News, notes and photos courtesy of NASCAR

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: Bank of America ROVAL 400

The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

The Date: Sunday, September 30

The Time: 2 p.m. ET

TV: NBC, 1 p.m. ET

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 248.52 miles (109 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 109)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Playoff Eliminations On The Line 

This is one of most important and consequential weeks on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The sport debuts a brand new track – the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – as it hosts the first elimination race of the championship Playoffs.

Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, drives during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on September 28, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Only 12 of the current 16 championship-eligible drivers will advance their Playoff hopes following Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 (at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The four drivers hoping to leap into contention with good debuts at the new venue are Clint Bowyer, who trails 12th-place Ryan Blaney by four points and seven-time Monster Energy Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who is six points back. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin are 21 and 29 points behind the cutoff, respectively.

Three of the four have won previously on Cup road courses. Bowyer (2012) and Johnson (2010) have victories at Sonoma. And Hamlin won at Watkins Glen in 2016. This is only Jones’ second season of Cup competition, but he scored his best road course outing – a fifth-place at Watkins Glen – just a month ago.

“The ROVAL is kind of an unknown I think for everybody, so it’s going to be a new experience and something that we are all going to have to learn as we go this weekend,” said Jones, who drives the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

“I think we’re excited as a team to have some laps there and had a pretty decent test when we all got to test there. We’ll work hard this weekend. We need to have a solid race and get as many points as we can and try to advance on to the next round. That’s our main goal this weekend, so we’ll keep ourselves out of trouble and hopefully have a solid race.”

Rearview Mirror

Although 12th place Ryan Blaney is technically “safe” inside the 12-driver Playoff cutoff that will be finalized following Sunday’s race, he has only a narrow four-point margin on those facing elimination. And Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman is only one point ahead of Blaney – a slim five points inside the safety net.

Blaney’s best road course outing was an eighth-place finish at Watkins Glen in 2017. Bowman’s best showing is a seventh at Watkins Glen in 2015 driving for another team. He was ninth at Sonoma this season.

Introducing: Charlotte’s Road Course

This week’s new track, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, has been the subject of debate, curiosity and prognostication since Monster Energy Series drivers turned their first test laps on it this summer. 

Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Axalta Chevrolet, drives during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on September 28, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

The 17-turn, 2.28-mile course, which incorporates a new infield section and parts of the traditional Charlotte Motor Speedway oval is the first brand-new track ever introduced during NASCAR’s Playoffs. And this marks the first time since 1987 (Riverside-twice, Watkins Glen) that the Monster Energy Series has faced three road course races in a season.

Championship hopes are on the line in this first Playoff elimination race to narrow the title hopeful field from 16 drivers to 12.

Many competitors have had opportunity to make test laps at the venue and the reviews have been mixed. But with their title hopes on the line, an “open” attitude may be just the difference in a good outing or not.

“We can’t look at Sonoma notes, we can’t look at Watkins Glen notes,” Wood Brothers driver Paul Menard told NBC Sports after testing at the venue earlier this summer. “We have to create our own, because we’re going 170 (mph) through the banking … We don’t see anything like that at Watkins Glen. And certainly not Sonoma.

“Should be a hell of a show,” he added.

The race starts on the new infield road course and then uses the oval at its Turn 1 entrance. The cars stay on the speedway portion of the track  – navigating a chicane on the backstretch – before diving off into the road course again to complete the lap.

In terms of testing, on the final day of the final summer session, Kyle Busch set the fastest speed, followed by Joey Logano and A.J. Allmendinger.

Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, drives during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on September 28, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Monster Road Course Aces

As strong as the 2018 Playoff drivers are, the strength and versatility of that field narrows a bit when it comes to road course racing. Among the current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers, only three have won at both the series’ regular road course stops at Sonoma, Calif. and Watkins Glen, N.Y. And, interestingly enough, those three have led the 2018 championship all season.

The “Big 3” Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick are the only drivers in this weekend’s field to have won at both longtime Cup road course tracks. And in Busch’s case, he’s won twice at each.

Busch won at Sonoma in 2015 and at Watkins Glen in 2013 and earned a rare season sweep of the two road courses in 2008. Truex has a pair of wins at Sonoma (2018 and 2013) and won at The Glen in 2017. Harvick won at Sonoma in 2017 and at The Glen in 2006.

