Shane van Gisbergen successfully retained his road course crown, fending off challenges from Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell to the win the Bank of America 400 at the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 5. With the victory, SVG has now won five consecutive road course races, one shy of Jeff Gordon’s Cup Series of six such victories in a row.
Pit road execution and pit strategy played a significant part in not just who won the race but also the battle for the final spot in the Round of 8 between Joey Logano and Ross Chastain. In the end, the defending champion Logano edged out Chastain to advance.
Here are the main pit road plotlines that unfolded just outside the Queen City:
The Winning Strategy
As the 59-lap final stage progressed, it became clear that the race to the checkered flag was going to come down to SVG, Bell and Larson.
Seeing van Gisbergen’s long-run speed and the ability to better conserve the rear tires, Bell and Larson both came down pit road to put on a fresh set of Goodyear Eagles, coming to their pit stalls with 13 and nine laps to go, respectively.
Van Gisbergen, meanwhile, opted to stay on the racetrack with the last set of tires that the No. 88 crew put on with 19 laps remaining, giving Bell six lap fresher tires and Larson 10 lap newer tires. Despite some concerns about the right-rear tire, SVG had more than enough of a cushion to hang on, beating Larson to the line by a comfy 15.16 seconds.
Ross Chastain Stubs His Toe Twice on Pit Road
In any sport, a key factor that separates championship contenders from the also-rans is avoiding costly mistakes. For the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing team, it was not one but two costly driver errors on the pit lane that bumped them from the Cup Series playoffs.
Chastain’s first trip-up came during the yellow flag pit stops following stage one when he overshot the hard left turn to exit pit road and return to the track. Taking into account the 10 drivers who stayed out, Chastain would have lined up 15th for the ensuing restart; instead, the Melon Man plummeted back to 30th for the start of stage two. Even with that mishap, Chastain still had a solid chance to advance entering the final stage, garnering 13 stage points to Logano’s three to close the gap.
However, that changed with the No. 1 team’s final pit stop. Exiting his pit stall, Chastain accidentally shifted up to third gear instead of second gear; as a result, he was caught speeding exiting pit road. The pass-through penalty cost Chastain precious track position and more or less locked him into having to stay out on those tires for the rest of the race. It did not work out for Chastain and the No. 1 team.
“The whole body of work was not good enough today,” Chastain told reporters post-race. “I singlehandedly took a car out of the Round of 8.”
Extra Pit Stop Pays Off for Joey Logano
While Chastain tried to stretch his tires and recover from the speeding penalty, Paul Wolfe showed why he is a three-time Cup champion crew chief, including twice with Logano.
With 12 laps remaining, Wolfe rolled the dice and brought Logano to the service of the pit crew for one last set of tires. The stop initially left Logano about 10 points behind Chastain, but between the No. 22’s fresh rubber and the No. 1 backing up on old tires, that gap steadily dwindled until it was down to just one point at the white flag. Once the dust settled on the chaotic finish, Logano had lived to see the Round of 8.
“In my opinion, there is no one better than Paul [Wolfe] at calling a race,” Logano said about the last pit stop post-race. “So, I trust that he makes the right calls. All I got to do is tell them where I’m at and what’s going on in the car. To be able to still be around, that’s all you got to do in these playoffs just stay alive, keep going.”
Look Ahead to Next Week
The Round of 8 begins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the running of the South Point 400 next Sunday, Oct. 12. Coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. ET, and the broadcast will be on the USA Network.
The high-wear tire compound that Goodyear brought to road courses this season did not lend itself to a variety of pit strategies at the ROVAL, with four-tire calls from start to finish. Fuel mileage did not come into play either, as drivers needed tires before their tanks ran dry.
That will not be the case at Las Vegas next week. Expect some fuel-only and two-tire calls from several teams in an attempt to gain crucial track position. This will especially ring true for Bell, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe and Logano, who will be starting the Round of 8 below the cut line.
Andrew Stoddard joined Frontstretch in May of 2022 as an iRacing contributor. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond, and VCU. He works as an athletic communications specialist at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va.