The Cut Series caps off a triple header weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the road course Roval with the Bank of America Roval 400.
Thirty-seven teams have brought cars to the track for 40 starting spots.
The first weekend in October, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month and all of the window nets are pink to remember and commemorate the event. Several of the drivers are also displaying Breast Cancer Awareness paint schemes.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for a 25 minute practice sessions before making qualifying runs.
Riley Herbst gets loose in turn five, gets into the wall, and nearly flips over. He drivers the car back to pit road.
AJ Allmendinger tops the leaderboard on speed with a lap with a sub 87 second lap.
Drivers said that they are all wrecking everywhere. AJ Allmendinger says it feels like an ice rink out there.
Seventh overall, Kyle Larson tops the leaderboard in group two.
If a driver misses one of the two chicanes, he must come to a complete stop before continuing on or serve a passthrough penalty.
NASCAR isn’t the only one doing a triple header this weekend, Josh Bilicki rand the truck race on Friday afternoon, he has qualified and will be running in the Xfinity Series race later today, and he will be running the Cup race on Sunday.
After running 13 laps of practice, Chase Elliott reports that the tires are “cooked and gone”.
The drivers are divided into two groups for a 20 minute group qualifying session.
After getting loose and spinning out on his second qualifying run, Carson Hocevar is stuck in the infiend and has yet to make it back to pit road.
Having some engine issues, Erik Jones will not make a qualifying run.
With a time of 85.939 seconds, Tyler Reddick puts his number 45 car on the pole with Shane van Gisbergen starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Bank of America Roval 400:
Tyler Reddick – playoffs
Shane van Gisbergen
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Larson – playoffs
Chris Buescher
Michael McDowell
Christopher Bell – playoffs
Chase Briscoe – playoffs
AJ Allmendinger
Ross Chastain – playoffs
Ryan Blaney – playoffs
Bubba Wallace – playoffs
William Byron – playoffs
Denny Hamlin – playoffs
Chase Elliott – playoffs
Ty Dillon
Joey Logano – playoffs
Cole Custer
Austin Cindric – playoffs
Daniel Suarez
Justin Haley
Brad Keselowski
Riley Herbst
Zane Smith
Alex Bowman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Carson Hocevar
Kyle Busch
Ryan Preece
Noah Gragson
Todd Gilliland
Cody Ware
Josh Berry
Josh Bilicki
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Dillon
Erik Jones
Stages one and two of the race are 25 laps each with stage three lasting 59 laps for a total of 109 laps around the 2.28 mile road course.
Riley Herbst and Erik Jones will have to start the race from the back of the field after the crews made some unapproved adjustments to the cars. Jones did not make a qualifying run due to some engine issues.
Low grip level and tire wear are the big topics among the racing teams this week.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Shane van Gisbergen alongside. Reddick gets out in front to lead the start of the race. Kyle Busch gets into the wall on lap one and has some damage to his car; the track stays green.
The top five are Tyler Reddick, Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher.
Chase Briscoe is the only driver in the playoffs to finish in the top 10 in every playoff race.
Kyle Busch takes his car to the garage.
Lap three, Tyler Reddick is getting a challenge from Shane van Gisbergen for the lead.
Josh Berry and John Hunter Nemechek miss the chicane and must serve a stop and go penalty.
Lap four Shane van Gisbergen comes up on the outside to battle with Tyler Reddick for the lead. SVG takes the lead on the turn.
Tyler Reddick and Shane van Gisbergen have a lead of two seconds on the rest of the field.
The big blue curbs on the course are called turtles; some of the area school children have painted the curbs to look like turtles.
Lap six, Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick.
Lap seven, Kyle Larson has caught up to Tyler Reddick and is looking to pass for second.
Drivers are getting three wide on the course.
Lap eight Kyle Larson has passed Tyler Reddick for second. Ty Gibbs is trying to challenge Tyler Reddick for third. Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a near three second lead on the field.
Austin Cindric spins out after contact from Justin Haley; the track stays green.
Lap 10, Shane van Gisbergen has a two and a half second lead on Kyle Larson; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
Lap eleven, drivers are coming down pit road for fresh tires. They can run around 35 laps on a single load of fuel.
The crews have just six sets of sticker tires for the race plus their qualifying scuffs.
Pit road is very busy.
Lap 12, still out on the track, Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of over three seconds on Kyle Larson.
Kyle Larson has returned to the course 10 laps down.
Drivers are reporting no grip.
John Hunter Nemechek was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
Twelve of the 37 drivers, including the leader, have yet to make a pit stop.
Lap 14, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a five second lead on Kyle Larson; Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Leader Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson come down pit road for service. Chris Buescher is the new leader. SVG reported that there was absolutely no grip in the rear tires.
