NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Round Two Closer at the ROVAL

 

Track Length: 2.28 miles

Number of Turns: 17

Change in elevation: 35 feet

Banking in Corners: Varying from 2 to 24 degrees

Banking on Straights: Varying from 0 to 5 degrees

Race Distance: 248.52 miles (109 Laps)

Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 109)

Active Road Course Winners in the NASCAR Cup Series  

Active Road Course Winners	Total Wins	Sonoma	Watkins Glen	Charlotte	Daytona
Kyle Busch	4	2	2	0	0
Martin Truex Jr	4	3	1	0	0
Chase Elliott	4	0	2	1	1
Kevin Harvick	2	1	1	0	0
Clint Bowyer	1	1	0	0	0
Jimmie Johnson	1	1	0	0	0
Joey Logano	1	0	1	0	0
Kurt Busch	1	1	0	0	0
Ryan Blaney	1	0	0	1	0

SOURCE: NASCARMedia.com

 

NASCAR Cup Series Drivers' Statistics for the last 5 races
(Road courses only, All track lengths)

	Driver	Races	Win	T5	T10	Laps	Led	AvFn
1	Martin Truex, Jr.	5	1	3	4	463	76	5.4
3	Denny Hamlin	5	0	3	3	463	20	8.2
4	Kevin Harvick	5	0	1	4	463	34	8.4
5	Clint Bowyer	5	0	2	3	463	2	8.8
6	Chase Elliott	5	3	3	4	433	152	9.2
7	Alex Bowman	5	0	2	2	463	0	9.2
8	Ryan Blaney	5	1	3	4	463	16	9.6
9	Matt DiBenedetto	5	0	1	2	463	0	9.8
10	Jimmie Johnson	5	0	1	3	463	0	10.4
11	Kurt Busch	5	0	1	2	463	7	12.4

SOURCE: www.racing-reference.info

Recent Road Race Winners:

Chase Elliott, Daytona International Speedway Road Course (August 16, 2020)

Chase Elliott, Watkins Glen International (August 4, 2019)
Martin Truex Jr., Sonoma Raceway (June 23, 2019)
Ryan Blaney Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (September 30, 2018)
Chase Elliott, Watkins Glen International (August 5, 2018)

The Likely Suspects: Although we don't have a lot of races under our belt here at the ROVAL, an elite group of drivers is emerging. They include Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, and Alex Bowman.

My 2 Cents: Tighten those belts race fans. This road race playoff round closer should be both exciting and nerve-wracking regardless of whether they race in the rain or not. My no-brainer pick is Chase Elliott, the defending winner of the Bank of America ROVAL 400. My next picks are Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, and Jimmie Johnson. I'll round out my team with Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon.

My Final Four: Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, and Michael McDowell.

Second-look driver: This week's second-look driver is Clint Bowyer. Clint is currently 11th in the driver's standings, 38 points back from Joey Logano in the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8. Bowyer has two starts at the ROVAL, posting a third place finish in 2018 and a fourth place finish in 2019. His average finish is 3.5, third-best. Bowyer announced this week that he will be retiring from racing at the end of the 2020 season and will join the FOX broadcast booth. A win tomorrow would definitely be a feel-good win. 

Last week's second-look driver, Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 32 Go Fas Racing car definitely didn't have the day he wanted at Talladega -- and his bad luck started early. Corey was involved in one of the three cautions that happened in the first 12 laps. The No. 32 car got an assist to the garage, but was able to return to the race. Corey finished the race in a disappointing 28th place after starting 29th on the grid.

 

Points to Ponder:

• Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr. lead all active drivers in NASCAR Cup Series road course wins with four each. Elliott is the only one of the three to win on more than two different road course tracks. 
•  A total of nine different active drivers have finished in the Top 5 in the two NASCAR Cup Series races at the Charlotte Road Course. The inaugural Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2018) Top 5 are Ryan Blaney (first), Clint Bowyer (third), Alex Bowman (fourth), and Kurt Busch (fifth). The second Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2019) Top 5 are Chase Elliott (first), Alex Bowman (second), Kevin Harvick (third), Clint Bowyer (fourth), and Brad Keselowski (fifth). 
• Joey Logano leads the NASCAR Cup Series in top-10 finishes at the Charlotte Road Course with two (2018, 2019). 
• Alex Bowman leads the series in average finishing position at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with 3.0 in two starts. 
• Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at the Charlotte Road Course with 35 laps led in two starts.
  

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your final picks by 2:30 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, October 11th.

Enjoy the race!

________

Carol D’Agostino wields fantasy-racing superpowers. Each week, Carol researches statistics and combs through her personal racing notes to provide fans with fantasy racing advice in NASCAR Fantasy Fusion, a column she has written for Skirts & Scuffs since October 2011. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. This year she joins the NASCAR Expert Picks panel at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet (FRCS). When she isn’t crunching numbers, you’ll find Carol in business meetings or hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat.