Opening Round of NASCAR Playoffs Concludes at ROVAL This Weekend
NASCAR is back in its own backyard this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) hits the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the second time ever. The opening round of the NASCAR Playoffs also conclude on Sunday with Ryan Newman sitting ninth in points, 14 points to the good.
Charlotte Motor Speedway (ROVAL)
Sunday, Sept. 29 | 2:30 p.m. ET
NBC, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Performance Plus Ford Mustang
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang
Road Course Racing
Overall, Roush Fenway has 323 starts on road courses in MENCS and NXS action with nine wins, 55 top fives, 116 top-10s, eight poles and 765 laps led. In Cup action alone, Jack Roush’s Fords have an average finish of 17.5 on road courses with 76 top-10 results. In 111 starts in the Xfinity Series, Roush has an average finish of 16.5.
ROVAL Refresh
This weekend the Cup Series stars hit the track at the 17-turn ROVAL for just the second time ever. Once crossing the start/finish line, the cars will make a hard left turn into the turns 1 & 2 side of the infield, before embarking on a challenging adventure through winding hills and turns. Once through the road course portion, cars will hit the oval once again between turns 1 & 2, before getting up to speed down the backstretch. The entrance to turn three features a challenging chicane – updated from 2018 – before cars get back up to speed, complete turn four, and dive left one last time, completing turn 17 on the front stretch.
Victories on the Road
Former RFR driver Carl Edwards was the last Jack Roush driver to go to victory lane on a road course, earning the win at Sonoma in 2014. Mark Martin, winner of the other four road course races in MENCS action, also won at Sonoma in 1997, and went to victory lane at Watkins Glen in three-straight races from 1993-95. On the Xfinity side, Edwards is responsible for three of the four victories, all in the 60 car, crossing the line first at Watkins Glen (2012), Road America (2010) and Montreal (2009). Chris Buescher also went to victory lane in the 60 in 2014 at Mid-Ohio.
As for the Oval Portion
Considering a good portion of the oval surface of Charlotte Motor Speedway is in play this weekend, we’ll dive into those stats for Roush Fenway on the typical 1.5-mile oval. In MENCS action, Jack Roush has eight wins, 46 top-five and 79 top-10 finishes. In Xfinity action, Roush has 12 wins in 123 starts with 33 top-five and 60 top-10 results.
Where They Rank
· Coming off another strong run – arguably the best outing of the year thus far – Ryan Newman and the No. 6 team are ninth in the playoffs standings, 14 points to the good entering Sunday’s cutoff race in the opening three-race round of the NASCAR Playoffs.
· Newman holds a six-point advantage over the No. 12, while the No. 10 and No. 24 have just a three and two point advantage to the cut line, respectively. The No. 88 sits two back, the No. 14 is four back, while the No. 1 is 14 behind the 12th and final spot, with the No. 20 sitting 45 points off advancing.
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr., is 23rd in points with eight races remaining.
By the Numbers at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Roval)
Race Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn Miles
2 0 0 0 0 203 2 19.5 36.0 462.84
2 0 0 0 0 104 0 11.5 22.5 237.12
4 0 0 0 0 307 2 15.5 29.3 699.96
