The Round of 8 field will be set on the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.
The NASCAR Cup Series' annual cut race of chaos will take place again at the Roval, reducing the Cup playoff field from 12 to eight drivers over 109 laps.
The road course that runs through the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield has been the site of drama as a first- and second-round cutoff race since its 2018 debut (which ended with Jimmie Johnson crashing Martin Truex Jr. for the lead on the last lap, eliminating Johnson from the playoffs).
New Hampshire winner Ryan Blaney and Kansas winner Chase Elliott have secured two of the eight berths in the third round.
Other drivers above the cutline are: Kyle Larson (plus-54 points), Denny Hamlin (plus-48), Christopher Bell (plus-44), William Byron (plus-40), Chase Briscoe (plus-21) and Joey Logano (plus-13).
Below the cutline are Ross Chastain (minus-13), Bubba Wallace (minus-26), Tyler Reddick (minus-29) and Austin Cindric (minus-48).
Shane van Gisbergen was eliminated from the playoffs after the first round, but the Trackhouse Racing driver can become the second driver with five consecutive road or street course victories if he wins at the Roval (joining Jeff Gordon, who had six consecutive road course victories from 1997-2000).
Despite missing his crew chief (who was absent after being ejected for inspection violations), van Gisbergen finished 10th at Kansas — his first career top 10 in an oval race.
Details for Sunday’s Cup race at the Roval
(All times Eastern)
START: The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:05 p.m.
PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at noon. ... The drivers meeting will be at 1:50 p.m. ... Driver introductions will be at 2:15 p.m. ... The national anthem will be performed at 2:47 p.m. ... The command to start engines is scheduled to be given at 2:54 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 109 laps (248.52 miles) on the 17-turn, 2.28-mile road course in Concord, North Carolina.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 25. Stage 2 ends at Lap 50.
PURSE: $9,797,935
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 37 cars entered at the Roval.
TV/RADIO: USA will broadcast the race starting with Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ... Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.
FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Cloudy with light and variable winds and a high of 79 degrees with a 14% chance of rain. It's expected to be 77 degrees with a 9% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.
LAST YEAR: Kyle Larson led 62 laps, including the final 33, and won by 1.511 seconds over Christopher Bell for his second victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
Category: General Sports
