Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Bank of America ROVAL 400

Charlotte Motor Speedway
Road Course Data

Season Race #: 32 of 36 (10-12-20)
Playoff Race #: 6
Track Size: 3.67-kilometers / 2.28-miles
Track Type: Road Course
Number of Turns: 17
Elevation Change: 35 degrees
Race Length: 109 laps / 400 kilometers
Stage 1 and 2 Length: 25 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 59 laps

Top 10 Charlotte RC Driver Ratings
Chase Elliott……………………….. 122.0
Kevin Harvick………………………. 111.7
Jimmie Johnson…………………… 105.0
Clint Bowyer……………………….. 103.5
Martin Truex Jr…………………….. 101.3
William Byron………………………… 98.6
Brad Keselowski……………………. 97.6
Ryan Blaney…………………………. 96.1
Kurt Busch……………………………. 85.9
Joey Logano…………………………. 85.9
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2019 races (two total)
among active drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race #6 Fast Facts: Charlotte Road Course

• The 2020 season marks the first time the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff’s sixth race has been held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

• The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course is the fourth different track to host the sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs joining:
  • Martinsville Speedway (2004-2010),
  • Talladega Superspeedway (2011, 2013-2016)
  • Kansas Speedway (2012, 2017-2019).

• The last two seasons the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has hosted the third race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – Ryan Blaney won the event in 2018 and Chase Elliott won in 2019.
• A total of 10 different drivers have won the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, led by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Jimmie Johnson with four victories – all at Martinsville Speedway (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008).
• Four-times the winner of the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs has gone on to win the title later that season; once at Kansas Speedway and three-times at Martinsville Speedway:
  • In 2006, Jimmie Johnson won at Martinsville, then the sixth race in the Playoffs, and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title later that season.
  • In 2007, Jimmie Johnson won at Martinsville, then the sixth race in the Playoffs, and went on to win his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title later that season.
  • In 2008, Jimmie Johnson won at Martinsville, then the sixth race in the Playoffs, and went on to win his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title later that season.
  • In 2017, Martin Truex Jr. won at Kansas, then the sixth race in the Playoffs, and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title later that season.

• The worst finish by a driver in the sixth Playoff race that went on to win the series title was:
  • At Kansas Speedway (2012, 2017-2019) – Brad Keselowski in 2012 and Joey Logano in 2018 each finished eighth in the sixth race of the Playoffs at Kansas Speedway and then went on to win the title later that same season.
  • At Talladega Superspeedway (2011, 2013-2016) – Jimmie Johnson in 2016 finished 23rd in the sixth race of the Playoffs at Talladega Superspeedway and went on to win the title later that season.
  • At Martinsville Speedway (2004-2010) – Jimmie Johnson in 2010 and Kurt Busch in 2004 each finished fifth in the sixth race of the Playoffs at Martinsville Speedway and then went on to win the title later that same season.

• Last season’s Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course winner, Chase Elliott, finished the season 10th in the final championship standings and the 2018 Roval winner, Ryan Blaney, finished the season 10th in the 2018 final standings.
• Three non-Playoff drivers have won the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs:
  • Jeff Gordon (2005) won the Playoff race at Martinsville Speedway he was ranked 15th in the series standings at the time of the win.
  • Clint Bowyer (2011) won the Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway he was ranked 13th in the series standings at the time of the win.
  • Jamie McMurray (2013) won the Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway he was ranked 14th in the series standings at the time of the win.

NASCAR Cup Series 2020 Top 12 in the Driver Standings at Charlotte RC

* – Based on two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2005 – 2019).

At Charlotte Motor Speedway:

HISTORY

• Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) in 1959.
• The track’s first NASCAR Cup Series race was held on June 19, 1960 – won by Joe Lee Johnson in a Chevrolet.
• In 1961, there were two 100-mile qualifying points races held the week before the May race. The first six fall races at Charlotte were 400-mile events (1960-65).
• The track was repaved midseason in 1994.
• The track name changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999. It changed back to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2010 season.
• The track was re-paved again before the 2006 season.
• In 2017, the track underwent renovations to add what is now known as the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL) a 3.67-mile, 17-turn, multi-elevational road course.
• The NASCAR Cup Series made its track debut at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in 2018 and the event was won by Ryan Blaney (Ford).
• There have been 124 NASCAR Cup Series points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway (includes road course figures), two races per year since the track opened in 1960. A total of 122 races on the oval track and two races on the road course.

