October 7, 2025

Christopher Bell was the last NASCAR Cup Series driver besides Shane van Gisbergen to win on a road course at the Circuit of the Americas early this year and he backed that up at the Charlotte roval where he started seventh and seldom ran worse than that all day. Although he never quite worked his way into the lead, Bell was in a tight battle with SVG and Larson in the middle stages of the race and he was able to follow Larson around SVG before he eventually worked his way past both Larson and Bell again. Bell looked like he might finish second after Larson made a late pit stop, but Larson was able to work his way past Bell on the penultimate lap. Nonetheless, as expected Bell pretty easily advanced to the Round of 8 and now sits eight points behind his teammate Denny Hamlin for the NASCAR Cup Series points lead.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 7, 2025

In what was otherwise a fairly run-of-the-mill Charlotte roval race, Ross Chastain stole the headlines by intentionally spinning out his long-standing rival Denny Hamlin on the last lap after Chastain fell below the playoff cutline for the Round of 8. It looked like it was going to be a struggle for Chastain to advance to begin with since he started the race 13 points below Joey Logano for the final transfer spot but Chastain made up most of his deficit by earning 13 stage points to Logano's 3, which meant he only needed to finish three positions ahead of Logano to advance. However, a speeding penalty seemingly took Chastain out of it until Logano subsequently pitted and handed Chastain the spot back on the last lap. Despite narrowly missing the Round of 8, he still vastly outperformed the level of his equipment since he ranks only 15th in speed this year with a speed percentile of 59.97.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 7, 2025

Nobody really expected Austin Cindric to advance to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs to begin with. His frequent leading rarely gets finishes, so it came as no surprise that he failed to advance at the Charlotte roval, especially since he never emerged as a frequent contender for road-course wins like a lot of people once expected. Despite a solo spin early in the race and suffering a broken toe link when Carson Hocevar took him out in Stage 2, he did finish the race 22 laps down in last on track before being elevated to 36th after Riley Herbst's disqualification. Although he had the speed and dominance to warrant a playoff bid, in retrospect, he was pretty lucky to be there to begin with, since he so rarely had strong finishes, and his one win at Talladega came largely due to a major strategy assist.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 7, 2025

Ryan Preece is not particularly noted for his road-racing prowess, but he has tended to run better this year on all track types than he ever has before, so it probably wasn't as shocking that he ended up finishing sixth in Monday's Charlotte roval race. The RFK Racing cars clearly have speed on these tracks, as Preece's teammate Chris Buescher has repeatedly proven (as he did on Monday with his fourth-place finish), but one could argue that Preece was more impressive since he drove from 29th. Preece ran as high as third during a moment of wildly diverging pit strategies in Stage 3, and his pass differential of 22 was better than all but one driver in the top 10. His run was more than just a strategy play and is indicative of his continuing uptick in performance this season.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 7, 2025

If Daniel Suárez was going to run well anywhere as a lame-duck driver in his final season for Trackhouse Racing, it's probably not surprising that he delivered what could be his final top-10 finish on the Charlotte roval on Sunday. He seemed to benefit somewhat from his teammate Shane van Gisbergen's speed to finish seventh in a fairly satisfying yet nondescript drive. Suárez gained most of his ground by flipping the first stage when a lot of other drivers didn't, which caused him to advance from 12th to fourth, but he adequately kept much of his gains for the remainder of the race. Ultimately, it was just a blip, though, especially when considering his replacement, Connor Zilisch, won the previous day's Xfinity Series race and tied Sam Ard's record for the most wins in a season from a non-Cup Series regular.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 7, 2025

Shane Van Gisbergen won the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval course. Van Gisbergen started the race from second place, but was able to quickly control the race during the first stage, taking over the lead from Tyler Reddick on lap 4. Van Gisbergen led for most of the stage and went on to win it, scoring 10 stage points in the process. In the second stage, SVG lost out on the lead through the stage break, but eventually regained it midway through the stage. Before the end of stage two, SVG went to pit road for tires and fuel, then went on to place sixth at the end of the stage. In the final stage, SVG became the driver to beat for the win, but mainly competed with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Larson and Van Gisbergen both led throughout the stage, but when Larson decided to take an extra pit stop late in the stage for tires and fuel, Van Gisbergen never looked back. By the end of the race, SVG won his fifth race of the 2025 season by 15 seconds over Larson, as well as scoring his first Cup victory at the Charlotte Roval.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

October 7, 2025

Kyle Larson placed second and was a top contender in the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval track. Beginning the race from fourth, Larson showed plenty of speed early on and ran in the top five through the entire first stage. He finished second at the end of the stage to Shane Van Gisbergen, but collected enough stage points to lock into the Round of 8 in the playoffs. In the second stage, Larson continued to run well in the top 10 and would finish the stage in sixth. In the final stage, Larson finally executed on pit strategies and was able to make it to the lead. He traded the lead all throughout the final stage with Van Gisbergen, and Larson led 27 laps in the process. Late in the final stage, Larson took an extra pit stop for tires and fuel, hoping to beat Van Gisbergen, who was on older tires. Although he was faster by the end of the race than Van Gisbergen, the gap to the lead was too great to overcome, and Larson was the runner-up at the Roval. This was Larson's first top-5 finish since his runner-up result at Indianapolis back in July and the third of his Cup career at the Charlotte Roval.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

