Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Bank of America ROVAL 400

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in Charlotte, North Carolina, going into the Bank of America ROVAL 400 this Sunday, October 8 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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

• This season will be the sixth-time the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has hosted a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race. (2018-2023).
• The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has occupied two positions on the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs schedule:
  • From 2018-2019, the Charlotte Road Course hosted the third race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (Round of 16 elimination race).
  • From 2020-2023, the Charlotte Road Course has hosted the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (Round of 12 elimination race).
• The 2023 season marks just the fourth-time the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has hosted the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (2020-2023) – the elimination race of the Round of 12.
• The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2020-2023) is the fourth different track to host the sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (2004-Present); joining Martinsville Speedway (2004-2010), Talladega Superspeedway (2011, 2013-2016) and Kansas Speedway (2012, 2017-2019).
• From 2018-2019, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course hosted the third race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs:
  • Ryan Blaney won the 2018 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Playoff race.
  • Chase Elliott won in 2019 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Playoff race.
• A total of 12 different drivers have won the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, led by Jimmie Johnson with four postseason victories – all at Martinsville Speedway (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008).
• Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with three victories (2009, 2010, 2019) in the sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

• Six-times the winner of the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs has gone on to win the championship later that same season – once at Kansas Speedway, three-times at Martinsville Speedway and twice at the Charlotte Roval:
• In 2006, Jimmie Johnson won at Martinsville Speedway, 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 Speedway, then the sixth race in the Playoffs, and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title later that season.
• In 2020, Chase Elliott won at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, then the sixth race in the Playoffs, and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title later that season. It was the first of his three wins during the 2020 postseason run.
• In 2021, Kyle Larson won at the Charlotte Road Course, then the sixth race in the Playoffs, and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title later that season. It was the second of his record tying five Playoff wins during the 2021 postseason
• The worst finish by a driver in the sixth Playoff race that went on to win the NASCAR Cup Series title that same season was:
• At Kansas Speedway (2012, 2017-2019) it has happened twice – 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 those same seasons.
• 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.
• At the Charlotte Road Course (2020-2022) – Joey Logano in 2022 finished 18th in the sixth race of the Playoffs at the Charlotte ROVAL and then went on to win the title later that same season.
• When the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course hosted the third race in the Playoffs (2018-2019) the winner in 2019, Chase Elliott, finished the season 10th in the final championship standings and the 2018 ROVAL winner, Ryan Blaney, also finished the season 10th in the final standings.
• Three non-Playoff drivers have won the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs:
• In 2005, Jeff Gordon won the Playoff race at Martinsville Speedway he was ranked 15th in the series standings at the time of the win.
• In 2011, Clint Bowyer won the Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway he was ranked 13th in the series standings at the time of the win.
• In 2013, Jamie McMurray won the Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway he was ranked 14th in the series standings at the time of the win.

At Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course:

TRACK DATA
Season Race #: 32 of 36 (October 8, 2023)
Playoff Race #: 6
Track Size: 3.67-kilometers / 2.32-miles
Track Type: Road Course
Number of Turns: 17
Elevation Change: 35 degrees
Race Length: 109 laps / 400 kilometers / 252.88 miles
Stage 1 and 2 Length: 25 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 59 laps

QUALIFYING RECORDS

Track Qualifying Record:
Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, 106.868 mph, 76.805 secs., September 29, 2018

2022 Playoff Race Pole Winner:
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford, 103.424 mph, 80.755 secs., October 8, 2022

RACE RECORDS

Track race record:
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 86.661 mph, (02:59:54), October 9, 2022

2022 race winner:
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 86.661 mph, (02:59:54), October 9, 2022

2021 race winner:
Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 77.783 mph, (03:15:04), October 10, 2021

2020 race winner:
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 76.948 mph, (03:17:11), October 11, 2020

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 repaved 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 2.32-mile, 17-turn, multi-elevational road course that incorporates the oval track as well.
• 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 (Team Penske Ford).
• There have been 130 NASCAR Cup Series points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway (includes road course figures), a minimum of two races per year since the track opened in 1960. A total of 125 races on the oval track and five races on the road course.

STARTS

• A total of 74 different drivers competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• A total of 45 drivers have competed in more than once at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• A total of 16 different drivers have made all five NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Charlotte Roval and all 16 are tied for the series-most starts at the track.
• Two drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have made their first career start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – Joey Hand (October 10, 2021 – he started 36th and finished 27th) and Conor Daly (October 9, 2022 – he started 39th and finished 34th).
• Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Alex Bowman leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with a 5.500 in four starts.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at the Charlotte Road Course (All-Time & Active)

POLES

• A total of three different drivers have won the pole in the five NASCAR Cup Series races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course; Qualifying was cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
• Kurt Busch won the pole for the inaugural Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2018) 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 (2019) driving for Hendrick Motorsports in a Chevrolet, his first on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• In 2020 and 2021, the starting lineups were determined by Metric Qualifying and as a result Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin started in the first position both seasons (2020, 2021).
• Last season, Joey Logano won the pole for the fifth Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2022) driving for Team Penske in a Ford, his
• 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).
• Three organizations in the NASCAR Cup Series have won a pole at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – Stewart-Haas Racing (Kurt Busch) in 2018, Hendrick Motorsports (William Byron) in 2019 and Team Penske (Joey Logano) in 2022.
• Two manufacturers have won poles at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – Ford won the 2018 pole with a speed of 868 mph, 76.805 seconds and the 2022 pole with a speed of 103.424 mph, 80.755 seconds, and Chevrolet won the 2019 pole with a speed of 103.198 mph, 80.932 seconds.