Unstoppable ‘Big 3’

The dominating topic for much of this season has been the overwhelming success of three drivers – regular season champion Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and reigning Cup champion Martin Truex Jr.

They account for 18 wins through the first 28 races. Busch’s win last week at Richmond, Va. gives him seven trophies on the year – a mark tying Harvick. Truex has four victories.

And perhaps most telling of the competitive nature of these drivers – they finished 1-2-3 at Richmond; Busch-Harvick-Truex. It was the first time this year they swept the top-three positions, however, 13-times this season two of the three have finished in the top-three of a race.

Last week at Richmond, the top 12 finishers were all Playoff drivers.

Heading into Sunday’s first elimination race, Busch leads the standings ahead of Brad Keselowski – who automatically advances thanks to his win in the Playoff opener at Las Vegas – and Truex, who has advanced with top-three finishes in both Playoff races. Harvick is ranked fourth and only needs to start Sunday’s race to officially advance.

A Proud Stewart-Haas Racing

It’s already been a historic year for the Stewart-Haas Racing team, for the first time ever it qualified all four of its cars for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. And not only did these teams earn Playoff berths, they are all in good position to be among the top 12 drivers who advance to the second round.

Seven-time race winner Harvick leads the team and is ranked fourth in the standings, needing only to start Sunday’s race at the CMS Road Course to officially advance. Aric Almirola, in his first year driving the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford, is ranked sixth. Kurt Busch, who won at Bristol, Tenn., is ranked eighth. And two-time winner Clint Bowyer, whose had some bad luck early in the Playoffs, is 13^th, only four points out of the top-12 heading into Sunday’s decisive race.

“That’s a great accomplishment for Stewart-Haas Racing and all the guys and girls back at the shop who put the cars together,” Harvick said. “I think it really shows the effort and the chemistry of everything that we have going on at the organization, not even two years into a manufacturer change.

“Aric (Almirola) being there for one year and Clint (Bowyer) being there for two years. There are new crew chiefs and a lot of things that have changed, but I think you see the evolution of things getting better and really from an organization standpoint.

“When you start seeing the results of all four cars, that’s when you know that the processes and the things that you’re doing are working well.”

‘ROVAL’ Reminiscent

The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course may remind many of the configuration for the historic Rolex 24 at Daytona. The legendary IMSA sports car season opener on the famed track uses a 3.56-mile course that incorporates an infield road course with the high banks of Daytona International Speedway and a chicane on the backstretch. The ROVAL has a similar course using both an new infield road course and the Charlotte Motor Speedway banking.

Several drivers in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 field have won on that Daytona road course. Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Jamie McMurray and Playoff driver Kyle Larson teamed to win the 2015 Rolex 24 overall. A.J. Allmendinger won the Rolex crown in 2012 with Michael Shank Racing.

Jimmie Johnson, another Playoff driver, finished runner-up in the Rolex 24 in both 2005 and 2008. Kurt Busch was third overall in 2008. And Paul Menard has a best finish of 15th in the Rolex in 2010.

Sunoco Rookie Race

As Sunoco celebrates its 15^th season as the “Official Fuel of NASCAR,” it’s a good time to reflect on Sunoco’s commitment to recognizing rising talent since they joined the sport in 2004.

It’s interesting to note that three of the four most recent winners of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award are in the 2018 Monster Energy Series Playoffs – Erik Jones (2017), Chase Elliott (2016) and Kyle Larson (2014). Also of note? The 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year, Brett Moffitt, is in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs.

In taking a look at this year’s Sunoco Rookie race, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron is ranked 22nd in the overall driver standings and Richard Petty Motorsports driver Bubba Wallace is ranked 27th heading into the race this weekend at Charlotte. And there is now a 114-point gap between them.

Byron, 20, who drives the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, hasn’t had a top-10 finish since the Watkins Glen road course (eighth) seven races ago. Since then he’s had only one top-20 – a 20th-place finish last Saturday night at Richmond – and had two DNFs.

Wallace, 24, who drives the famed No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, hasn’t had a top-20 since Daytona (14th) 11 races ago. He’s had four DNFs in that time including three in the last five races.

“Hopefully, we can just survive the whole race and see what happens at the end,” the Charlotte native Byron said of this weekend’s road course challenge.

“The road courses have been solid for us this year – we qualified in the top 10 in both and had some good results – so hopefully we can lean on those notes some. But at the same time, this is going to be a completely different beast.”