By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
With Kansas out of the picture and the Cup Series moving to the Charlotte Roval, Chase Elliott watched Toyota owner and driver Denny Hamlin shove Bubba Wallace into the wall and Chase Elliott snagged a win to win the Hollywood 400.
The Manufacturers look at the Roval.
| This marks the first time in the circuit’s history to host a tripleheader weekend as the Craftsman Truck Series is set to make its first-ever appearance on the 17-turn course to kickoff its Round of Eight. For the Cup and Xfinity Series, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course will once again serve as the elimination race for the Round of 12 for each division. Already the circuit’s winningest manufacturer, Chevrolet will enter the race weekend as the circuit’s defending winners in both of NASCAR’s top-two divisions. |
| Chevrolet at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course:The Charlotte Motor Speedway has been a staple piece of NASCAR history – most commonly known as the site for one of the Cup Series’ crown jewel events, the Coca-Cola 600. During the 2018 season, a 17-turn, 2.28-mile configuration within the iconic venue was introduced to NASCAR’s top-two divisions as a pivotal stop on their respective postseason schedules. Throughout the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course’s short seven-race history, Chevrolet has been a force to be reckoned with – entering the weekend with five Cup Series wins and six Xfinity Series wins. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are the only two-time Charlotte ROVAL winners in NASCAR’s top division. Elliott delivered Chevrolet its first checkered-flag at the circuit in 2019, with the 29-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia, native making a return visit to victory lane the following season – a win that provided as a stepping stone to his first career Cup Series championship. For Larson, his first of two Charlotte ROVAL triumphs also came in his championship-earning season (2021), with the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native holding the reigns as the circuit’s defending winner. Fellow Team Chevy teammate, AJ Allmendinger, is the only driver in the circuit’s history to earn a victory in both of NASCAR’s top-two divisions – driving a Kaulig Racing-prepared Chevrolet to one Cup Series win (2023), as well as four-straight Xfinity Series wins (2019-2023). |
| LOCKED-INHeading into the Charlotte race weekend, Chevrolet is the only manufacturer that has already earned an early berth into the Round of Eight in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series. |
 Last weekend at Kansas Speedway, Chase Elliott turned a 14-point cushion into an automatic ticket to the next round after a dramatic overtime finish that saw the Hendrick Motorsports driver make a final-corner pass to take his second checkered-flag of the 2025 Cup Series season. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native proved to be a contender throughout the day at the Heartland-based oval – driving his No. 9 Chevrolet to a pair of top-four stage finishes en route to the win and a strong 55-point race (second-best). While he can rest easy heading into the second elimination race of the playoffs, this weekend provides for the perfect opportunity to add to his points bank. Elliott is a seven-time road course winner in NASCAR’s top division – the most of all active drivers. In his seven career starts at the Charlotte Road Course, he’s tallied five top-10 finishes, including his two wins and a fifth-place finish last season. In the Xfinity Series, the JR Motorsports duo of Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier are the only drivers to have earned an early berth into the Round of Eight on points. Zilisch added onto an already career season by driving the No. 88 Chevrolet to his 16th-consecutive top-five finish – breaking the record previously set by Sam Ard over four decades ago (1983). Turning in a 49-pont race (second-most of the race), Zilisch was able to reach a triple-digit points cushion ahead of the series’ first elimination race of the postseason. For the reigning champion, a gamble in late-race pit strategy didn’t play into his favor, but a sweep of the stage wins helped lead the No. 7 Chevrolet team to a 68-point cutline cushion and an already guaranteed spot into the next round. |
| Larson, Byron Bank Strong Points CushionKyle Larson and William Byron are two-for-two in top-10 finishes in the Round of 12 – leading the pair of teammates to a comfortable points position heading into the Charlotte race weekend. Larson currently sits in the top provisional playoff position, third, with a 54-point advantage over the cutline. The Elk Grove, California, native’s two top-five finishes at the Charlotte Road Course have come in the form of a win – one of which came in the series’ most recent appearance at the circuit. Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet turned a working day into the ultimate rebound at Kansas Speedway – bringing home a ninth-place finish to still maintain a strong 40-point cushion. In his seven career starts at the Charlotte Road Course, the 27-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native has collected four top-six finishes, including back-to-back podium results the past-two seasons. |
BLANEY AND THE ROVALRyan 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 SUCCESSJoey 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 FIGHTINGThe 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 PLAYOFFSDRIVER – POINTS POSITIONRyan 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 |
NASCAR returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend to take on the 2.32-mile ROVAL course where all three national series are competing. The Truck Series begins its Round of 8 on Friday, while the Xfinity and Cup Series complete their Round of 12 on Saturday and Sunday. The ARCA Menards Series concludes its 2025 season on Saturday at Toledo Speedway.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS/NCTS
Toyota drivers look to advance to Round of 8 … With Sunday’s race on the ROVAL marking the Round of 12 cutoff, the five remaining Toyota drivers look to fill the six remaining spots for the next round of the Cup Series Playoffs. Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) drivers Denny Hamlin (fourth), Christopher Bell (fifth) and Chase Briscoe(seventh) are the three Toyota Camry XSEs above the cutline currently – sitting 48, 44 and 21 points to the good, respectively. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick are 10th and 11th in the standings, 26 and 29 points below the cutline entering this weekend.
Bell, Briscoe look to continue top-10 streaks … After both posted top-five results last weekend in Kansas – finishing third and fourth – Bell and Briscoe head to the Charlotte ROVAL on a run of top-10-or-better finishes. Bell comes to Charlotte with four straight top-10s, dating back to World Wide Technology Raceway to begin September. Briscoe, meanwhile, is riding a five-race top-10 streak, now at five, began with his Southern 500 victory at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend.
Toyota seeks to continue Xfinity Series win streak … The start of the 2025 Xfinity Series Playoffs has been advantageous for Team Toyota with two consecutive victories from JGR’s Aric Almirola in Bristol and Brandon Jones last weekend in Kansas. These triumphs have also locked the No. 19 team into the owners’ championship Round of 8 and Jones and his No. 20 team into the drivers’ and owners’ Round of 8. Another GR Supra victory this weekend would mark the first for Toyota in the Xfinity Series on the Charlotte ROVAL.
Heim seeks Truck Series record … After his victory two weekends ago in New Hampshire, Corey Heim tied the Truck Series single-season wins record with nine in 2025. Another victory by the Toyota Development Driver would etch himself into series history as he chases his first career title. This weekend could be the race to break the record for Heim, who has won both road courses the Truck Series has run this season in Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glen International. Additionally, Heim’s 20 career Truck Series victories have come at 18 different race tracks, which would make a victory in the Truck Series’ debut at the Charlotte ROVAL on Friday 21 wins at 19 circuits.
