The 17 turn, 2.28 mile road course, the Charlotte ROVAL, hosted the CUP and XFINITY Series Playoffs’ cut races which determined the drivers advancing to their respective Round of 8 lineups. Kyle Larson won Sunday‘s Bank of America Roval 400 for his seventh victory this season but it was not an easy task. His Camaro was losing voltage and he was close to getting eliminated from the CUP Playoffs. The #5 crew changed the battery and also the alternator belt under caution to keep him on the lead lap. During Stage 3 he made his way to the front. The latest results and upcoming scheduled events for the NASCAR feeder series are included below as well as brief details on all tracks mentioned in this column.
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sun, Oct 10, Bank of America ROVAL 400 – Charlotte ROVAL – 109 laps.
– No practice or qualifying. NASCAR’s qualifying metric set the starting lineup for Sunday’s event based on race finishes, point standings and fastest race laps. This placed Denny Hamlin (#11 Toyota Camry) P1 on the starting grid. Brad Keselowski (#2 Ford Mustang) completed the front row in the P2 spot. #22 Joey Logano, #20 Christopher Bell, #19 Martin Truex Jr., #12 Ryan Blaney, #4 Kevin Harvick, #9 Chase Elliott, #18 Kyle Busch and #5 Kyle Larson formed the rest of the top-10 in that order. Did not make the 40-car field: No one, only 39 entries.
– Kyle Larson (#5 Chevrolet Camaro) scored his 13th victory in 255 NCS races. This is his 7th victory and 23rd top-10 finish in 2021. It is his first victory and first top-10 finish in three races at the Charlotte ROVAL. Tyler Reddick (2nd) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Charlotte and his 15th top-10 finish in 2021. Chris Buescher (3rd) posted his first top-10 finish in four races at the ROVAL. Chase Briscoe (22nd) was the highest finishing Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender (ROTY). Polesitter Denny Hamlin led 25 laps and finished in 5th place. Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Alex Bowman (9th to 12th) did not advance to the NCS Playoffs Round of 8.
– NCS Championship points leader: Kyle Larson by 35 points over Denny Hamlin.
– NCS Playoffs – Round of 8: (Reseeded Points)
1. Kyle Larson 4065
2. Denny Hamlin 4030
3. Martin Truex Jr. 4029
4. Ryan Blaney 4024
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5. Kyle Busch 4023
6. Chase Elliott 4022
7. Joey Logano 4013
8. Brad Keselowski 4008
– After the next three races (Texas, Kansas and Martinsville), the bottom 4 will not advance to the NCS Playoffs Championship 4 race that concludes the season at Phoenix Raceway on November 7.
– Next: Sun, Oct 17, Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 – Texas Motor Speedway – 334 laps.
– 2021 NCS Regular Season Champion: Kyle Larson
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS)
Sat, Oct 9, Drive for the Cure 250 – Charlotte ROVAL – 67 laps (+1 lap OT).
– No practice or qualifying sessions. NASCAR’s qualifying metric set the starting lineup for Saturday’s event based on race finishes, point standings and fastest race laps. This placed Austin Cindric (#22 Ford Mustang) P1 on the starting grid. Justin Allgaier (#7 Chevrolet Camaro) completed the front row in the P2 spot. #18 Daniel Hemric, #1 Josh Berry, #11 Justin Haley, #19 Brandon Jones, #10 Jeb Burton, #20 Harrison Burton, #98 Riley Herbst and #9 Noah Gragson formed the rest of the top-10 in that order. 41 cars entered for the 40-car field; #13 Timmy Hill did not make the race.
– AJ Allmendinger (#16 Chevrolet Camaro) scored his 10th victory in 56 NXS races. This is his 5th victory and 19th top-10 finish in 2021 and his 3rd victory and 3rd top-10 finish in three races at The ROVAL. Polesitter Austin Cindric (2nd) led a race-high 22 laps and posted his 4th top-10 finish in four races at Charlotte. It is his 22nd top-10 finish in 2021. Daniel Hemric (3rd) posted his 3rd top-10 finish in three races at the Charlotte ROVAL. Sam Mayer (10th) was the highest finishing ROTY. Winning for the 6th time on a road course, Allmendinger broke a tie with race runner-up Austin Cindric for most-ever XFINITY road course victories. Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements and Riley Herbst (9th to 12th) did not advance to the NXS Playoffs Round of 8.
