NASCAR at Charlotte Roval: In cutoff race, is Kyle Larson guy to beat? Starting lineup

Kyle Larson likes the Roval. And who could blame him?

The Hendrick Motorsports driver of the No. 5 car enters the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Roval at 2 p.m. on Sunday (NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in a relatively comfortable points position, 18 points above the cutline at a cutoff race that’ll shrink the playoff field from 12 to eight.

Larson said his team should “have another good shot to win this weekend.”

“I like the Roval,” Larson told The Observer earlier this week. “We won there last year. I’ve led a lot of laps there in the past. And Hendrick Motorsports has really good road-course equipment. ... Just gotta go out there and execute a good race.”

All signs indicate that Larson — who won the road course at Watkins Glen and who can always be counted on to be in the mix at the end at road races (barring a car malfunction like at Indianapolis) — could put together a good run on Sunday. He’ll start 18th, but has proven he can make up ground in a hurry at road courses. He sits sixth in points.

Joey Logano will start on the pole. It was a good result largely for the rest of the playoff field above the cutline, too: William Byron (P2), Daniel Suarez (P3), Ryan Blaney (P6), Chase Elliott (P9), Ross Chastain (P10) and Denny Hamlin (P24).

The playoff field got a bit jumbled after Byron, who last week dwelt below the cut line and buried in points, had a NASCAR-imposed 25-point point penalty rescinded by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday. He now sits seventh, just within the prospective Round-of-8 field.

Chase Briscoe was the driver who sat right above the cutline before Byron’s penalty got rescinded. He now sits on the outside looking in. Saturday, he told reporters that the call the appeals panel made was “extremely frustrating.”

“I respect the appeal process, I think it’s something that we need,” Briscoe said, adding, “We ran a race before the decision was made. And if there’s an appeal, we have to have that decision before we have a playoff race. Because what if that was a cut race?”

Drivers below the cutline who will need a good run on Sunday: Briscoe (will start in P14), Austin Cindric (who sits in 10th and will start P5) and Christopher Bell (who sits 11th and will start P20). Alex Bowman announced on Tuesday that he’ll miss his second-consecutive race this weekend because he’s not “100%” after sustaining a brain injury last month at Texas.

It’s conceivable for Briscoe and Cindric — both 12 points below eighth-placed Suarez — to sneak into the playoff picture on points. Bell essentially is in a must-win scenario and is approaching this race “with one thing in mind.”

“We don’t approach this weekend differently than any other weekend,” Bell said, “because we want to win all of them.”

Here’s what else you need to know.

Charlotte Roval: How to watch, stream, race details

• Race: Bank of America ROVAL 400
• Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
• Date: Sunday, Oct. 9
• Time: 2 p.m. ET
• Purse: $7,262,080
• TV: NBC, 1 p.m. ET
• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
• Distance: 252.88 miles (109 Laps)
• Stages: Stage 1 (ends on Lap 25), Stage 2 (ends on Lap 50), Stage 3 (ends on Lap 109)

Starting lineup for Bank of America Roval 400

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription