NASCAR at the Charlotte Roval: Bell wins, clinches Round of 8 entry; Larson, Cindric, Suarez, Reddick eliminated
The NASCAR Cup Series will whittle its playoff field from 12 to eight drivers this weekend at the Charlotte Roval. Chase Elliott, who has won two of the four races ever staged on the circuit, enters atop the playoff point standings just two points ahead of the inaugural race winner Ryan Blaney. Daniel Suarez comes into the weekend with the final playoff spot, 12 points ahead of Chase Briscoe.
Eight playoff drivers start in the top 10, led by Joey Logano and William Byron on the front row.
Here is everything you need to know for the Bank of America Roval 400:
Bank of America Roval 400 starting grid
Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Daniel Suarez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford
Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford
AJ Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Cole Custer (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Ty Gibbs (45), 23XI Racing Chevrolet
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kyle Busch (18), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Erik Jones (43), Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
Joey Hand (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Dillon (42), Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
Noah Gragson (48) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Corey Lajoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Daniil Kvyat (26), Team Hezeberg Toyota
Mike Rockenfellerl (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Loris Hezemans (27), Team Hezeberg Ford
Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Josh Williams (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Conor Daly (5), TMT Racing Chevrolet
Top drivers and best bets for the Bank of America Roval 400
Elliott (+400) enters the weekend atop the points standings and is the betting favorite at BetMGM for the race win followed by emerging road racing ace Tyler Reddick (+600). Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson follows with +800 and part-timer AJ Allmendinger at +1,000
Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg suggests finding good mid-tier value in two-time pole-sitter Denny Hamlin (+1800) and Martin Truex Jr. (+2800) and is fading this season’s Sonoma road course winner Daniel Suarez (+1400).
NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings
Chase Elliott - 3,103
Ryan Blaney - 3,101
Ross Chastain - 3,097
Denny Hamlin - 3,090
Joey Logano - 3,087
Kyle Larson - 3,087
William Byron - 3,083
Daniel Suarez - 3,081
Chase Briscoe - 3,069
Austin Cindric - 3,069
Christopher Bell - 3,036
Alex Bowman - 3,015
Weather for the Bank of America Roval 400
The forecast calls for pretty much ideal fall conditions in Charlotte with highs in the low 70s and partly cloudy conditions. Tire degradation is always chief among concerns on road courses and will be this weekend, but with cooler temperatures, teams may be tempted to extend runs in an attempt to save a pit stop to gain track position.