By Alex Harrington

Copyright newsweek

The Bank of America ROVAL 400 returns Sunday, October 5, at 3:00 PM ET to Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL, the NASCAR Cup Series playoff cut race that will trim the field of 12 to the semi-final round. With playoff pressures starting to boil over and a layout notorious for limited runoff and close walls, a wet-weather pile-up could be the equalizer. This could be the perfect opening for Greensboro, North Carolina native Cody Ware to chase a surprise top-10.

Ware, 29, is closing out his third full-time Cup campaign in the No. 51 Parts Plus Ford Mustang Dark Horse. He has only one prior Cup start at the ROVAL (four years ago), but he claimed an impressive seventh-place run in the rain in the 2020 Xfinity race for Rick Ware Racing. This experience could prove invaluable if the conditions turn as they’re expected to.

“I do like the Roval, and I wouldn’t mind another rainy race,” Ware said this week. “I’ve had success there in the rain. My road-racing background kicks in in those kinds of environments. I look forward to any race at the Roval, but always welcome some adversity in the weather.”

Since his last Cup start at the venue, the platform has moved from the Gen-6 to the NextGen car, and Charlotte’s ROVAL has been modified with a hairpin at the entry to the first corner of the oval. But despite this, it’s still a tight infield road course stitched into the high-speed oval with precious few bailouts besides the backstretch chicane.

LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – SEPTEMBER 21: Cody Ware, driver of the #51 Parts Plus Ford, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 21, 2025 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

“Restarts are also kind of violent at the Roval. It seems like there’s never really a smooth, clean restart there. You’re definitely up on your toes more so than normal. There really aren’t any places where you can run off and try to avoid something on a restart, other than maybe the bus stop. You have to be super heads-up, almost anticipating the ‘big one,’ kind of like you would at a superspeedway.”

Why the optimism? Beyond the potential poor weather, Ware has put plenty of preparation hours into Ford’s simulator and leaned on coaching from Joey Hand, a former Ford GT driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner who made his Cup debut at the ROVAL in 2021 as Ware’s teammate, has nine national-series starts, and delivered a top-five in the 2024 Chicago Street Course race in a NextGen car.

The plan is to convert this experience in the sim directly into execution during the weekend.

“Our sim session on Thursday will be more valuable than our track time on Saturday for practice and qualifying,” Ware said.

“Saturday will be about putting into practice what I learned in the sim. I want to replicate the run plan Joey gave me for the ROVAL and hit all my marks when we’re there on the track. That’s a lot to learn going into this race weekend, and Joey’s insights will be super important as I learn how the current Cup car responds to the ROVAL.”

Hand likes what he sees.

“Cody is always eager to learn and comes into the sim prepared and ready to go,” he said. “Even with a road-course background, he’s very open to any insights that will help improve his lap times. He’s diligent in his approach and really maximizes his time in the sim. When you’re investing your time in another driver’s development, that kind of effort and dedication is very rewarding to see.”

Heading into what will be the eighth running after seven prior ROVAL Cup events, the race is still a high-risk, street-course tough, and restart-heavy. In that kind of environment, a clean, efficient day can pay strong dividends for mid-pack teams.

“The Roval is kind of a hybrid street course and road course. The infield is very street course-esque, especially going through turns one, two, and three. There’s very little room for error – a lot of walls you can hit, both in the infield and around the oval. There’s definitely the potential for carnage, not unlike the Chicago Street Course,” Ware said.

If the skies open up, the reward could be his first top-10 of the 2025 Cup season and the third top-10 of his Cup career.