For the second straight year, Charlotte Motor Speedway forms into a road course to host the NASCAR Cup Series cut off race in the first round of the playoffs. Last year’s race left many drivers scratching their heads on how to tackle the ‘Roval.’ Many teams returned to the track this year looking to improve.
William Byron won his fifth pole of the year, and this time he looked to make the most of it. He jumped to a solid lead to begin the race. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman started in the second position but fell to the back of the field after spinning himself out racing into the chicane. Bowman immediately came down pit road for tires and fell to the rear of the field. Byron continued to steam ahead increasing his lead late into the stage.
With five laps remaining in stage one, Ryan Preece draws the caution after spinning out into the chicane on the backstretch. Many teams decided to come down pit road, but William Byron stayed out to try and acquire some needed points.
On the restart to end the first stage, the outside lane bottled up, and multiple drivers spun around into the first turn. Jimmie Johnson, Alex Bowman, and Kurt Busch were the main drivers as part of the wreck. Kyle Larson was able to squeeze by Byron on the restart before the caution flag waved. The stage ended under caution with Larson picking up the win.
Joey Logano brought the field back to the green flag on the restart. The second stage was where Chase Elliott came alive. He began picking off drivers one by one. He made quick work on Brad Keselowski into the third position. Elliott then was able to catch up to Logano and Harvick, and pass both of them one lap later for the race lead.
With eight laps remaining in stage two another caution came out. This time, Alex Bowman appears to connect with Bubba Wallace after exiting the chicane on the backstretch. This contact sent Wallace spinning up the track. Chase Elliott fell back a few spots after coming down pit road for fuel and tires. He was able to find his groove again and makeup five positions within five laps to win stage two of the race.
Elliott continued to lead the way heading into the final stage of the race. Elliott’s lead climbed up to four seconds before a caution came out with on lap 61 after Daniel Hemric spins. Immediately on the restart, Chase Elliott locked his breaks and was unable to dive down into turn one. He ran straight into the tire barrier and another caution came out. Elliott restarted in the nineteenth position and was forced to fight his way back to the front.
Kevin Harvick became the race leader. Green flag stops began to cycle on lap 75. Some teams stopped just to take fuel only. Chase Elliott was able to fight his way back to the front after multiple cautions from drivers spinning out around the course. These restarts gave him more opportunities to pass cars while going through the tight corners.
With six laps remaining, the final restart was led by Kevin Harvick. Chase Elliot dove down to the bottom and was able to wedge Harvick off the bottom and return to the lead for the first time since his wreck earlier in the stage. Alex Bowman was also able to pass Martin Truex Jr. and Harvick to take the second place position. Both teammates led the field around one final time, and Chase Elliott wins the Bank of America Roval 400.
Chase Elliott suffered what could have been a day ending wreck and was able to repair his car and race into victory lane advancing into the second round of the playoffs. Elliott is beginning to show his skills for road course racing. After dominating Watkins Glen, he came to the Roval and took control of the race in the second half. It was clear to see he had the fastest car out of everyone. The way he passed each car just showed how the car was that he was driving. Now, Elliott and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series will head to Dover International Speedway where Elliott won one year ago. Chase Elliott also finished second two years prior, so he should be the favorite heading into next week.
Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, and Aric Almirola missed the cut and have been eliminated from the playoffs. It was a tight battle as Almirola, Busch, and Newman kept swapping positions all day long fighting to advance. It was until Alex Bowman climbed his way back to front and secured a second-place finish. The remaining twelve drivers will look toward the next three races which provide new challenges in order to advance into the next round.