– NXS Championship points leader: AJ Allmendinger by 6 points over Austin Cindric.
– NXS Playoffs – Round of 8: (Reseeded Points)
1. AJ Allmendinger 3050
2. Austin Cindric 3044
3. Justin Allgaier 3021
4. Noah Gragson 3017
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5. Daniel Hemric 3016
6. Justin Haley 3015
7. Harrison Burton 3008
8. Brandon Jones 3003
– After the next three races (Texas, Kansas and Martinsville), the bottom 4 will not advance to the NXS Playoffs Championship 4 race that concludes the season at Phoenix Raceway on November 6.
– Next: Sat, Oct 16, Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 – Texas Motor Speedway – 200 laps.
– 2021 NXS Regular Season Champion: AJ Allmendinger
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NTS)
– NTS Championship points leader: John Hunter Nemechek by 1 point over Ben Rhodes.
– NTS Playoffs – Round of 8: (G/L)
1. John Hunter Nemechek +1
2. Ben Rhodes -1
3. Matt Crafton +1
4. Sheldon Creed +1
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5. Stewart Friesen -2
6. Chandler Smith +2
7. Carson Hocevar -1
8. Zane Smith -1
– After the next race (Martinsville) the bottom 4 will not advance to the NTS Playoffs Championship 4 race that concludes the season at Phoenix Raceway on November 5.
– Next: Sat, Oct 30, United Rentals 200 – Martinsville Speedway – 200 laps.
– 2021 NTS Regular Season Champion: John Hunter Nemechek
NASCAR Feeder Series
ARCA Menards Series:
Sat, Oct 2, Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 – Salem Speedway – 200 laps.
Winner: Jesse Love – P1: Ty Gibbs – Points Leader: Ty Gibbs
Season Finale: Sat, Oct 23, Reese’s 150 – Kansas Speedway – 100 laps.
ARCA Menards East:
2021 ARCA Menards East Champion: Sammy Smith
2021 Bounty Rookie of the Year: Sammy Smith
Next: 2022 Season Opener
ARCA Menards West:
Sat, Oct 9, NAPA Auto Parts 150 – All American Speedway – 150 laps.
Winner: P.J. Pedroncelli – P1: Dean Thompson – Points Leader: Jesse Love
Season Finale: Sat, Nov 6, Arizona Lottery 100 – Phoenix Raceway – 100 laps.
Whelen Modified Tour:
2021 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion: Justin Bonsignore
Next: 2022 Season Opener
Pinty’s Series:
2021 NASCAR Pinty’s Series Champion: LP Dumoulin
Next: 2022 Season Opener
Peak Mexico Series:
Sun, Oct 10, Ovalo Aguascalientes Mexico in Aguascalientes, Mexico
Winner: Ruben Garcia Jr. – Points Leader: Ruben Garcia Jr.
Next: Sun, Oct 24, TBA – Super Ovalo Potosino, San Luis Potosi
Track Details
All American Speedway – 0.333-mile oval – Roseville, California
Charlotte ROVAL – 2.28 mile, 17 turn road course – Concord, North Carolina
Kansas Speedway – 1.5-mile oval – Kansas City, Kansas
Martinsville Speedway – 0.526-mile oval – Martinsville, Virginia
Ovalo Aguascalientes Mexico – 0.875-mile concrete oval – Aguascalientes, Mexico
Phoenix Raceway – 1-mile tri-oval – Avondale, Arizona
Salem Speedway – 0.555-mile oval – Salem, Indiana
Talladega Superspeedway – 2.66-mile tri-oval – Talladega, Alabama
Texas Motor Speedway – 1.5-mile quad-oval – Fort Worth, Texas