Tag: Cup Series

Charlotte ROVAL race schedule: NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series start times

Check out the weekend schedule at the Charlotte ROVAL for the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series!

NASCAR is heading to the Charlotte ROVAL and there is always an incredible amount on the line at one of the sport’s most unpredictable venues. The Cup Series will hold the final race of the Round of 12 while the Xfinity Series does the same. In 2023, the Truck Series will not be a part of the fall weekend at the Charlotte ROVAL.

The Xfinity Series will start out the weekend on Saturday afternoon while the Cup Series holds the final event on Sunday afternoon. The Charlotte ROVAL will undoubtedly be a chaotic weekend to an already crazy playoff schedule.

Here’s the full weekend schedule for the Charlotte ROVAL, with start times and broadcast information for each session:

NASCAR Cup Series:

Saturday: Practice (Noon, USA Network), Qualifying (1:00 p.m., USA Network)

Sunday: Bank of America ROVAL 400 (2:00 p.m. ET, NBC)

NASCAR Xfinity Series:

Saturday: Practice (10:00 a.m., NBC Sports App), Qualifying (10:30 a.m., NBC Sports App), Drive for the Cure 250 (3:00 p.m., NBC)

Kevin Harvick disqualified after second place finish at Talladega

Kevin Harvick has been disqualified from his second-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway after failing post-race inspection.

[autotag]Kevin Harvick[/autotag] finished in second place at Talladega Superspeedway after being incredibly close to beating Ryan Blaney on the final lap. Well, that was the case until NASCAR made an announcement that certainly disappointed the No. 4 team and its fans. Harvick has been disqualified for a violation with the windshield fasteners.

The No. 4 car’s windshield fashioners were not secure throughout the event and they must be in place. This means Harvick’s second-place finish is no more as he now moves to 38th place. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver also loses out on three stage points in Stage 1. As of now, the point standings have not been updated to reflect the announcement.

Quite honestly, it is a good thing that Harvick did not beat Blaney at Talladega or he would have been stripped of a victory in his final full-time season. Harvick will now go into the Charlotte ROVAL and look to come up one position higher while staying in compliance with the NASCAR rulebook.

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NASCAR Studs and Duds: Ryan Blaney claims the victory at Talladega

Check out a couple studs and duds from the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.

The NASCAR Cup Series entered Talladega Superspeedway expecting a wild second race in the Round of 12 and it certainly lived up to the hype. [autotag]Ryan Blaney[/autotag] won the event after a push from William Byron on the final lap. Also, Kevin Harvick almost had a “walk-off” victory in his final full-time season after being eliminated from the playoffs.

Several playoff drivers didn’t have good days, including Ross Chastain who wrecked at the end of Stage 1. Brad Keselowski also wrecked in the Final Stage after winning Stage 2. Finally, Kyle Busch was involved in an incident at the conclusion of Stage 1 and seems to be in a must-win situation for next weekend’s race.

Following the Cup Series race at Talladega, here are a couple of studs and duds from the overall field.

Aric Almirola wins pole for YellaWood 500 at Talladega

Aric Almirola will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag on Sunday in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Talladega Superspeedway represents the second race of the Round of 12 and the playoff grid is now tighter than ever. Moving forward, stage points will be very important and [autotag]Aric Almirola[/autotag] has the honor of leading the field to the green flag after winning the pole for the YellaWood 500 at Talladega.

Almirola’s fast time of 52.715 seconds beat Joey Logano by 0.004 seconds. Chase Briscoe will start third while Kyle Larson rounds out the second row in fourth place.

As for the playoff drivers starting further in the field, Chris Buescher will start 24th, Kyle Busch qualified 25th, and Ross Chastain will start 32nd.

The full starting lineup is available below.

2023 YellaWood 500 starting lineup:

  1. No. 10 Aric Almirola
  2. No. 22 Joey Logano
  3. No. 14 Chase Briscoe
  4. No. 5 Kyle Larson
  5. No. 6 Brad Keselowski
  6. No. 36 Riley Herbst
  7. No. 2 Austin Cindric
  8. No. 24 William Byron
  9. No. 23 Bubba Wallace
  10. No. 12 Ryan Blaney
  11. No. 4 Kevin Harvick
  12. No. 11 Denny Hamlin
  13. No. 45 Tyler Reddick
  14. No. 3 Austin Dillon
  15. No. 20 Christopher Bell
  16. No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
  17. No. 38 Todd Gilliland
  18. No. 34 Michael McDowell
  19. No. 41 Ryan Preece
  20. No. 48 Alex Bowman
  21. No. 21 Harrison Burton
  22. No. 54 Ty Gibbs
  23. No. 9 Chase Elliott
  24. No. 17 Chris Buescher
  25. No. 8 Kyle Busch
  26. No. 43 Erik Jones
  27. No. 51 J.J. Yeley
  28. No. 99 Daniel Suarez
  29. No. 15 Brennan Poole
  30. No. 31 Justin Haley
  31. No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger
  32. No. 1 Ross Chastain
  33. No. 77 Ty Dillon
  34. No. 13 Chandler Smith
  35. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  36. No. 7 Corey LaJoie
  37. No. 78 B.J. McLeod
  38. No. 42 Carson Hocevar

Denny Hamlin talks about winning a championship with the playoff format

Denny Hamlin talks about the idea of winning a Cup Series title with the playoff format and whether it’s a good way to determine a champion.

[autotag]Denny Hamlin[/autotag] is seeking his first NASCAR Cup Series championship but the playoff format has made it more difficult. The 10-race stretch features four rounds (Round of 16, Round of 12, Round of 8, Championship 4) with the Championship 4 being a one-race shootout for the title. Hamlin has made it to the weekend with a chance four times but has failed to win the trophy.

