This weekend, the warmth is on for Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, and Chase Briscoe who enter beneath the lower line, with Chase Elliott on the playoff bubble as NASCAR returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway for one more Spherical of 12 elimination race on its infield highway course. And if the playoff warmth is not sufficient of a problem, the sequence added one other problem for drivers — a barely completely different look to the ROVAL.
At first, the structure appears about the identical. Drivers will comply with the identical course for the primary a part of the lap, however issues change after Flip 5. As a substitute of taking a proper, the straightaway has been prolonged in direction of a brand new Flip 6. This part contains some elevation change the place drivers will lose the flexibility to see a number of the vehicles in entrance of them till they attain the crest of the hill.
Drivers should sluggish for Flip 6, however not sufficient to make passing an actual chance. Nevertheless, that can change dramatically getting into the extremely tight left-hander at Flip 7. It is principally a 180-degree flip as drivers fully change course onto the banked oval. When desperation hits on late-race restarts, this might develop into calamity nook with aggressive drive-bombs up the within. We have seen one thing related on the tight Flip 1 at COTA, which is not even within the playoffs. The ultimate chicane additionally has a notable alteration, making a sharper apex for the drivers to navigate at Flip 16.
Charlotte Motor Speedway highway course structure
Photograph by: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Suarez is likely one of the drivers getting into this race within the purple, and he is spent a number of time within the simulator making ready for the adjustments. “This Roval race goes to be completely different for positive,” he mentioned within the weekly staff advance. “I feel the adjustments to the monitor will create passing zones. Proper now, our work is within the digital world. We’re doing this on a simulator. No one has been operating laps in actual life. So we’re going to discover out what these adjustments imply on Saturday.”
His teammate Ross Chastain, who earned pole place within the final highway course race at Watkins Glen, expressed some concern over how the elevation adjustments will have an effect on visibility. “From the photographs I’ve seen, it is undoubtedly modified,” he mentioned. “There’s some elevation change and it’s blind. You may see a automobile, I imagine, however the monitor falls away steep sufficient you can’t actually see it. It provides me a bit bit of tension as a result of I can not see the highway in entrance of me. I will wait to see the way it appears in actual life however mentally I am making ready to not be capable to see the monitor in entrance of me.”
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Rheem – Chasing a Treatment Ford Mustang, Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, Huk Efficiency Fishing Chevrolet Camaro, Ryan Blaney, Crew Penske, Low cost Tire Ford Mustang, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Ally Chevrolet Camaro, Ryan Blaney, Crew Penske, Low cost Tire Ford Mustang, Joey Logano, Crew Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang, Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, Interstate Batteries All Battery Heart Toyota Camry
Photograph by: Ben Earp / NKP / Motorsport Photos
Talking on the front-stretch chicane, Noah Gragson provides it should change the way in which drivers method the ultimate flip. “We’re going to have to search out completely different braking markers into there and see if we will push it roughly. I’m assuming you’re going to should decelerate extra with them bringing that curve out.”
Carson Hocevar earned his career-best end at Watkins Glen, inserting third. He sees the adjustments as a bonus for drivers like him who do not have as a lot expertise on the monitor. “The reconfiguration and structure change has taken a bit bit away from the blokes who’ve expertise there,” defined the main Cup rookie. “It permits us to method it with an open thoughts and no preconceived notion on how the monitor must be. On the flip facet, the blokes who’ve run there earlier than have a pair main areas of the monitor during which they’ve to vary their method. Hopefully it takes them a bit bit to neglect the previous and work out the brand new whereas I’m catching up on the opposite areas of the monitor!”
Ryan Blaney is in a reasonably snug place, 25 factors above the lower line. He additionally gained the inaugural race on the Charlotte ROVAL after the leaders crashed into one another simply in need of the road. The reigning Cup champion sees much more alternatives for passing into Flip 7 and the ultimate chicane. “I feel you opened up a passing zone in seven,” mentioned Blaney. “It’s gonna be sort of a dive bomb central nook, for positive, simply the way in which it’s formed, in order that will likely be attention-grabbing to see the way it races.
Ryan Blaney, Crew Penske, Low cost Tire Ford Mustang
Photograph by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Photos
“You’re gonna should drive that nook very in another way when you’ve got stress or not behind you, and, truthfully, I feel the front-stretch chicane is gonna be a slower nook, so I really feel such as you may need some extra out-braking potential there. I feel it’s good they modified it up. Everytime you add passing zones, that’s good for a race. It’s the identical for everyone. It’s gonna be completely different for everybody and simply who can adapt to it the quickest.”
His Penske teammate Austin Cindric is in a tough place after being wrecked from the lead at Talladega. He’ll possible should go for the win on the Roval. Concerning the fronstretch chicane, he says the adjustments are “taking away your runoff and the flexibility to have a mistake and possibly sort of simply lower the curb. I feel the curb strikes are gonna be much more aggressive with the automobile, imagine it or not. They’re already fairly aggressive, however I don’t suppose how useable the curb is, I feel is gonna be taken away since you’re basically making the curb much more perpendicular to the monitor than it already is. The method angle is gonna be so much completely different.”