October 7, 2025

Joey Logano of Team Penske finished 20th during the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval track, but was a major player in the battle for determining who advanced to the Round of 8 in the playoffs. Logano started the race from 17th place and only advanced a few positions during the first stage. The No. 22 Ford driver struggled with speed through most of the race, but made it up to 12th by the end of the first stage due to several drivers choosing to pit before the end of the first stage. Logano stayed out hoping to earn stage points, but received none during the first stage. In the second stage, Logano did end up earning stage points by finishing eighth at the end of the stage. From there, the final stage became a battle for the final playoff spot on points between Logano and Ross Chastain. Logano and Chastain executed similar pit strategies through the final stage until late in the stage when Logano took an extra pit stop while Chastain ran on an older set of tires. This was the difference as Chastain lost enough positions due to his worn tires on the final lap, and Logano gained enough positions on fresher tires to earn the final spot into the Round of 8 of the playoffs. Despite scoring his worst career Cup finish at the Roval, Logano's chance to defend his Cup title is still alive.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

October 7, 2025

RFK Racing's Chris Buescher finished fourth in Sunday's Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval track. Buescher began the race from fifth position and had one of the best cars throughout the entire race as he ran in the top five through most of the race. The No. 17 Ford driver ended the first stage in 18th; however as his team pitted before the end of the first stage to regain track position during the second stage. Buescher and his team executed a similar strategy during the second stage by pitting before the end of the stage, resulting in Buescher placing 12th. Buescher led five laps total during the day, all within the first stage from lap 15 to lap 19, but could not get to the front of the pack otherwise. He competed with Shane Van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell during the final stage, but simply did not have the speed to keep up with those three and finished in fourth place at the end of the race. Buescher was the top finisher from Ford and scored the second top-5 finish at the Roval in his Cup career.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

October 5, 2025

RFK Racing's Ryan Preece will start in the 29th position for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval Course after qualifying. This will be only the third time in his Cup career that he will start outside of the top 20 at the Charlotte Roval. In five starts at the Roval in the Cup Series, Preece has never placed worse than 25th, has three top-20 finishes, and an average finish of 18.0. With 31 races completed this season, Preece has 22 top-20 finishes and an average finish of 16.8. In practice, Preece ranked 37th in overall lap averages and 28th in five consecutive lap averages. Despite his slow practice speeds, Preece has been solid on road courses this season, with four top-15s in the five Cup events at the track type this season. Preece has plenty of upside and is in better equipment than most around his salary range, meaning that he is a worth consideration for all DFS formats this week.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: DriverAverages.com

October 5, 2025

Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith acquired a starting position of 24th for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval course after qualifying. This will mark the second consecutive race where Smith will start in the top 25 at the Charlotte Roval in the Cup Series. Smith's best finish in two Cup starts at the Roval is 19th, which he scored in last year's race, and he also gained positive Place Differential twice. Through 31 races this season, Smith has 16 top-20 finishes and an average finish of 20.9. In practice for Sunday's race at the Roval, Smith ranked 15th in overall lap averages and 14th in five consecutive lap averages. Due to his positive history at the Roval, as well as his upside and practice speeds, Smith is one of the more favorable value options to consider for lineups this week.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: DriverAverages.com

October 5, 2025

Cole Custer of Haas Factory Team will start in the 18th position after qualifying for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval course. This marks the second time that Custer will start in the top 20 at the Charlotte Roval in his Cup career. In three previous starts at the Roval, Custer has two top-20 finishes and scored positive Place Differential twice. After 31 races so far this year, Custer has eight top-20 finishes and an average finish of 24.3. In practice for this week's race, Custer ranked 11th in overall lap averages and 24th in five consecutive lap averages. Custer starts in a higher position compared to most drivers, whose salary is around $5,600 on DraftKings, but he has displayed solid results at the Roval before. The No. 41 Ford driver is not a bad choice for all formats, but is favored for tournament games in DFS this week due to his lower-than-average upside compared to most in his salary range.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: DriverAverages.com

October 5, 2025

Although Kyle Larson has been taking a lot of heat for both embarrassing crashes and a downturn in performance over the summer, he enters the Charlotte roval race with a 54-point lead over Ross Chastain for the final playoff spot, meaning Larson will clinch a spot in the Round of 8 as long as he scores at least seven points. Stage points could likely guarantee that for him, but since he's starting fourth, it is more likely he will flip the stages and go for the win. It's hard to imagine him matching Shane van Gisbergen's speed despite his past road-course wins, but he will likely have a relatively humdrum top-10 run like he did for most of the summer. He did win this race in 2021 and dominated it last year, so a top-five finish feels like a reasonable bet, but his salary of $10,500 might be a little too much to justify starting him.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 5, 2025

Since Ryan Blaney advanced to the Round of 8 via his win at Loudon, it would not be surprising if the No. 12 team looks past this week's race at the Charlotte roval to prepare for the Round of 8 and the Phoenix race as his teammate Joey Logano has frequently done in previous playoffs. Blaney did win his only road course race in the first Charlotte roval race in a very deus ex machina manner after Jimmie Johnson took himself and Martin Truex, Jr. out. Although he was typically fast here with the Gen 6 car, he's been fairly lackluster with the Next Gen with a best finish of 10th and a best average running position of 13th. Starting 11th, you can likely expect him to finish similarly, making him a solid but not stellar option. However, signing him for $8,000 could free up some money elsewhere if you want to take Shane van Gisbergen.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 5, 2025

Although Denny Hamlin was pretty consistent on road courses in the Gen 6 era of NASCAR, he's been a lot sloppier in the Next Gen era, crashing out of several races after winning the pole. The Charlotte Roval was never Hamlin's best road course, as he only earned a single top-10 finish at the track, a fifth-place showing in 2021. He did run really well on that occasion, posting the second-best driver rating and average running position. However, this time he only qualified 14th in an era when it has been much more difficult to pass on road courses. Since Hamlin holds a 48-point lead, he's likely to stay out for stage points on both stages since only 13 stage points will allow him to clinch a spot in the Round of 8, which may hurt his finish. As a result, selecting him for DFS lineups is very risky, even though you don't normally get to sign him for $7,200.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference