It’s elimination time yet again.
The second cutoff race of the 2025 NASCAR playoffs has arrived, and it’s taking place at the home track for most teams: Charlotte Motor Speedway.
For the eighth straight year, the fall race in Charlotte will take place on the track’s road course — dubbed the “Roval.” The tricky 2.32-mile circuit combines the infield road course and parts of the traditional oval track, thus creating the appropriately-named Roval.
The 106-lap battle will conclude with four drivers’ championship hopes ending and eight driving moving on to the Round of 8. With just five races left in the season, tensions are rising as the chase for the championship heats up.
So, what’s in store for Charlotte? What’s the TV schedule for the weekend? And who could contend for the win on Saturday? Here’s everything to know for the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
When is the NASCAR race this weekend at the Charlotte Roval?
Green flag for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 is set for Sunday, Oct. 5, at 3:05 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying on Saturday. The 37 drivers will be split into two groups, with each group getting 25 minutes of free practice. For qualifying, each group will get 20 minutes to set their fastest lap, with the starting order set based on single-lap speed for the two groups combined.
NASCAR TV schedule this weekend for the Charlotte Roval
Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC Sports, with Marty Snider, Kim Coon and Parker Kligerman serving as pit reporters. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett will add pre- and post-race analysis.
Here’s the full schedule for Charlotte:
Saturday, Oct. 4 (truTV and HBO Max)
Practice: 2 p.m. ET, truTV and HBO Max
Qualifying: 3:10 p.m. ET, truTV and HBO Max
Sunday, Oct. 5 (USA Network and NBC Sports app)
Countdown to Green: 2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network and NBC Sports app
Bank of America ROVAL 400: 3 p.m. ET, USA Network and NBC Sports app
NASCAR Post-Race: 6 p.m. ET, USA Network and NBC Sports app
Who is racing at Charlotte Roval? Here’s the entry list
Thirty-seven drivers will race at the Charlotte Roval — the 36 full-timers, plus one part-time entry. Veteran driver Josh Bilicki, 30, is the outlier as he makes his sixth start of the season for Garage 66.
Here’s the full entry list for Charlotte:
NASCAR playoff standings, clinching scenarios for Charlotte
Blaney and Elliott locked into the Round of 8 after their wins at New Hampshire and Kansas, respectively. With Charlotte wrapping up the Round of 12, drivers have just one more opportunity to either win or score enough points to avoid elimination. After Sunday, the bottom four drivers will be cut from title contention.
Larson, Hamlin, Bell and Byron can clinch Sunday without scoring any stage points. Briscoe can control his own destiny if he grabs stage points and finishes well. That leaves Logano, Chastain, Wallace, Reddick and Cindric in the most vulnerable spots — with the latter three essentially in a must-win situation due to their points deficit.
Here’s the current playoff picture and clinching scenarios for Charlotte:
Chase Elliott, clinched with win
Ryan Blaney, clinched with win
Kyle Larson, +54 (clinches with 21st-place finish or 16 points)
Denny Hamlin, +48 (clinches with 15-place finish or 22 points)
Christopher Bell, +44 (clinches with 11th-place finish or 26 points)
William Byron, +40 (clinches with 7th-place finish or 30 points)
Chase Briscoe, +21 (clinches with 49 points)
Joey Logano, +13
Ross Chastain, -13
Bubba Wallace, -26
Tyler Reddick, -29
Austin Cindric, -48
NASCAR Charlotte Roval picks and predictions for playoffs
One driver has dominated the road courses this season: Shane van Gisbergen.
The New Zealander has rattled off four straight road course wins, with his only loss this season coming at Circuit of the Americas back in March.
So, is another SVG masterclass inevitable this weekend? Well, not necessarily.
He’s the heavy favorite for good reason. But the Charlotte Roval is a different beast than any other road course on the schedule, given the fact that it adds the oval element to part of the track. Last year, SVG finished seven in his first Cup start at the Roval and third in the second-tier Xfinity Series.
Keep an eye on the drivers who can race for the win. Teams on the playoff bubble, like Briscoe, Logano and Chastain, will likely chase stage points early while sacrificing their final finishing position.
That leaves playoff drivers like Elliott, Blaney and Larson, plus non-playoff drivers like Allmendinger, Buescher, Bowman in the best spot to fight for the win. Wallace, Reddick and Cindric should also be on the race-winning strategy, given their points deficit.
Elliott has been the best historically at the Roval, with a 7.7 average finish and five top-10s in seven starts to go along with two victories. While he hasn’t won at a road course since 2021, he leads all active drivers with seven wins at the track type and he’s coming off a clutch victory in Kansas.
His teammate Larson has been feast or famine, with two wins and four finishes outside the top-10 at the Roval. Blaney has a win and five top-10s in seven starts, while Bowman is five for six in scoring top-10s at the Roval. With Blaney already locked into the Round of 8 and Bowman eliminated from the playoffs, both drivers could battle for the win.
If you’re looking for a sleeper who didn’t make the playoffs, Allmendinger and Buescher are your drivers. Allmendinger won this race in 2023 and has four top-10s in five starts, with the only mishap due to an engine failure. Buescher has a 9.3 average finish on road courses in the Next Gen era (since 2022) — second to SVG.
The winning pick for Charlotte is Elliott, who knows this track well and is poised to be on the winning strategy after his victory last week. That will eliminate Cindric, Reddick, Wallace and Chastain from the playoffs.
NASCAR past winners, race history for Charlotte Roval
Five of the 37 drivers in the field are past winners at the Charlotte Roval.
Larson, the defending winner, and Elliott have two wins each to lead the way. One-time winners include Blaney (2018), Bell (2022) and Allmendinger (2023).