Just five races remain in the 2024 NASCAR racing season as the Xfinity Series lands in Concord, North Carolina and Charlotte Motor Speedway for some road racing on the newly reconfigured Roval and the Drive for the Cure 250.
The course has been reshaped, but the “turtles” are still there and the drivers are getting wheels off the ground as they go over them and making violent contact with the track when they come back down. The course now includes a hair pin curve leading back to the oval part of the road course.
A challenging course, The Roval is also a cut off race where four drivers will be eliminated from the playoffs.
Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith have secured spots in the next round of the playoffs.
Thirty-eight teams brought cars to Charlotte for 38 starting spots in the race.
AJ Allmendinger has never lost a race at The Roval but while known as a road course king, he has not won in the past eight road course races. But his teammate Shane van Gisbergen has won three of the four road course races this season.
The drivers get a full 50 minute practice session on The Roval before making a qualifying run.
Currently below the cut line, Parker Kligerman has placed in the top 10 in the last eleven road course races – better than any other driver.
At the end of practice seven of the top 10 drivers are in the playoffs with Shane van Gisbergen topping the list.
A road course, qualifying is a group affair where the drivers are divided into two groups. The top five drivers from each group will move on to a second round of qualifying to set the pole.
From Group A Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Bilicki, Austin Hill and Jesse Love will move on to round two of qualifying.
In Group B, Sam Mayer, Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, Connor Mosack, and Justin Allgaier will be moving on to round two of qualifying.
Eight of the top 10 drivers are playoff drivers. The drivers have 10 minutes to make their best lap for the pole but with the tire wear, most drivers are making only one lap.
With a time of 84.523 seconds Shane van Gisbergen puts his number 97 car on the pole. Sam Mayer will start alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Drive for the Cure 250:
Shane van Gisbergen
Sam Mayer
AJ Allmendinger
Josh Bilicki
Sheldon Creed
Austin Hill
Chandler Smith
Jesse Love
Justin Allgaier
Connor Mosack
Anthony Alfredo
Riley Herbst
Aric Almirola
Cole Custer
Brandon Jones
Sammy Smith
Austin Green
Ed Jones
Alex Labbe
Parker Retzlaff
Jeremy Clements
Parker Kligerman
Josh Williams
Brennan Poole
Ryan Sieg
Matt DiBenedetto
Jeb Burton
Sage Karam
Preston Pardus
Ryan Ellis
Brad Perez
Thomas Annunziata
Leland Honeyman Jr
Blaine Perkins
Kyle Sieg
Dylan Lupton
Dawson Cram
Nathan Byrd
Stages one and two of the race are just 20 laps each with stage three lasting 27 laps for a total of 67 laps around the two and a quarter mile road course. Drivers can run 32 to 35 laps on a single load of fuel.
Drivers who miss one of the two chicanes will have to come to a complete stop before moving on or serve a penalty.
A road course specialist, Shane van Gisbergen noted that he has never seen anything like The Roval before. He sits on the pole for both the Xfinity and Cup Series races.
Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the outside lane with Sam Mayer alongside. Mayer gets out in front first but NASCAR is reviewing the start.
Drivers are two and three wide going into turn seven.
Sam Mayer has been black flagged for jumping the start of the race and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Kyle Sieg gets turned around on the course but the track stays green.
Shane van Gisbergen takes the lead with AJ Allmendinger in second; Sheldon Creed, Josh Bilicki, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Sam Mayer was 13 points below the cut line after being disqualified for a rid height infraction at Talladega last week. With the start zone penalty, he is now in 12th place 46 points below the cut line.
Lap four, Shane van Gisbergen has just a quarter of a second lead on teammate AJ Allmendinger.
AJ Allmendinger passes Shane van Gisbergen for the lead.
Sheldon Creed and Shane van Gisbergen battle for second.
Lap six, after serving his passthrough penalty, Sam Mayer is up to 15th place.
Lap seven, AJ Allmendinger has a lead of nearly a second on Shane van Gisbergen; Josh Bilicki, Sheldon Creed, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Just outside the top 10, Parker Kligerman is running laps as fast as the leaders.
Shane van Gisbergen missed the chicane and had to come to a complete stop before moving on. He is now in sixth place. He reports that the car is not driving the way he wants.
Lap 10, Parker Kligerman passes Riley Herbst for tenth.
There has been a good bit of contact on the course but the track has stayed green.
Shane van Gisbergen has re-entered the top five.
Lap 12, AJ Allmendinger leads the race with Josh Bilicki in second; Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.
Lap 13, Shane van Gisbergen passes Austin Hill for fourth.