The top five drivers have not made a pit stop.
Lap 17, Shane van Gisbergen has moved up to third place after making his pit stop. Chris Buescher holds on to the lead with Tyler Reddick in second.
Drivers were getting four wide in a battle with drivers who have made a pit stop and drivers who have not yet come down pit road.
Lap 19, Shane van Gisbergen passes Tyler Reddick for second; Chris Buescher is five seconds out in front.
Lap 19, the top five are Chris Buescher, Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, and Christopher Bell.
Lap 20, Shane van Gisbergen has caught leader Chris Buescher and takes the lead.
Just four laps remain in stage one; Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a five second lead on Kyle Larson; Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
Ross Chastain passes Chris Buescher for fifth.
Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger come down pit road to short pit the end of the stage. More drivers come down pit road before it closes to short pit the end of the stage.
With a lead of over seven seconds, Shane van Gisbergen wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Shane van Gisbergen
Kyle Larson
Ty Gibbs
Christopher Bell
Ross Chastain
Michael McDowell
Chase Briscoe
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Ty Dillon
The only driver not on the lead lap, Kyle Busch is the “lucky dog”.
Several drivers come down pit road including leader Shane van Gisbergen. Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road with SVG in second. Ross Chastain overshoots the exit of pit road.
After staying out on the track, AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Chris Buescher alongside on lap 30. Allmendinger takes the lead with Ryan Blaney in second. SVG enters the top 10. Drivers are getting three wide across the track.
After turn seven, Shane van Gisbergen has moved up to seventh place.
Kyle Larson joins Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott in the next round of the playoffs on points.
Lap 31, AJ Allmendinger holds on to the lead with Ryan Blaney in second; Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five. SVG is in sixth place.
Lap 33, Austin Cindrc spins out after contact from Carson Hocevar. He has some flat spotted tires. Cindric and Hocevar come down pit road.
Lap 34, AJ Allmendinger has a lead of over half a second on Ryan Blaney; Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Reports are that Chase Briscoe is not feeling well.
Austin Cindric takes his car to the garage for repairs.
Shane van Gisbergen passes Tyler Reddick for fifth.
Lap 38, Ty Gibbs begins the cycle of green flag pit stops.
After his pit road mistake, Ross Chastain has moved up 10 spots.
Pit road gets very busy with drivers looking for fresh tires.
Lap 39, Shane van Gisbergen passes teammate Daniel Suarez for third, just over two seconds behind the leader.
Lap 41, Shane van Gisbergen has caught leaders AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher. SVG reports the tires are shot.
Shane van Gisbergen passes Chris Buescher for second; AJ Allmendinger comes down pit road handing the lead over to Shane van Gisbergen.
Lap 42, the top five Lap 43, Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, and Christopher Bell.
Kyle Larson battles with Chris Buescher for second.
Lap 44, Ross Chastain has moved up 19 spots since his pit road mistake at the end of stage one.
Lap 45, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a lead of over five seconds on Kyle Larson; Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
William Byron comes down pit road with four laps remaining in the stage.
More drivers come down pit road before pit road closes. Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of over eight seconds on Kyle Larson.
With three laps remaining in stage two, Shave van Gisbergen comes down pit road. Ryan Blaney is the new leader.
SVG rejoins the race in third place, 10 seconds back.
Ryan Blaney wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Chase Elliott
Ross Chastain
Shane van Gisbergen
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Joey Logano
Daniel Suarez
Cole Custer
Carson Hocevar is the “lucky dog”.
Christopher Bell has earned enough points to advance to the next round.
Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires and service. Tyler Reddick wins the race off of pit road.
After staying out on the track, Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 56. In a three and four wide battle for position, SVG pulls out in front and pulls away.
Christopher Bell has moved up and is on Shane van Gisbergen’s bumper.
Lap 56, the top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, AJ Allmendinger, and Chris Buescher.
Lap 57, Christopher Bell battles with SVG for the lead with Kyle Larson on their bumper.
Austin Dillon is stopped in the grass after getting into the tire barrier to bring out the first caution flag of the race for an on track incident on lap 58.
Some of the drivers come down pit road for service. Bubba Wallace reports that his car is getting tighter and tighter.
The tire barrier has been repaired and the track is ready to go.
Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 62. SVG edges out for the lead with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell in a battle for second.
Lap 62, the top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Chris Buescher.
Lap 63, Kyle Larson is not letting Shane van Gisbergen get away and is challenging for the lead. Kyle Larson takes the lead and Christopher Bell immediately moves up to take second place.
With 45 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are getting more aggressive; especially the drivers in a battle to stay in the playoffs.
