NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin has called for the removal of Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval road course from the playoff schedule, suggesting that the Charlotte oval course be added instead. The statement arrived days after Shane van Gisbergen (SVG) won the race at the Roval on Sunday.
The 44-year-old driver suggested that the oval would make the race outcome less predictable, and hinted that the Roval was likely added due to the track coming under Speedway Motorsports (SMI), a company that owns and operates racing venues across the USA. Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin said:
“If this is on the oval, can you tell me who’s going to win on the (Charlotte) oval? I don’t think so. The [Coca-Cola] 600 was widely entertaining. The mile-and-a-half product with this car is amazing. I’m fairly certain that [the ROVAL] is on the schedule simply because it’s SMI’s (Speedway Motorsports) date.”
Hamlin argued that overtaking on road courses is a challenging task, while racing on the Charlotte Roval would definitely help boost viewership. He said:
“The right thing to do is to put us on the oval.…I believe that if SMI and or NASCAR wants an instant bump in ratings and in ticket sales, in 2026, they announce, ‘We’re going to be racing in Charlotte in October, but we’re going to be racing left turns.’ I think your fan sentiment would go up.”
When speaking of road courses, the name that immediately comes to mind is SVG, given his fifth consecutive road course victory last Sunday in his debut Cup Series season. Hamlin called out reporter Jordan Bianchi for his views on SVG not being on par with four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon when addressing the best driver in NASCAR on road courses. Newsweek Sports reported his comments:
“Jordan Bianchi is absolutely out of his mind. Yeah, he’s [SVG] on the short-list for the best NASCAR road racer ever. What is he talking about? Does he really think that Jeff Gordon, in his prime, would beat SVG today in a Next Gen car? Not a chance. Not a remote chance.
“Jeff Gordon was not winning by this margin. Jeff Gordon was not racing cars this equal to everyone else’s. Jeff Gordon was in a Hendrick Motorsports car that was Ray Evernham-ed up. That is not even a remote comparison. Now, I’m talking about someone in Jeff Gordon that’s on the Mount Rushmore of greatest drivers ever.
“But when it comes to turning left and right, they are not close. And SVG is the greatest road course NASCAR driver in history. And he’s only been doing it for a year and a half. And it’s undisputed. Anybody that disputes it, even in my mentions, shut up. I know, you don’t. I compete. You don’t.”