GFT Facts and Stats Friday: NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
11 October 2024
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News
CONCORD, NC — The intense NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 comes down to this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 elimination race at 2 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 13 on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). The 12-driver Playoff field will be cut to eight as four driver’s title hopes will come to an end this weekend.
Ever since the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has joined the NASCAR Cup Series postseason in 2018, it has proven to be a wildcard event with twists and turns that challenge the competitors along its multi-elevational 2.28-miles.
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron has accumulated enough pints this round to clinch his spot into the Round of 8, leaving seven of the eight spots still available on Sunday at Charlotte.
Currently below the Round of 8 cutline heading into this weekend are two-time series champion and Team Penske driver Joey Logano (-13), Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez (-20), Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (-29) and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe (-32).
NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Sunday, October 13
Start Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Purse: $8,056,677
TV: NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 248.52 miles (109 Laps)
— Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25)
— Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50)
— Final Stage (Ends on Lap 109)
Track Facts
Track Length: 2.28 Miles
Race Length: 400 Kilometers / 249 miles (109 laps)
Grandstand Seating Capacity: 86,000
First Race: September 30, 2018 — Bank of America ROVAL 400
Banking in Corners: Varying from 2 to 24 degrees
Banking on Straights: Varying from 0 to 5 degrees
Number of Turns: 17
Frontstretch: 1,580 feet
Backstretch: 1,500 feet
Qualifying & Race Records
Qualifying: Kurt Busch, Ford, 106.868 mph (76.805 sec.); Sept. 28, 2018
Races: Christopher Bell, Toyota, 86.661 mph; Oct. 9, 2022
Track Records
Most Wins: 2 — Chase Elliott
Most Poles: 1 — Kurt Busch, William Byron, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick
Most Top Fives: 3 — Kyle Busch
Most Top 10s: 5 — Alex Bowman, Joey Logano
NASCAR PLAYOFFS — Standings ahead of Round of 12, Race 3 Charlotte ROVAL
PLAYOFF DRIVER-SPECIFIC STATISTICS
Driver Rankings for Charlotte ROVAL
1 — William Byron (№24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 89.0
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, ten top fives, 16 top 10s, one pole
· Led 286 laps
· Average Finish of 14.3
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· One top five, three top 10s, one pole
· Average Finish of 12.500, ninth-best
· Average Running Position of 9.969, third-best
· Driver Rating of 106.6, second-best
· 495 Laps in the Top 15 (75.3%), third-most
2 — Christopher Bell (№20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 93.0
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s, two poles
· Led 843 laps
· Average Finish of 13.7
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· One win, one top five, two top 10s
· Average Finish of 12.000, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 11.695, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 90.4, 11th-best
· 312 Laps in the Top 15 (71.1%), seventh-most
3 — Kyle Larson (№5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 99.5
2024 Rundown
· Five wins, 12 top fives, 15 top 10s, five poles
· Led 1,552 laps
· Average Finish of 14.0
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· One win, one top five, one top 10
· Average Finish of 17.400, 15th-best
· Average Running Position of 13.379, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 95.8, seventh-best
· 360 Laps in the Top 15 (65.7%), ninth-most
4 — Denny Hamlin (№11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 92.2
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, ten top fives, 15 top 10s, four poles
· Led 918 laps
· Average Finish of 14.8
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· One top five, one top 10
· Average Finish of 16.833, 14th-best
· Average Running Position of 18.233, 20th-best
· Driver Rating of 74.8, 18th-best
· 281 Laps in the Top 15 (42.8%), 19th-most
5 — Alex Bowman (№48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 79.9
2024 Rundown
· One win, seven top fives, 15 top 10s, one pole
· Led 61 laps
· Average Finish of 14.6
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· Two top fives, five top 10s
· Average Finish of 6.400, series-best
· Average Running Position of 14.894, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 86.3, 13th-best
· 327 Laps in the Top 15 (60.0%), 13th-most
6 — Ryan Blaney (№12 Team Penske Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 88.6
2024 Rundown
· Two wins, nine top fives, 14 top 10s, one pole
· Led 472 laps
· Average Finish of 16.2
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· One win, two top fives, four top 10s
· Average Finish of 10.167, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.540, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 92.2, eighth-best
· 426 Laps in the Top 15 (64.8%), 10th-most
7 — Tyler Reddick (№45 23XI Racing Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 90.8
2024 Rundown
· Two wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s, two poles
· Led 485 laps
· Average Finish of 12.5
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· One top five, three top 10s, one pole
· Average Finish of 7.000, second-best
· Average Running Position of 9.357, series-best
· Driver Rating of 106.4, third-best
· 347 Laps in the Top 15 (79.0%), series-most
8 — Chase Elliott (№9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 91.4
2024 Rundown
· One win, eight top fives, 15 top 10s
· Led 214 laps
· Average Finish of 11.9
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· Two wins, two top fives, four top 10s
· Average Finish of 8.167, third-best
· Average Running Position of 9.677, second-best
· Driver Rating of 111.2, series-best
· 516 Laps in the Top 15 (78.5%), second-most
9 — Joey Logano (№22 Team Penske Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 83.7
2024 Rundown
· Two wins, five top fives, nine top 10s, three poles
· Led 301 laps
· Average Finish of 18.3
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· Two top fives, five top 10s, one pole
· Average Finish of 8.667, fourth-best
· Average Running Position of 12.145, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 95.9, sixth-best
· 422 Laps in the Top 15 (64.2%), 11th-most
10 — Daniel Suárez (№99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 63.9
2024 Rundown
· One win, three top fives, seven top 10s
· Led 152 laps
· Average Finish of 18.1
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· One top 15
· Average Finish of 27.000, 34th-best
· Average Running Position of 17.780, 19th-best
· Driver Rating of 65.2, 22nd-best
· 330 Laps in the Top 15 (50.2%), 15th-most
11 — Austin Cindric (№2 Team Penske Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 67.8
2024 Rundown
· One win, two top fives, five top 10s
· Led 256 laps
· Average Finish of 20.5
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· Two top 25s
· Average Finish of 23.000, 25th-best
· Average Running Position of 19.303, 22nd-best
· Driver Rating of 61.6, 26th-best
· 80 Laps in the Top 15 (36.2%), 23rd-most
12 — Chase Briscoe (№14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 71.4
2024 Rundown
· One win, three top fives, nine top 10s
· Led 43 laps
· Average Finish of 18
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Outlook:
· One top 10
· Average Finish of 19.667, 18th-best
· Average Running Position of 19.848, 25th-best
· Driver Rating of 65.9, 21st-best
· 104 Laps in the Top 15 (31.5%), 25th-most
NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race #6 Fast Facts: Charlotte Road Course
- This season is the seventh-time the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has hosted a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race. (2018–2024).
- The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has occupied two positions on the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs schedule:
- From 2018–2019, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course hosted the third race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (the Round of 16 elimination race).
- From 2020–2024, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has hosted the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (the Round of 12 elimination race).
- The 2024 season marks just the fifth-time the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has hosted the sixth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (2020–2024) — the elimination race of the Round of 12.
- The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2020–2024) 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).
- A total of five different drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, led by Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott with two victories (2019, 2020).
GFT NASCAR CUP SERIES BOX SCORES
GFT AI Race Prediction Model Picks for Talladega
(Will be updated after Practice and Qualifying)
**NOTE** Be sure to follow us on X (aka Twitter) to see the updated GFT NASCAR Fantasy Live picks AFTER our AI models ingest the Practice and Qualifying data. For a Sunday race, this usually happens overnight Saturday and is published Sunday morning at least 2 hours before the green flag.