Lap 14, AJ Allmendinger has pulled out to a lead of over three seconds on Josh Bilicki; Shan van Gisbergen, Sheldon Creed, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Lap 15, AJ Allmendinger has increased his lead on Josh Bilicki to four seconds; Shane van Gisbergen is six seconds behind the leader.
Sheldon Creed spins out from fourth and falls back in the field. The track stays green.
With four laps remaining in stage one, Justin Allgaier is now in the top five.
Josh Bilicki leads a group of drivers that include Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed down pit road to short pit the end of stage one.
Three laps remain in stage one, AJ Allmendinger has a six second lead on Shane van Gisbergen; Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, and Jesse Love round out the top five.
AJ Allmendinger wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
AJ Allmendinger
Shane van Gisbergen
Justin Allgaier
Austin Hill
Jesse Love
Sheldon Creed
Connor Mosack
Riley Herbst
Josh Bilicki
Chandler Smith
Drivers come down pit road for service with Jesse Love winning the race off of pit road. A slow stop, Shane van Gisbergen comes out in seventh place.
Staying out on the track after short pitting, Josh Bilicki leads the race and brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 25 with Chandler Smith alongside. The top 15 cars stayed out on the track. Shane van Gisbergen restarts the race back in 22nd.
Josh Bilicki and Chandler Smith battle for the lead with Bilicki getting out in front; Aric Almirola, Sam Mayer, and Parker Kligerman round out the top five.
Drivers are very aggressive back in the pack, Ed Jones made contact with Alex Labbe; spinning Labbe around.
Lap 26, Josh Bilicki leads the race with Chandler Smith in second; Aric Almirola, Sam Mayer, and Parker Kligerman round ut the top five.
Lap 27, Shane van Gisbergen is up to 12th place.
The caution flag comes out on lap 27 for debris on the track.
Sheldon Creed comes down pit road with reports of a transmission issue. The shifter was stuck in second gear.
Josh Bilicki brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 30. Bilicki gets out in front for the lead with Chandler smith in second; Sam Mayer, Aric Almirola,, and Parker Kligerman round out the top five.
Sam Mayer passes Chandler Smith for second.
Matt DiBenedetto brings out the caution flag on lap 30 when he gets into the tire barrier. He eventually gets the car moving again.
Josh Bilicki brings the field down for the green flag restart with Sam Mayer alongside on lap 33. Bilicki gets out in front but Sam Mayer comes up to pass for the lead.
The top five are Sam Mayer, Josh Bilicki, Chandler smith, Parker Kligerman, and Aric Almirola.
AJ Allmendinger passes Aric Almirola for fifth with Shane van Gisbergen in seventh.
Crash near the start finish line brings out the caution flag on lap 34. Riley Herbst and Anthony Alfredo make contact causing a pile up involving Ryan Sieg, Parker Retzlaff, Riley Herbst, Josh Williams, Anthony Alfredo, Blaine Perkins, Sheldon Creed, Preston Pardus, Brennan Poole, Dylan Lupton, Ed Jones, and Brad Perez.
Drivers come down pit road for service. The drivers can make it to the end of the race from here. Sam Mayer wins the race off of pit road.
After staying out on the track, Justin Allgaier leads the race and brings the field down for the green flag restart with just three laps remaining in stage two. Allgaier jumps out in front for the lead with Leland Honeyman taking second; Sage Karam, Connor Mosack, and Sam Mayer round out the top five. After restarting in 16th, Shane van Gisbergen is inside the top 10 in ninth.
Sheldon Creed reports that he is “blowing up” as he slowly works his way to pit road.
Riley Herbst reports that “something broke” and has smoke coming from his car.
Sheldon Creed is stopped on the track and brings out the caution flag to end stage two under the yellow flag. Justin Allgaier wins stage two for his 15th stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Justin Allgaier
Connor Mosack
Sam Mayer
Aric Almirola
Leland Honeyman Jr
AJ Allmendinger
Shane van Gisbergen
Chandler Smith
Sage Karam
Josh Bilicki
Riley Herbst is in the garage with a bent track bar. He is not under the “crash clock” and is being allowed to make repairs to the car.
Drivers come down pit road. Justin Allgaier asked for a piece of tape to help block the sun.
Staying out on the track, Connor Mosack brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 44 with Sam Mayer alongside. Justin Allgaier is mired back in 22nd after making a pit stop. Mosack gets out in front for the lead. AJ Allmendinger and Sam Mayer battle for second.
The top five are Connor Mosack, Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen and Aric Almirola.
With 23 laps to go, Sam Mayer is just a third of a second behind leader Connor Mosack. Teammates Chandler Smith and Jesse Love continue their side by side battle.