Lap 66, Riley Herbst spins out after some aggressive on track contact with Kyle Busch who is laps down; the track stays green.
Lap 68, Chris Buescher is the first driver to come down pit road for a green flag stop.
Cole Custer was charged with speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 70, pit road is getting busy as more drivers come down for service. The drivers are reporting “zero tires”..
Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric are the only drivers not on the lead lap with all 37 cars on the course.
Lap 71, Shane van Gisbergen passes Christopher Bell for second. Bell comes down pit road for service.
Tyler Reddick is reporting that it is very hot inside his car.
Lap 72, leader Kyle Larson comes down pit road. Shane van Gisbergen is the new leader. Larson comes off of pit road five cars in front of Christopher Bell.
Lap 73, leader Shane van Gisbergen comes down pit road for fresh tires. He’s asking for more grip.
Green flag pit stops continue.
Joey Logano has a slow pit stop after tire issues.
Kyle Larson takes the lead with Chase Elliott in second; Cchristopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
With 34 laps remaining in the race Kyle Larson has a four second lead on Christopher Bell; Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Thirty to go, Kyle Larson has a near four second lead on Christoopher Bell; Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Bueschder, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Shane van Gisbergen has passed Christopher Bell for second.
With 27 laps remaining in the race, Tyler Reddick comes down pit road for tires. He reports that whatever the crew did on their last stop made the car better.
Top three driver Christopher Bell comes down pit road with 25 laps to go.
With 24 laps to go, SVG has reeled in leader Kyle Larson and is now less than half a second back.
Shane van Gisbergen passes Kyle Larson for the lead and begins to edge away.
Lap 22, Shane van Gisbergen has a one second lead on Kyle Larson; third place driver Michael McDowell is nearly a half minute behind.
Twenty to go, Kyle Larson makes a pit stop. Shane van Gisbergen continues to lead the race.
Ross Chastain had to serve a passthrough penalty after speeding on pit road. He reports that he had the car in the wrong gear.
Jut 19 laps to go, Brad Keselowski reports that he has no power and is off the course.
Shane van Gisbergen comes down pit road with 18 laps to go; Kyle Larson is the new leader.
The top five are Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, and Tyler Reddick.
With 15 laps to go, Shane van Gisbergen passes Christopher Bell for second and is now just a second behind leader Kyle Larson.
Fourteen laps to go, Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen battle for the lead and takes the lead but Larson is on his bumper. The two drivers have made contact during their battle.
Kyle Larson retakes the lead with Christopher Bell edging his way into second with SVG in third.
Shane van Gisbergen has gotten back around Christopher Bell for second; leader Kyle Larson is just half a second ahead.
Twelve to go, Christopher Bell made a pit stop.
Shane van Gisbergen blows by Kyle Larson to retake the lead.
Ross Chastain passes Joey Logano; the two are battling for the final spot in the round of eight.
Joey Logano comes down pit road for fresh tires.
Ten to go! Shane van Gisbergen has a second and a half lead on Kyle Larson; Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Preece wound out the top five.
Brad Keselowski is out of the race.
Nine to go, Kyle Larson comes down pit road for fresh tires.
Shane van Gisbergen reports that he feels he has a tire coming apart. He has a 21 second lead on Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson.
There are 30 cars on the lead lap.
With six laps to go, the difference between leader Shane van Gisbergen and Christopher Bell is under 20 seconds. Third place driver Kyle Larson is 21 seconds back.
Five to go, there are 27 cars on the lead lap.
Four to go, the gap between Shane van Gisbergen and drivers Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson is just under 18 seconds.
Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell battle for second.
Shane van Gisbergen takes the white flag.
With a lead of over 17 seconds Shane van Gisbergen wins the race for his fifth road course race in a row and his fifth race of the season! SVG called the battle with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell awesome.
Ross Chastain comes across the start/finish line backwards after contact with Denny Hamlin.
Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain have been eliminated from the race.
Worn out tires or not, SVG still has enough for a burn out.
The unofficial results of the Bank of America Roval 400:
Shane van Gisbergen
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Chris Buescher
Michael McDowell
Ryan Preece
Daniel Suarez
Chase Elliott
AJ Allmendinger
Tyler Reddick
William Byron
Ty Gibbs
Ryan Blaney
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Josh Berry
Todd Gilliland
Alex Bowman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Joey Logano
Ross Chastain
Cole Custer
Denny Hamlin
Zane Smith
Justin Haley
John Hunter Nemechek
Ty Dillon
Noah Gragson
Carson Hocevar
Riley Herbst
Erik Jones
Austin Dillon
Josh Bilicki
Cody Ware
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Austin Cindric
Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, and Joey Logano will be moving on to the next round of the playoffs.