Blaney (10.2). Bowman has never finished outside the top-10 in five starts, while Reddick has led more than 20 laps in each of the last two races.
The tricky part in picking a winner could be strategy, with playoff drivers potentially opting to chase stage points rather than the race win. With that in mind, there are a few non-playoff contenders who should be all-in trying to take the checkered flag.
Allmendinger and van Gisbergen will be at the top of everyone’s list, and for good reason. The former is the defending Roval winner, and he’s won all four of his Roval starts in the Xfinity Series. SVG, meanwhile, is always a road course threat even though he’s never raced at the Roval. He finished second at Watkins Glen last month and won the Chicago Street Race in his debut start last summer.
NASCAR Charlotte Roval winners list, race history
Five of the 38 drivers in the field are past winners at the Charlotte Roval, but only one has multiple wins.
Elliott won back-to-back races in 2019 and 2020, making him the winningest driver at the track. Blaney won the inaugural event in 2018, while other winners include Larson (2021), Bell (2022) and Allmendinger (2023).
NASCAR playoff standings, clinching scenarios for Charlotte
With Chastain and Stenhouse winning the first two races in the Round of 12, none of the playoff drivers automatically advanced to the Round of 8 with a victory. Byron is the only driver who has scored enough points to lock himself into the next round, leaving the other 11 drivers fighting for the final seven spots.
You can find a full explanation of NASCAR’s playoff format right here.
Here’s the playoff standings entering Charlotte, with the bottom four set to be eliminated unless they can win the race or gain enough points to get into the top-eight:
| Rank | Driver | Points |
| 1. | William Byron | 3,122 (advanced) |
| 2. | Christopher Bell | 3,105 (+57 above the cut) |
| 3. | Kyle Larson | 3,100 (+52 above the cut) |
| 4. | Denny Hamlin | 3,078 (+30 above the cut) |
| 5. | Alex Bowman | 3,074 (+26 above the cut) |
| 6. | Ryan Blaney | 3,073 (+25 above the cut) |
| 7. | Tyler Reddick | 3,062 (+14 above the cut) |
| 8. | Chase Elliott | 3,061 (+13 above the cut) |
| 9. | Joey Logano | 3,048 (-13 below the cut) |
| 10. | Daniel Suarez | 3,041 (-20 below the cut) |
| 11. | Austin Cindric | 3,032 (-29 below the cut) |
| 12. | Chase Briscoe | 3,029 (-32 below the cut) |
No matter what anyone else does, these drivers can automatically clinch a spot in the Round of 8 with the following finishes or points:
- Bell: 26th, or 11 points
- Larson: 21st, or 16 points
- Hamlin: 38 points
- Bowman: 42 points
- Blaney: 43 points
- Reddick: 54 points
- Elliott, Logano, Suarez, Cindric and Briscoe: Cannot automatically clinch without a win
