As the cut-off race to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the second Charlotte Motor Speedway date brought a revised ROVAL layout and car-launching speedbumps that would make Hazzard County nod in approval.
It’s been seven seasons with the hybrid road course/oval layout, and while it’s produced some memorable moments, it has also had its share of unfortunate incidents (Parker Kligerman would like a word) that has many fans wishing for the return of the 500-mile oval race. So what should the move be? This week, Amy Henderson and Chase Folsom take a deeper look at one of the most polarizing tracks on the schedule.
The ROVAL Rules
With another year of the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in the books, the question has once again come up of whether or not the track should do away with the ROVAL and return to two dates on the traditional 1.5-mile oval.
While some are quick to point out that the on-track action has been lackluster over the past few seasons, along with the fact that the NextGen car seems to thrive on 1.5-mile tracks like Charlotte’s traditional layout, I believe the ROVAL should be here to stay.
First and foremost, the ROVAL is a unique experience for the fans. While the battle for the lead may not always be exciting, for those actually in attendance there’s always a battle somewhere to watch. At many road courses, such as Watkins Glen International, Road America or Sonoma Raceway, for example, fans can usually only see part of the racetrack, and the cars spend a good portion of each lap away from their viewing area.
In contrast, every single seat at Charlotte Motor Speedway can see at least 50% of the ROVAL layout, while most seats row 10 or higher offer a view of the entire course. It’s truly a unique experience for fans to sit down at a road course race and have the entire track laid out in front of you. Even from a regional standpoint, road course fans in the southeast are surrounded by countless races on oval tracks. A weekend at the ROVAL is the only chance to catch some close-to-home road course action for fans in the area.
Moving towards the track itself, the new changes to the layout actually helped in many ways this past weekend, presenting more passing opportunities and creating excitement in different sections of the track that lacked it before.
Furthermore, the ROVAL is a unique challenge for drivers and provides areas for mistakes, something we don’t often see in the Next Gen car. So often the NASCAR community complains about on track product at short tracks and road courses, but that’s not a track problem — it’s a car problem. Why punish a racetrack for a problem they didn’t create?
Finally, why not let the Coke 600 have the prestige of being the only race on the Charlotte oval? Letting NASCAR’s long-distance crown jewel keep the only race on the Charlotte oval would only preserve the meaning of winning that race, and keep it from competing against a fall counterpart.
All that being said, I understand the frustration behind the ROVAL and the poor racing we’ve seen in the past few years, but we’ve got to remember how good the racing was before the NextGen car, because it was great. Much like with short tracks, we’re a fix of the car away from this not even being an issue.
Take a step back, leave the ROVAL alone, and enjoy if for the anomaly that it is. – Chase Folsom
We’ve Seen Enough: Intermediate Ovals are the Action Tracks for Cup Series
Charlotte Motor Speedway’s infield road course (ROVAL is a dumb word. Actually, it isn’t even a word. So just … no.) was a welcome addition to the NASCAR lineup when it was introduced in 2018, replacing the fall race on Charlotte’s oval surface.
At the time, the road course served two purposes: it filled the need for a road course in the playoffs and provided something different at a time when the Cup Series racecar wasn’t known for exciting races on 1.5-mile ovals. The sixth-generation car put on a better show on short tracks and road courses, and fans were clamoring for more of them.
The first race featured, among other highlights, a crash in turn 1 that resembled lemmings jumping off a cliff, and a furious battle between a pair of veterans who maybe should have known better because they handed the win to Ryan Blaney after sliding through the final chicane.
Nobody was more surprised than Blaney.
But that was 2018. Six years doesn’t seem like a terribly long time, but seven races later, and the racing landscape is different. The Next Gen racecar favors ovals and doesn’t put on as good a show on road courses as its predecessor. Charlotte made some solid changes to the track layout this time around that made for some exciting moments, but the race wasn’t one people will be talking about a year from now.
The playoffs do need a road course, because the title contenders should have to face that test, but this year the Olympic schedule meant shifting Watkins Glen International into the title mix, which would actually be a much better option. The playoff road course should be a dedicated road course, not a hybrid. The Glen fit in well in the first round. When NASCAR moved to the Charlotte road course, the oval had grown stagnant. The Coca-Cola 600 provided plenty of racing on the main track for a year. The races featured little excitement.
The last three fall races on the oval featured uninspired large margins of victory, all over .7 seconds.
Despite that, the fall oval race proved to be a good test of champions in the playoff era; three of those four races were won by the eventual champion (Kevin Harvick in 2014, Jimmie Johnson in 2016 and Martin Truex Jr. in 2017 for the stat fans).
In three years with the Next Gen racecar, the Coca-Cola 600 has changed from a race whose value was in its historical significance and stamina-testing length to one that featured on-track battles and closer finishes. This year’s 600 was shortened by weather, but the previous two with the Next Gen were good races.
The infield road course served a purpose, and it was fun, something different. It was a good, honest attempt to produce more exciting racing and it did its job before the Next Gen rolled out.
But its day has come and gone. NASCAR should move Watkins Glen into the playoffs permanently, or add Road America back into the schedule and make it a playoff feature. Those are dedicated road courses that truly test a team’s road racing ability.
As for Charlotte, the fall race should return to the oval, but on Sunday afternoon instead of at night. CMS deserves its playoff spot as NASCAR’s home track and one where teams and drivers can share the weekend with their families. It’s a track that proves championship mettle. It’s time to come home. – Amy Henderson
Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.
Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com's CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase's other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.
I’m with Amy …..back to the oval !
Too many road courses ! ….take us back to Sonoma and WG and dump the rest !
Do what you do best , and with this particular car, its an oval Let IMSA, which NASCAR owns have the road couse WG and Sonoma stay
I agree with Amy here. The Next-Gen car isn’t working well at the road courses and the Roval is no exception. I think NASCAR should rethink the schedule and have next year’s fall Cup race be on the oval but should only be 400 miles, in line with the other 1.5 mile tracks except the Coke 600. I feel no intermediate track race should be more than 400 miles.
Guess I’ll be in the minority and speak up for the road course. Its something different and unique, and provides extra challenge for the drivers during the playoffs. And we’ve had different winners, too. The hairpin addition worked, as it provided two passing lanes, instead of one line at the Sonoma hairpin.
Actual road courses…yes! ROVALS…no!
I got to drive on the ROVAL at Fontana about 15 years ago. I loved it.
What is so bad about a combination track?
It is a gimmick for NA$CAR to get more money when they can schedule Brian’s product on a real road course.
Why don’t you take a spin an oval and compare them?
But NASCAR doesn’t own Charlotte.
So what! I’m sure there are a lot of tracks in California that offer chances to drive a stock car just like every where else, even here in Ontario.
Not anymore. There’s just Irwindale and that’s about it. I’d have to go to Las Vegas or Phoenix now.
So is the entire ‘playoff’ scenario.
The roval is nothing more than a gimmick. The grandstands were empty Sunday. I guess they will suggest a figure 8 layout next.
I might actually watch if NA$CAR ran a figure 8 race.
And have the cars pull school buses! The cars MIGHT be good for that!
Sounds like you’re the fans who only watch for the wrecks.
While I do enjoy actual demolition derbies and figure 8 bus / trailer races (I grew up small town, this type of stuff has always been fun for me), I don’t like it in an actual race. I like hard short track racing. Dirt ovals with Late Models and Modifieds are my favorite, but haven’t had a good dirt track near where I live for quite a while. Wrecks are part of the game, but generally cautions just interrupt the flow of the race (and this is my beef with the stage breaks). An occasional caution can make it interesting to see strategies upended and changed, but constant wrecks/cautions do not make a good race. I want the drivers to be able to lean on, bump, shove each other around a little bit trying to gain position without destroying either driver’s speed/handling or wrecking.
Have you ever watched a World Figure 8 Championship race? It’s fascinating to watch them time the crossover. Are there wrecks? Sure, but not any more than what you get week in and week out with GWC in NA$CAR. Seriously, I wonder if Kyle Larson has ever raced them? Bet he’d do well in them.
Only watched those on Youtube.
I agree the stage break yellows are unneeded, especially since they count the laps and we lose racing time.
A couple of weeks ago I took a NASCAR buddy to local dirt track (love the late models and modifieds!) and he said ‘whatya mean..they don’t count caution laps” :) :)
Hi chase it’s nate