By the end of the race on Sunday, 12 will become eight with the second cutoff race of the playoffs in the Cup Series.  Twists, turns, and turtles will determine the fate of the 12 playoff drivers in the Bank of America Roval 400.

The 37 drivers have been divided into two groups for 20 minute practice sessions.  Each group will get a 15 minute group qualifying session.  The top five drivers form each group moves on to a 10 minute qualifying session to set the pole.

An elimination race, William Byron and Ryan Blaney have secured spots in the next round ouf the playoffs after winning the past two races.  Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch are all currently below the cut line and are in danger of being eliminated from the playoffs.

Ty Dillon gets into the wall hard and has to take his smoking car to the pits.

Christopher Bell has also hit the wall and is in the pits for repairs and quickly returns to the track.

Breast cancer awareness month, some of the walls at Charlotte Motor Speedway have been painted pink and the drivers have pink window nets on their cars.

Josh Bilicki has some handling issue during one of his practice laps but keeps it off of the wall and saves the car.

Kyle Larson is slowed on the track after hitting the wall.  He takes his car to the garage.  NASCAR has announced that Larson will not be allowed to qualify the car after making repairs and will start the race from the back of the field.  Larson is currently in seventh place just 15 points above the cut line in the playoffs.  Larson said that he got loose and over corrected when he got into the wall.

Several of the drivers are reporting “free” cars with no grip.

Ryan Blaney scrapes the wall and brings his car down pit road.

Ty Dillon will also not make a qualifying run and will start the race from the back of the field after getting into the wall during practice.

Group A drivers Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, and Joey Logano will all move on to the second round of qualifying.

With the Roval race being a home race for most of the teams, Kyle Larson’s crew has put the number five car on the roll back and will take it to the shop and pick up the backup car.  NASCAR rules states that any engine changes must take place at the track but since the race shops are so close to the track, NASCAR has allowed the crews to leave the backup cars at the shops.  The engine in Kyle Larson’s car was damaged and requires the use of a backup engine.

Ty Dillon’s car is also on the rollback and headed back to the shop to pickup the backup car.

Dillon’s and Larson’s backup cars will have to go through the inspection process once they return to the track.

AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Ty Gibbs will be moving on from Group B to the second round of qualifying.

Half of the top 10 drivers are playoff drivers – three from Group A and two from Group B.

Christopher Bell is the first driver of the top 10 to make a qualifying run and posts a time of 81.328 seconds.

Denny Hamlin missed the chicane and spins out hitting the turtles hard.  He is stopped on the track and brings out the red flag with less than a minute remaining in qualifying.

NASCAR has ended round two of qualifying.  Ty Gibbs was unable to make a qualifying lap and Denny Hamlin was unable to make a full lap.

Tyler Reddick will sit on the pole and bring the field to green with a time of 81.214 seconds.  Christopher Bell will start alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Bank of America Roval 400:
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Daniel Suarez
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Busch
AJ Allmendinger
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
Martin Truex Jr
Ross Chastain
Michael McDowell
William Byron
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Ryan Blaney
Ryan Preece
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
Aric Almirola
Kevin Harvick
Erik Jones
Corey LaJoie
Justin Haley
Mike Rockenfeller
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Josh Bilicki
Austin Cindric
Chase Briscoe
Harrison Burton
Todd Gilliland
Austin Hill
Zane Smith
Andy Lally
Kyle Larson
Ty Dillon

Combining the oval and the infield road course for the Roval, the course is one of the most challenging on the NASCAR circuit.  This weekend NASCAR has complicated the course even more with a new restart line in a corner before the 90 degree turn number one.

Stages one and two are 25 laps each with stage three lasting 59 laps for a total of 109 laps around the 17 turn course.  The drivers can run around 36 laps on a single load of fuel.

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the outside lane with Christopher Bell alongside.  Reddick jumps out in front for the lead with Christopher Bell in second.

Lap two, Tyler Reddick leads ther race with Christopher Bell in second; Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.

Lap three, Tyler Reddick has a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell.

Lap four, Kyle Larson has moved up to 29th place after starting the race in 36th in a backup car.

Tyler Reddick has a near one second lead on Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.

Lap five, Erik Jones gets turned around in the chicane but get the car righted again and the track stays green.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr is on pit road for repairs after hitting the wall on the opening laps of the race.

Lap six, Tyler Reddick has increased his lead to over a second on Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.

Lap eight, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the race with a one second lead over Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.  There has been no movement among the top 10 drivers since the race start.

Lap eleven, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the race with Christopher Bell in second; Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and AJ Allmendinger continue to round out the top five.

While the standings are sure to be fluid throughout the race, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch are the four drivers facing elimination with eleven laps completed in the race.

Kyle Busch gets into the wall but the track stays green.  Inseventh place, he reports no damage to the car.

Lap 15, Tyler Reddick has a lead of over a second on Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and AJ Allmendinger continue to round out the top five.  Kyle Larson has moved up to 25th place.

Lap 17, Ryan Blaney brings his number 12 car down pit road for service.  Austin Cindric also comes down pit road for fresh tires.

Lap 18, Tyler Reddick has led every lap so far and continues to hold a one second lead on Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.

Brad Keselowski missed the chicane and did not come to a complete stop.  He will have to serve a pass through penalty.

Lap 22, pit road becomes busy as some of the driver short pit the end of stage one.

The top five are Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, ross Chastain, and Denny Hamlin.

Lap 23 more drivers short pit the end of stage one; leaders stay out.

Lap 24, Christopher Bell gives up second place to make a pit stop.

Mike Rockenfeller missed the chicane but made the mandatory stop before moving on.

After leading every lap, Tyler Reddick wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Ross Chastain
Martin Truex Jr
Christopher Bell
Daniel Suarez
Chase Elliott
Kyle Busch
Ty Gibbs
AJ Allmendinger

Drivers who have not made a pit stop come down pit road for service.

Christopher Bell is the new leader.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr was caught speeding on pit road.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 29 with Daniel Suarez alongside.  Bell gets out in front for the lead with Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez in a battle for second.

After the shakeup in order at the end of stage one; Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Brad Keselowski are the four drivers below the cut line and in danger of elimination from the playoffs.

Lap 31, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Chase Elliott; Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busck, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.  Kyle Larson has entered the top 20 in seventeenth.

AJ Allmendinger passes Kyle Busch for fourth.

Lap 33, Christopher Bell has a half second lead on Chase Elliott; Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.  Tyler Reddick is mired back in the field in 15th.

Lap38, Chase Elliott has caught leader Christopher Bell and passes in a battle for the lead.

The only two time winner at the Roval, Chase Elliott is the new leader; Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Kevin Harvick missed the chicane and served the mandatory stop before coming down pit road for fresh tires.

Lap 38, Chase Elliott has quickly pulled out to a two second lead on Christopher Bell; AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 40, Tyler Reddick is just outside the top 10 in eleventh.

Starting the race below the cut line, Tyler Reddick is now 17 points above the cut line with boss man Michael Jordan on the pit box.

Lap 41, Ryan Blaney begins the cycle of drivers short pitting the end of the stage.  He reports some major handling issues with the car.

Lap 43, Chase Elliott leads the race with AJ Allmendinger in second; Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 44, Kyle Busch gives up fifth place to make a pit stop as more drivers come down pit road for service.

Lap 45,  AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs gives up second and third to make their pit stops.

Several drivers are reporting grip issues.

Bubba Wallace is reporting possible fuel issues but the crew reports that they have plenty of fuel.

Josh Bilicki brings out the first caution flag for an on track incident on lap 48 when he makes contact with Corey LaJoie and Bilicki hits the wall.  Chase Elliott was about to come down pit road when the caution flag came out.

Stage two ends under caution with Chase Elliott winning the stage.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Larson
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallace
Martin Truex Jr
Michael McDowell
Kyle Busch

With his third place finish in stage two, Denny Hamlin has clinched a spot in the next round of the playoffs on points.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Michael McDowell on pit road with the hood up with power steering issues

Kyle Busch leads the race and will bring the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 54.  Kyle Busch clears Ty Gibbs for the lead.  AJ Allmendinger passes Ty Gibbs for second; William Byron and Joey Logano round out the top five.

As it stands now, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace are the four drivers below the cut line.

Mike Rockenfeller has to serve a pass through penalty after not coming to a stop when he missed the chicane.

AJ Allmendinger challenges Kyle Busch for the lead.

Lap 57, Kyle Busch has a third of a second lead on AJ Allmendinger; William Byron, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 58, AJ Allmendinger has caught Kyle Busch and passes for the lead.  With the pass, Kyle Busch falls to the bottom of the cut line in 12th place.

With 48 laps remaining in the race Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch are the four drivers in danger of being eliminated from the playoffs.

The top five are AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher.

There are 46 laps remaining in the race with AJ Allmendinger over two second out in front of Kyle Busch; William Byron, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 67, Brad Keselowski makes a pit stop.  With over 40 laps remaining in the race, he cannot make it to the end of the race from here without the help of cautions.

Chase Elliott comes down pit road for service; saying he felt a tire was going down.

With 41 laps remaining in the race, AJ Allmendinger has a lead of over three seconds on Kyle Busch; William Byron, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Forty to go, Kyle Busch makes his pit stop.

Michael McDowell gets sideways and Denny Hamlin spins out.  Michael McDowell has a flat tire.  Drivers make a mad dash for pit road before the caution flag can come out.

Michael McDowell makes it to pit road and the track stays green.

Ryan Blaney leads the race.

Ross Chastain has an issue getting into his pit stall after a near pit road collision.

With 36 laps to go, Ryan Blaney leads the race with AJ Allmendinger in second; Kyle  Busch , Ty Gibbs, and William Byron round out the top five.

The caution flag comes out on lap 76 when Denny Hamlin spins out after making some on track contact with Mike Rockenfeller.  Hamlin is currently on the “crash clock”.

Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are among the drivers who make a pit stop. 

AJ Allmendinger brings the filed down for the green flag restart with Ty Gibbs alongside.  After a battle for the lead, Gibbs gets out in front for the lead.  Austin Dillon and Corey LaJoie make contact with the track stays green.

The battle for the lead continues between Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger with Allmendinger taking the lead; William Byron, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

There are just 30 laps remaining in the race; Erik Jones and Michael McDowell get into the wall to bring out the caution flag.  McDowell says that he has oil and water pressure and is ready to go.

Denny Hamlin is out of the race.

AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 27 laps remaining in the race with Ty Gibbs alongside.  AJ jumps out in front for the lead as drivers get three wide in the field.

The top five are AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Joey Logano.

Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch are currently the drivers below the cut line.

There are just 25 laps remaining in the race and the drivers are getting very aggressive on the track with plenty of beating and banging as they battle for position…and points.

Tyler Reddick is on Joey Logano’s bumper in a battle for position.

Andy Lally hits the wall and is going the wrong way on the track as he works his way off the racing course with a damaged car.

The caution flag comes out for Andy Lally stopped at the entrance to pit road.

Brad Keselowski comes down pit road for service; he reports that the car was driving like he had a tire going down.

AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart with 22 laps remaining in the race.  AJ jumps out in front of Ty Gibbs for the lead.  Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs make contact.

The top five are AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick.

Bubba Wallace missed the chicane and had to come to a stop.  He lost several spots.

Austin Cindric spins around, making contact with Bubba Wallace who also spun around.  Now in 31st place, he comes down pit road for fresh tires.

Twenty to go, AJ Allmendinger has a lead of over a second on Ty Gibbs; Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

AJ Allmendinger has reported that he will be back with Kaulig Racing next year, it just isn’t known whether or not he will be in the Cup or Xfinity Series.

With 19 laps to go, AJ Allmendinger leads the race.

Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain battle for position; sending Keselowski around.  Chastain missed the chicane.  Chastain comes down pit road for service.

Daniel Suare spins out after some contact form Christopher Bell and brings out the caution flag.  There is significant damage to Suarez’ car after hitting the wall.

Twentieth place driver Harrison Burton is the first driver to come down pit road.

With just 13 laps remaining in the race, AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Gibbs alongside.  Allmendinger gets out in front as Kyle Busch gets past Ty Gibbs for second.

The top five are AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ty Gibbs, and Joey Logano.

The caution flag comes out for a fire in Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s car.  He very calmly gets out of the car on his own as the car is engulfed.

AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 10 laps remaining in the race with Kyle Busch alongside.  Allmendinger gets out in front for the lead.  William Byron and Kyle Busch battle for second after Busch spun the tires on the restart.

The top five are AJ Allmendinger, William Byron, Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, and Joey Logano.

The winningest driver this season, William Byron is looking to add to his tally as he closes the gap on leader AJ Allmendinger; Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Seven to go, William Byron begins to challenge AJ Allmendinger for the lead.

Five to go, AJ Allmendinger leads the race with William Byron in second; Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Three to go, AJ Allmendinger has a lead of less than half a second on William Byron.

Martin Truex Jr hits the wall but the track stays green.

AJ Allmendinger takes the white flag.

AJ Allmendinger wins the race for his first win of the season!

AJ was very emotional after the win; when asked why he said because you never know when it will ever happen again.

After his finish line interview, Allmendinger heads into the stands to celebrate with the fans.

Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch have all been eliminated from the playoffs.

The unofficial results of the Bank of America Roval 400:
AJ Allmendinger
William Byron
Kyle Busch
Ty Gibbs
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Chris Buescher
Alex Bowman
Chase Elliott
Ross Chastain
Ryan Preece
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Austin Dillon
Christopher Bell
Bubba Wallace
Corey LaJoie
Brad Keselowski
Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr
Aric Almirola
Justin Haley
Todd Gilliland
Harrison Burton
Austin Cindric
Josh Bilicki
Austin Hill
Chase Briscoe
Mike Rockenfeller
Zane Smith
Ty Dillon
Michael McDowell
Daniel Suarez
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Andy Lally
Erik Jones
Denny Hamlin


With the next round of the playoffs, the points are reset:
William Byron – 4041
Martin Truex Jr – 4036
Denny Hamlin – 4032
Kyle Larson – 4024
Chris Buescher – 4021
Tyler Reddick – 4016
Christopher Bell – 4016
Ryan Blaney – 4014