Twenty two laps remain, Aric Almirola spins out, Sam Mayer and Connor Mosack battle for the lead, Jeremy Clements spins out.
The top five are Sam Mayer, Connor Mosack, AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, and Chandler Smith.
Twenty to go! Sam Mayer has a lead of over one second on Connor Mosack; AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, and Chandler Smith round out the top five.
Lap 49, Justin Allgaier has moved up to 14th but is still in danger of being eliminated from the playoffs. No one seed driver has ever been eliminated from the playoffs.
With 17 laps to go, Shane van Gisbergen is up to third place behind Sam Mayer and AJ Allmendinger.
Fifteen to go, Sam Mayer has a second and a half lead on AJ Allmendinger; Shane van Gisbergen, Chandler smith, and Connor Mosack round out the top five. Justin Allgaier is up to 12th.
The caution flag comes out for Thomas Annunziata when he gets into the tire barrier. He reports that the brakes have failed.
Leader Sam Mayer brings some of the drivers down pit road including Justin Allgaier and AJ Allmendinger; but Shane van Gisbergen stayed out on the track.
Sam Mayer wins the race off of pit road.
Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the green flag restart with eleven laps remaining in the race. Van Gisbergen takes the lead with Jesse Love in second. Parker Kligerman’s car was smoking but keeps going and takes third place.
Parker Kligerman passes Jesse Love for second. Shane van Gisbergen leads the race.
Connor Mosack was turned around on the track but got moving again and the track stays green.
Ten to go, Shane van Gisbergen has the lead but Parker Kligerman on fresher tires is working to close the gap.
The top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Parker Kligerman, Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, and Jesse Love.
Parker Kligerman passes Shane van Gisbergen with nine laps to go.
Sam Mayer passes Shane van Gisbergen for second.
Eight to go, Parker Kligerman has a one second lead on Sam Mayer; Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen battle for this with Allmendinger taking the spot.
Seven to go, Parker Kligerman leads the race. Justin Allgaier passes Jesse Love for seventh.
Six to go, Sam Mayer has caught leader Parker Kligerman and is challenging for the lead.
Five to go, Parker Kligerman leads the race with Sam Mayer on his bumper; AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Four to go, it is a must win for Parker Kligerman and Sam Mayer in order to stay in the playoffs. Kligerman leads the race with Mayer on his bumper; AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Sam Mayer passes Parker Kligerman and the battle is on with Kligerman passing to retake the lead; AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
AJ Allmendinger is on Sam Mayer’s bumper and nearly passed for second.
Two to go, Parker Kligerman holds on to the lead by over half a second.
Leland Honeyman gets into the tire barrier.
Parker Kligerman takes the white flag. The caution flag comes out.
Parker Kligerman wins his first Xfinity Series race. To date he has finished in every spot in the lineup except the win…until now!
Reports are that the white flag did not get waved before the white flag waved. Video evidence shows that Kligerman was on the line when the caution light came out but NASCAR says that the race goes into overtime.
Leland Honeyman is stuck deep into the tire well and there are several track workers trying to get him out.
This is the 14th overtime race of the season.
NBC found a video showing that Parker Kligerman was barely two feet from the start/finish line and the white flag when the caution flag came out.
Parker Kligerman brings the field down for the overtime shootout for the end of the race with Sam Mayer alongside. Mayer has had some gear issues with the car getting stuck in third gear. Kligerman edges out for the lead but Sam Mayer comes up to battle for the lead.
Sam Mayer gets out in front on turns seven. Parker Kligerman has a smoking tire.
Sam Mayer takes the white flag.
Sam Mayer wins the race for the second year in a row.
Shane van Gisbergen falls two point below the cut line; Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst, and Parker Kligerman are also below the cut line and are eliminated from the playoffs.
The unofficial results of the Drive for the Cure 250:
Sam Mayer
AJ Allmendinger
Shane van Gisbergen
Austin Hill
Chandler Smith
Parker Kligerman
Justin Allgaier
Josh Bilicki
Aric Almirola
Sammy Smith
Brandon Jones
Parker Retzlaff
Cole Custer
Alex Labbe
Jeb Burton
Anthony Alfredo
Ryan Sieg
Connor Mosack
Jesse Love
Jeremy Clements
Preston Pardus
Matt DiBenedetto
Kyle Sieg
Dawson Cram
Nathan Byrd
Brad Perez
Dylan Lupton
Leland Honeyman Jr
Sage Karam
Austin Green
Ryan Ellis
Riley Herbst
Blaine Perkins
Thomas Annunziata
Sheldon Creed
Josh Williams
Ed Jones
Brennan Poole