2020 Bank of America Roval 400

The 2020 Bank of America Roval 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on October 11, 2020 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 109 laps on the 2.28 mi road course, it was the 32nd race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the sixth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 12. It was also the first points race in Cup Series history to be at least partially contested under wet conditions.

Background
Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is 2.28 mi in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race will be contested over a scheduled distance of 109 laps, 400 km.

During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" the backstretch chicane on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during restarts. In the summer of 2019, the bus stop on the backstretch was changed and deepened, becoming a permanent part of the circuit, compared to the previous year where it was improvised.

If a driver fails to legally make the backstretch bus stop, the driver must skip the frontstretch chicane and make a complete stop by the dotted line on the exit before being allowed to continue. A driver who misses the frontstretch chicane must stop before the exit.

Entry list

 * (R) denotes rookie driver.
 * (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.

Qualifying
Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.

Stage 1
Erik Jones(20) could not get his car started during the prerace, an electrical issue forced a crew member into the car to make repairs and he had to be push started. NASCAR sent Jones to the rear of the field for working on the car prior to the start.

Brad Keselowski(2) led Lap 1, outracing Denny Hamlin exiting the “bus stop” chicane on the backstretch. Ty Dillon(13) started 17th and after three laps he had driven to the 3rd spot behind Keselowski and Elliott.

This week’s competition caution came after 10 laps. After starting on ‘wet tires,” crews had the option of switching to slicks or keeping the treaded Goodyear’s. Ty Dillon and Ryan Newman(6) were the only drivers to switch. Newman spun on a wet patch, Dillon tip-toed his way around as the track continued to dry and ultimately took the lead.

As the laps in Stage 1 wound down more drivers came to pit road to put on slicks. John Hunter Nemechek(38) came off pit road after changing over to slicks and spun into the grass. He lost 2 laps trying to get out of the slippery quagmire and brought out the caution with 3 laps left in the Stage.

Ty Dillon held on for the Stage win when the race went back to green with a lap to go in Stage 1. Interestingly only one playoff driver, Joey Logano earned Stage points. Newman recovered from his spin to finish 6th and Jones fought his way back from starting dead last to get the final Stage point for 10th place.

Stage 2
With everyone now on conventional slick tires, William Byron drove off with the lead at the beginning of Stage 2. He was followed by Christopher Bell (95), Joey Logano(22), Ryan Blaney(12), and Matt DiBenedetto.

Turns 3 & 4, on the road course, have the most standing water. Keselowski spun there and blocked the track for Dibenetto and Jones. They had to wait until Keselowski to get going again to resume racing.

Halfway through Stage 2, Blaney moved to the bumper of Byron and passed for the lead heading off the oval onto the road course with 11 laps to go. Six playoff drivers had returned to the Top 10 for the chance to score playoff points, including must-win driver Clint Bowyer in 8th.

Drivers began pitting under green with five laps to go in the Stage, forfeiting Stage points for track position to begin the final segment of the race. JJ Yeley(77) spun off the course into the grass forcing NASCAR to bring out another late Stage caution. Pit strategies are all over the board which will again scramble the bonus points at the end of Stage 2.

The restart came with 2 laps to go with the Ford Mustangs of Blaney and Logano leading the field. Kyle Busch(18) cut down a tire on the restart and was passed by most of the field as he limped around to the pits. Possibly ending his hope of advancing in the playoffs.

Blaney took the green and white checkered flag for the Stage win. Five playoff contenders earned bonus points in this Stage

The Final Stage
William Byron and Christopher Bell(95) fight for the lead on the restart and Byron prevails heading into the road course portion of the track. Several cars have trouble during the first few turns with Hamlin making contact and sliding off course, Alex Bowman(88) wrinkles a fender and drops back slightly off the pace. Fortunately, Hamlin is locked into the next round. Bowman now sits on the Bubble 20 points to the good. Elliott pitted as the race went back to green to tighten a loose wheel dropping him to the rear of the pack.

At the start of the Final Stage, the same four drivers that began the day below the cut line are still in that position. Should Bowman stumble, Austin Dillon(3) is the guy 20 points behind the final playoff spot running in 12th. Bowyer runs in 3rd and is still in the mix for the win and you’re in possibility.