The current playoff format has been a topic of conversation since its debut as some do not like the one-race shootout for the victory. Hamlin talked about this idea on his podcast, Actions Detrimental, and agreed with those who do not love the way that a champion is determined.

“If you’re gonna crown a champion, I just disagree with doing it during one week,” Hamlin said. “Winning one race should not mean you’re the champion. The sample size just needs to be bigger…If you’re going to do a three-race season, do it the entire way so the Final 4 has three races to determine the champion.”

Hamlin went on to say that it’s a “Mickey Mouse” way to determine a champion because it is a manufactured Game 7 moment. It is fair to say that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver does not like that NASCAR is the only sport to have this type of system. In fact, Hamlin gave a great example of its flaws as he believes Martin Truex Jr. would be the favorite despite his subpar 2023 playoffs.

The driver of the No. 11 car believes it is more about how a driver competes at Phoenix Raceway, the championship race, than anything else. A larger sample size of three races, to fit the rest of the playoffs, or 10 races would allow the champion to succeed at different styles of tracks. It may not be the fans’ or drivers’ favorite way to determine a champion but it’s the current format for now.

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NASCAR’s date with Texas expected to be out of playoffs in 2024

NASCAR is expected to move its annual date at Texas Motor Speedway out of the playoffs for the 2024 season.

NASCAR’s schedule for the 2024 Cup Series season is expected to be released next week but several dates have already been confirmed. The road course layout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is gone as it returns to the oval while Bristol Motor Speedway holds two concrete races in 2024. However, another expected change has been reported.

According to The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR’s annual date at Texas Motor Speedway will move out of the playoffs for the 2024 season. The race track is expected to move to the spring but no official date has been revealed at this point. This would be the first time that Texas does not hold a playoff race under the new format.

This means NASCAR would need to replace Texas in the playoffs for the 2024 season. In 2023, William Byron survived a chaotic event and claimed his sixth victory of the year. Texas has been a controversial venue since its repave and it seems like there will be a different atmosphere the next time NASCAR enters the speedway.

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NASCAR’s date with Montreal in jeopardy for the 2024 season

NASCAR continues to negotiate a deal to race at Montreal during the 2024 season but there are doubts about whether it will happen or not.

NASCAR has been rumored to take the Cup Series across the border to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal; however, nothing has been confirmed at this point. The sport is committed to bringing the Cup Series to international events and Canada has been a main talking point for several months. Now, the idea of NASCAR going to Montreal is in doubt.

According to The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR continues to negotiate a deal for Montreal, and the likelihood of an agreement changes by the day. There are doubts about whether the sport will come to Montreal during the 2024 season as it needs to make sense financially for everyone involved. Montreal is targeted as the venue to host a Cup Series event.

It would be a major development for NASCAR if the Cup Series is able to race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2024. The sport has gone out of the box for several ideas over the last couple of years and this would only add another intriguing layer to the 2024 schedule.

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NASCAR’s schedule for 2024 Cup Series season expected to come ‘next week’

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is expected to be released “next week,” according to a report.

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is on pace to be released in October after being revealed in September last year. It has been a long process as NASCAR continues to work on the schedule, outside of Bristol Motor Speedway hosting two concrete races, Indianapolis Motor Speedway returning to the oval, and the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Based on a recent report, this saga could be coming to an end soon. According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, the full 2024 schedules are expected to come out next week in October. There are several points of discussion, including which race could race on Easter Night and how the playoffs look after its expected change.

The schedule releases to this point have been positive as NASCAR looks to round out the calendar to fit the NextGen car. The growth of the sport is important and more positive developments could be coming soon with rumors of Montreal and other venues.

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NASCAR returns to the oval layout at Indianapolis in 2024

NASCAR will return to the oval layout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 2024 season for the first time since 2020.

It was announced on Thursday afternoon that NASCAR would return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 2024 season. However, it will not be on the road course layout. NASCAR will bring the Cup and Xfinity Series to the oval layout at Indianapolis in July 2024. This will be the first time the sport competes on the oval layout since 2020.

Overall, this is a brilliant move by NASCAR and Indianapolis. There is no point in going to a historic venue like Indianapolis and running the road course layout. It would be like going to Daytona International Speedway and not running the oval layout with the superspeedway package. Many drivers never liked the idea and preferred the oval at Indianapolis too.

This also means NASCAR has a true fourth crown jewel event. The Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500 will now be joined by the Brickyard 400. It is a great move and one that should become a permanent solution. The 2024 schedule should be coming out sooner rather than later but Indianapolis is already one positive development.

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NASCAR All-Star Race returns to North Wilkesboro in 2024

The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race will take place at North Wilkesboro Speedway for a second straight season.

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule has been a major topic of conversation; however, a few dates are already known. Phoenix Raceway will return as the Championship 4 event while Bristol Motor Speedway transitions to two concrete races after putting dirt on the race track for the spring date. Now, another major race has been confirmed.

It was announced on Thursday morning that North Wilkesboro Speedway will return for the NASCAR All-Star Race in 2024. This represents the second straight year that North Wilkesboro hosts the exhibition event after Kyle Larson dominated in May. The track will be repaved before the 2024 events at the speedway.

Some speculated that NASCAR would move North Wilkesboro to Easter Night as a replacement for Bristol Dirt but that will not be the case now. The venue will only have a non-points race with a repave on the way. Overall, this is a great decision for everyone involved, and with the race on May 19th, 2024, it will represent a great off-weekend from points racing.

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