CHARLOTTE ROVAL
Friday, October 3 – NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, October 4 – NASCAR Xfinity Series, 5 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, October 5 – NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. ET (USA)
The NASCAR Cup Series headlines a weekend on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL that will see four drivers eliminated as the Round of 12 comes to a close. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will do the same on Saturday while Friday marks the debut event for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on the road course.
BLANEY AND THE ROVAL
Ryan Blaney won the inaugural ROVAL event at Charlotte Motor Speedway (see below), and he comes into this weekend having posted five top-10 results in seven starts. After finishing ninth or better in the first four races (2018-21), he ended up 10th a year ago. Blaney’s triumph in 2018 still represents the only road course victory of his Cup career.
LOGANO HOPING FOR MORE ROVAL SUCCESS
Joey Logano comes into this weekend’s race eighth in the playoff standings, 13 points above the cut line, so there’s still plenty of work for the defending champion to do in order to advance. The good news for Logano is that he’s recorded six top-10 finishes in seven ROVAL starts while also registering one pole. His streak of three straight top-five runs came to an end last weekend in Kansas, but he still showed speed despite having to start from the back as he registered points in the first two stages before getting collected in a multi-car accident with 51 laps to go that contributed to a 21st-place finish.
NON-PLAYOFF DRIVERS STILL FIGHTING
The NASCAR Cup Series has had five playoff races so far and while much of the attention has been focused on those competing for the championship, the rest of the field has continued to battle. Ford has had at least one non-playoff driver finish in the top 10 of every event. Chris Buescher has done it twice (10th at Darlington and ninth at Gateway) as has his teammate and boss, Brad Keselowski (second at Bristol and eighth at Kansas). Zane Smith finished third at Bristol while Josh Berry, who was eliminated in the Round of 16, finished runner-up in the Round of 12 opener at New Hampshire.
FORD DRIVERS IN THE CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS
DRIVER – POINTS POSITION
Ryan Blaney – New Hampshire Winner (Clinched)
Joey Logano – 8th (+13 above the cut line)
Austin Cindric – 12th (-48 below the cut line)
Note: Top 8 advance after Charlotte
FORD PLAYOFF DRIVERS AT THE ROVAL
Joey Logano: 7 starts, 0 wins, 2 top-5, 6 top-10
Ryan Blaney: 7 starts, 1 wins, 2 top-5, 5 top-10
Austin Cindric: 3 starts, 0 wins, 1 top-5, 1 top-10
RYAN BLANEY: WHAT’S THE MINDSET FOR THE REST OF THIS ROUND? “I said after New Hampshire that it doesn’t change our outlook. I’m a big believer in keeping your head down and keeping the momentum that you have. You don’t want to go kick your feet up for two weeks just because you’re in the next round. You have to stay in that competitive mode and your mentality of racing and go run hard every single week. I think the only thing that changes is maybe you can look at Vegas a little bit earlier than what you would and that’s really the only difference in this team’s mentality with the spot we’re in.”
JOEY LOGANO: ARE YOU PRO ROVAL THIS TIME OF YEAR, OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE OVAL RETURN? “If you’re asking me would I rather run a road course or an oval, I would pick an oval. It’s a road course. There are lefts and rights and there happens to be banking on two of the turns. Personally, I’m too close to the fire to answer that. It’s kind of what fans think is best is probably gonna be what we do anyways.”
THE ROVAL PRESENTS A CHALLENGE IN THAT IT’S HARD TO SCORE STAGE POINTS AND HAVE A GOOD RACE FINISH. DO YOU AGREE? “Yeah, depending on how the cautions fall more than likely you’re probably gonna have to pick one or the other, so it’s what are you trying to accomplish?”
AUSTIN CINDRIC: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THAT SHOULD HELP YOU AT THE ROVAL? “I think the big thing on the topic of tires is bringing the road course tire that we’ve had all year to the Charlotte road course. It’s been a bit of a challenge for us to wrap our heads around that tire change and progressively, slowly we’ve gotten better at that, so I think that’s the big thing – applying that for the ROVAL.”
BLANEY CAPTURES INAUGURAL CUP ROVAL RACE
The debut of the Charlotte ROVAL in 2018 didn’t disappoint as Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. wrecked each other in the final chicane heading to the checkered flag, allowing Ryan Blaney to sneak past both and win the inaugural Bank of America ROVAL 400. Blaney put himself in position to win thanks to some sound strategy that enabled him to stretch his fuel mileage and win Stage 2. He found himself in 25th place with 38 laps to go after a trip to pit road, but cycled his way back up to the front before being in the right place at the right time. That capped a weekend in which Ford won the pole and race in the NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Cup Series. In seven career ROVAL starts, Blaney has five top 10 and two top 5 finishes.
CREED COMING ON STRONG
As the Charlotte ROVAL prepares to conduct an elimination race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday, one driver to keep an eye on is Sheldon Creed, who is coming off his second straight top-five finish. Creed’s fifth-place run last weekend at Kansas Speedway topped all Ford drivers, but continued a resurgence that started with a runner-up result at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago. Those efforts have helped him move 12 points above the cut line to sixth place in the standings.
FORD DRIVERS IN THE XFINITY PLAYOFFS
DRIVER – POINTS POSITION
Sam Mayer – 4th (+43 above the cut line)
Sheldon Creed – 6th (+12)
Harrison Burton – 11th (-8 below the cut line)
Note: Top 8 advance after Charlotte
FORD PLAYOFF DRIVERS AT THE ROVAL
Sam Mayer: 4 starts, 2 wins, 2 top-10, 3 top-10
Sheldon Creed: 3 starts, 0 wins, 0 top-5, 1 top-10
Harrison Burton: 3 starts, 0 wins, 0 top-5, 0 top-10
RIGGS AND MAJESKI READY FOR ROUND OF 8 OPENER
Friday will not only be the first race in the Round of 8, it will also mark the first time the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competes on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. Ford has two drivers still in contention for the title with Ty Majeski, bidding for a second straight series championship, and Layne Riggs, who is looking for his first. Riggs has won three times in the last eight events (Pocono, Indianapolis, and Bristol), but is still looking for his first career triumph on a road course while Majeski remains in search of his first win in 2025.
FORD DRIVERS IN THE NCTS PLAYOFFS
DRIVER – POINTS POSITION
Layne Riggs – 2nd (+22 above the cut line)
Ty Majeski – 4th (+0)
Note: Top 4 advance after Martinsville
FORD’S NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS
ON THE ROVAL
2018 – Ryan Blaney
FORD’S NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS
ON THE ROVAL
2018 – Chase Briscoe
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