STARTS

• A total of 48 different drivers competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• A total of 32 drivers have competed in more than once at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in the NASCAR Cup Series and all 32 are tied for the series-most starts.
• No driver has made their first career start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Alex Bowman leads the series in average starting position at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with a 2.5 in two starts.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at the Charlotte Road Course

POLES

• A total of two different drivers have won the pole in the two NASCAR Cup Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• Kurt Busch won the pole for the inaugural Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course driving for Stewart-Haas Racing in a Ford; his third pole on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• William Byron won the pole for the second Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course driving for Hendrick Motorsports in a Chevrolet, his first on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Two manufacturers have won poles at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – Ford won the 2018 pole with a speed of 106.868 mph, 76.805 seconds and Chevrolet won the 2019 pole with a speed of 103.198 mph, 80.932 seconds.
• Youngest series pole winner at the Charlotte RC: William Byron (September 29, 2019 – 21 years, 9 months and 0 days).
• Oldest series pole winner at the Charlotte RC: Kurt Busch (September 30, 2018 – 44 years, 1 month and 26 days).
• Seven different active drivers have posted at least one pole on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Kurt Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in road course poles with three – each at a different track.

Active Road Course Pole Winners in the NASCAR Cup Series

WINS

• A total of two drivers have won the two NASCAR Cup Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• In 2018, Ryan Blaney won the inaugural Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course; his first win on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• In 2019, Chase Elliott won the second Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course; his third of four career road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Cup Series in overall road course wins with nine (Sonoma, five; Watkins Glen, four);
• Tony Stewart has the second most road course wins all-time in the series with eight (Watkins Glen, five; Sonoma, three).
• Nine active drivers have won at least one race on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. lead all active drivers in NASCAR Cup Series road course wins with four each. Elliott is the only one of the three to win on more than two different road course tracks.

Active Road Course Winners in the NASCAR Cup Series

• NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison holds the series record for the most wins at a single road course track with six victories at Riverside International Raceway.
• Youngest race winner at the Charlotte RC: Chase Elliott (September 29, 2019 – 23 years, 10 months and 1 day).
• Oldest race winner at the Charlotte RC: Ryan Blaney (September 30, 2018 – 24 years, 5 months and 30 days).
• Two manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – Ford in 2018 and Chevrolet in 2019.
• Ryan Blaney won the 2018 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course race from the ninth starting position.
• Chase Elliott won the 2019 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course race from the 19th starting position.

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes:

• Two different drivers have finished runner-up in the two NASCAR Cup Series races at the Charlotte Road Course.
• Jamie McMurray finished runner-up in the inaugural Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in 2018 and Alex Bowman finished second in the 2019 event.

Top-Five Finishes:

• A total of 10 different drivers have finished in the top-five in the two NASCAR Cup Series races at the Charlotte Road Course.
  • The inaugural Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2018) top five are Ryan Blaney (first), Jamie McMurray (second), Clint Bowyer (third), Alex Bowman (fourth) and Kurt Busch (fifth).
  • The second Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2019) top five are Chase Elliott (first), Alex Bowman (second), Kevin Harvick (third), Clint Bowyer (fourth) and Brad Keselowski (fifth).

Top-10 Finishes:

• A total of 19 different drivers have finished in the two NASCAR Cup Series races at the Charlotte Road Course.
• Joey Logano leads the NASCAR Cup Series in top-10 finishes at the Charlotte Road Course with two (2018, 2019).

Average Finish:

• Alex Bowman leads the series in average finishing position at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with 3.0 in two starts.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at the Charlotte Road Course

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 14 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have led at least one lap at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

All-Time Lap Leaders at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course 

• Kyle Larson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with 52 laps led in two starts.
• Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at the Charlotte Road Course with 35 laps led in two starts.
• The most laps led by the race winner in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course was 35 laps led Chase Elliott on Sept. 29, 2019.
• The fewest laps led by the race winner in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course was 16 laps led Ryan Blaney on Sept. 30, 2018.
• The most laps led in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course by a driver that did not win the race was 47 laps led by Kyle Larson in the 2018 event – he ultimately finished 25th in the race.

TRACK / EVENT STATS

• The all-time margins of victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course:

Previous Series Races at the Charlotte Road Course

NASCAR IN NORTH CAROLINA

• There have been 827 NASCAR national series races held in the state of North Carolina among 32 different tracks.
• The very first NASCAR Cup Series race all-time was held in the state of North Carolina at Charlotte Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 19, 1949. The track is a 0.75-mile dirt oval, and the race was won by Jim Roper in a Lincoln.

• A total of 463 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as North Carolina. 54 of the 463 have won (11.6%).

North Carolina Race Winners In NASCAR

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