Ty Dillon spun into the grass and brought out the caution with 45 laps to go, outside the fuel window to finish the race. About half of the field pitted, but not the three leaders, Byron, Bell, and Bowyer.

Back to racing, Bowyer slips past Bell to take over the 2nd spot. Racing for 19th position, Kyle Busch gets into the back of Austin Dillon and spins him around. Dillon hits the front stretch wall and flattens two tires. He has to be pushed to the pits for service and likely sees his chance to move forward to the next round disappear.

All the leaders come to pit road for fuel and tires to finish the race. Bowman is complaining of feeling ill. Stomach problems are making his race miserable just as it comes down to the money laps. Bubba Wallace(43) clips Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(47) on the restart when he overdrives into Turn 1. The incident at the front of the pack stacks up the field, Bowyer runs into the back of Keselowski damaging the power steering on the 14 car and dropping Bowyer to the rear of the lead lap.

Blaney led the first lap back under green until he lost it entering the infield course too fast and spun into the grass. Ryan Preece(37) inherited the lead and Bowman got feeling better in a hurry running in 2nd. The Top 5 were Preece, Bowman, Elliott, Logano, and Jones. Kyle Busch had worked his way back up to 6th and as he approached Jones, Erik moved over to let his teammate to pass.

With 28 laps to go Bowman drove to the lead, Elliott followed. Logano took over 3rd, with Kyle Busch 4th. Two laps later, Elliott grabbed the top spot. Kyle Busch moved to 9th in the standings as Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola, and Bowyer are having trouble.

The yellow came out with 24 laps to go for debris on the track and Matt Kenseth(42) stuffing his car into a track barrier. Most of the field pitted, but Kyle Busch opted to stay out and inherited the lead. A strange decision considering it is assumed he does not have enough fuel to finish the race. Adding to the drama, rain is threatening and because the race started on rain tires NASCAR will not throw a caution when it comes. If everyone has to pit to change tires it could prove to be an advantage for Busch.

If Busch wins, the battle for the final playoff spot will come down to Logano vs Bowman. Joey is 6 points up at this point in the race. Jones passes for the lead, but can’t hold it for long as Elliott takes the top spot. Kurt Busch moves up to 3rd, Logano 4th, and Kyle Busch 5th.

With 12 laps to go, Brennan Poole stalled on the track and brought out the 9th caution of the day. The leaders stayed on the track for the sprint to the checkered flag.

The Finish
Elliott holds the top spot are they race into the road course portion on the restart. Logano passes Jones for 2nd and Blaney returns to the Top 5 despite his troubles earlier in the race. Kyle Busch is 7th, Bowman is on the bubble 26 points ahead of the M&M car of Busch.

Kyle Busch is forced to pit for fuel with 2 laps to go and his chance to advance to the next round of the playoffs disappears. The defending champion is out in Round 2. Elliott holds on for the victory, Logano is 2nd and Erik Jones comes in 3rd.

Austin Dillon, Clint Bowyer, and Aric Almirola join Kyle Busch in not making it out of the Round of 12.

Playoff Standings
Points reset and Round 3 starts next week at Kansas. Texas and Martinsville follow as the playoff contenders are trimmed to four drivers at Phoenix. Harvick and Hamlin just need 3 solid runs to advance, with regard to the final two spots available it’s up for grabs.

Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 25

Stage Two Laps: 25

Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 59

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 17 among 11 different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 9 for 16
 * Red flags: 0
 * Time of race: 3 hours, 17 minutes and 11 seconds
 * Average speed: 76.948 mph

Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the action from the booth live from the track for the first time since March. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties and Rutledge Wood handled the features live from the track.

Radio
The Performance Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front straightaway. IMS Radio's Nick Yeoman was assigned the entrance to the road course and into the Bank of America bridge (Turns 1-3). Voice of the Indianapolis 500 Mark Jaynes was assigned the action from the Bank of America bridge to the middle of the infield section. Doug Turnbull called the action exiting in infield into the oval Turn 1 banking (Turns 7-9). Pat Patterson called the action on the backstretch and into the bus stop. Rob Albright was assigned to the oval Turn 3-4 end. (Turns 13-15). Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini had the call from the pit area for PRN.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.