NASCAR Cup Series

A striking, three-foot-tall trophy made of acrylic and metal and featuring iconic images known to Charlotte residents and racing fans alike will await the winner of the inaugural Sept. 30 Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Speedway officials revealed the Stephen Gould-designed trophy at a press event at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday.

The speed limit is 55 miles per hour on Bruton Smith Boulevard, but Charlotte Motor Speedway has the answer for those who can’t drive 55. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sammy Hagar and his supergroup, The Circle, will rock the ROVAL™ with a spectacular Saturday-night concert on pit road prior to the Sept. 30 Bank of America ROVAL™ 400. The Grammy Award-winning Hagar will thrill a captivated crowd of race fans the night before the first road course race weekend in the history of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Kyle Larson won his first Busch Pole Award at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday night in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Camaro with a 127.792 mph qualifying lap. It's his third pole of the season and his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career pole.

Kyle Larson stole the show in qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway with a fast lap of 15.015 seconds, 127.792 mph in his No. 42 DC Solar Camaro ZL1, and will start from the pole position in Saturday evening’s 500-lap race. The feat marked Larson’s seventh pole in 171 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races and his first pole at the half-mile short track. It was also Chevrolet’s 699th pole win in NASCAR’s premier racing series.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 2nd - HOW CLOSE WAS YOUR LAP IN WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR? “It was close. It wasn’t perfect. But I got through (Turns) 1 and 2 pretty good and maybe gave up a little bit in (Turns) 3 and 4. But I mean, heck, two-hundredths of a second. I don’t really know how to characterize that. But, I just hate we couldn’t grab a pole. We put a lot of effort into it. Our KKB Chevrolet was fast today and if there was ever a place still, with these closer segment times on pit road, that you want that first pit box, this is it. So, that would have been big. But, we’ll go get it from second.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 DC SOLAR CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner: THAT QUALIFYING SESSION WAS REALLY TIGHT “Yeah, the top 5 was tight. I saw William (Byron) run his .04 there before I went out and I thought man, that’s going to be tough to beat. And, I would have never thought that three other guys would have squeezed in between him and me."

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Anytime Favorites Ford Fusion – “It’s a great starting spot for us. We started deep in the field here in the spring, so to be able to start up in the first few rows and get a good pit selection, I think that’s gonna mean a lot. I’m really looking forward to the race. I felt like our car was pretty good in race trim, so, all in all, it was a good day. I’m excited about the race. I feel like our car has good speed, good long run speed, and it’s really comfortable to drive. I’m proud of everybody on this Smithfield Anytime Favorites Ford Fusion. We’ll go get ‘em tomorrow night.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops / Ducks Unlimited Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing - What does it feel like to come to the race track and know you have a chance to win every weekend? “It’s definitely a lot of fun and something that I’ve worked towards for a long time in the Cup Series obviously. For our team, we’ve been able to be in that position I feel like for a few years now so that’s been fun. It definitely wasn’t overnight."

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s White Chocolate Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - How do you feel being the driver to beat each week and have that serious chance? “It’s been a long time, I guess, in being with different teams and different crew chiefs and different people that I’ve felt this strong. I’ve had this sort of thing on the Xfinity side with many a crew chiefs, whether it’s been (Jason) Ratcliffe, or Adam (Stevens) or Chris Gayle – a few of them on the Xfinity side. Dave (Rogers) – we felt like we had that going for a couple years on the Cup side with Dave, but there is just something maybe a little bit more about myself and Adam and the team that we have. Many of the team guys – couple of them are the same as what they were back with Dave many years ago and a few of them are from the Xfinity team when I felt so good with Adam on the Xfinity side. We brought some of the those guys over and we’ve kind of mixed and blended some other guys over the years here and there. It’s certainly been very rewarding to all of them, I’m sure, as well as me to have this group right now and hopefully we can keep it together for a long time.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion, is fresh off his series-leading seventh win of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. He stopped by the Bristol Motor Speedway infield media center before practice today and talked about a variety of subjects.