WINS

• A total of four drivers have won the five NASCAR Cup Series races at the 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 seven-career road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• In 2020, Chase Elliott won the third Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course; his fifth of seven-career road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. He would go on to win the title that same season.
• In 2021, Kyle Larson won the fourth Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course; his third of four-career road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. He would go on to win the title that same season.
• In 2022, Christopher Bell won the fifth Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course; his second of two-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 victories (Sonoma, five wins; Watkins Glen, four wins).
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart has the second-most road course wins all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with eight victories (Watkins Glen, five wins; Sonoma, three wins).
• Chase Elliott ranks third on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series road course wins list with seven victories – the most among active drivers. Elliott also leads all active drivers in wins at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road course with two (2019, 2020).
• This weekend there are 15 former NASCAR Cup Series road course winners entered at the Charlotte ROVAL.

Active NASCAR Cup Series Road Course Winners

• NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for the most wins at a single road course track with six victories at Riverside International Raceway (1971, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1981 sweep).
• Youngest Cup Series race winner at the Charlotte Road Course: Chase Elliott (September 29, 2019 – 23 years, 10 months and 1 day).
• Oldest Cup Series race winner at the Charlotte Road Course: Kyle Larson (October 10, 2021 – 29 years, 1 month and 40 days).
• Five different starting positions have led to victories in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Charlotte Road Course:
• 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.
• Chase Elliott won the 2020 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course race from the second starting position.
• Kyle Larson won the 2021 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course race from the 10th starting position.
• Christopher Bell won the 2022 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course race from the eighth starting position.
• Four of the five races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course have been won from a starting position inside the top-10 (80%) – the lone exception is Chase Elliott victory from the 19th starting spot in 2019.
• Three organizations have won a NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – Team Penske (2018), Hendrick Motorsports (2019, 2020, 2021) and Joe Gibbs Racing (2022).
• Three manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – Ford in 2018, Chevrolet in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and Toyota in 2022.

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes:

• Five different drivers have finished runner-up in the four 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, Alex Bowman finished second in the 2019 event, Joey Logano finished runner-up in 2020, Tyler Reddick finished second in 2021 and Kevin Harvick finished runner-up last season.

Top-Five Finishes:

• A total of 18 different drivers have finished in the top-five in the five series races at the Charlotte Road Course.
• Seven drivers all-time have finished in the top-five in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Charlotte Road Course twice.

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

Top-10 Finishes:

• A total of 26 different drivers have finished in the top-10 in the five series races at the Charlotte Road Course.
• Three different drivers have finished inside the top-10 in the NASCAR Cup Series in four of the five previous races at the Charlotte Road Course – Alex Bowman, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

Average Finish:

• Clint Bowyer leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with 5.667 in three starts.
• Alex Bowman leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with 6.000 in four starts.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at the Charlotte Road Course

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 25 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have led at least one lap at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• Chase Elliott leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with 94 laps led in five starts.

All-Time Lap Leaders at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

• 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 by 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 two laps led by Christopher Bell on October 9, 2022.
• 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:

• The closest Margin of Victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course is the October 10, 2021 race, won by Kyle Larson by 0.782-second over runner-up Tyler Reddick.
• The largest Margin of Victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course is the October 11, 2020 race, won by Chase Elliott by 3.895-seconds over runner-up Joey Logano.
• Only one of the five NASCAR Cup Series races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course have resulted in NASCAR Overtime – the 2022 race was scheduled for 109 laps and went to 112 (+3 laps).
• Twice qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series has been cancelled at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course due to the pandemic – 2020 and 2021.

Previous Cup Series Races/Records at the Charlotte Road Course

• Only once has the NASCAR Cup Series winner at the Charlotte Motor Speedway made the final pass for the lead on the last lap of the race – In 2018, Ryan Blaney passed Jimmie Johnson on the final lap (Lap 109) for the win at the Charlotte Road Course.

NASCAR IN NORTH CAROLINA

• There have been 766 NASCAR national series points-paying 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 was 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.

NORTH CAROLINA IN NASCAR

• A total of 475 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as North Carolina.
• A total of 58 of the 475 drivers from North Carolina have won a NASCAR national series race.

— NASCAR —