After last Sunday’s race in Kansas, every question about the Next Gen car’s prowess on intermediate speedways has been answered. The car runs best on a mile and half-tracks and the world has seen it multiple times. Does this mean NASCAR ought to add more such venues to the calendar? Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes it should if it means dropping the Charlotte Roval.
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The racing icon made it clear in a recent episode of his podcast “Dale Jr. Download” that he wasn’t a fan of the Roval. The 2.3-mile course is a combination of a road course and an oval. It was created in 2018 and has been a part of the Cup Series schedule since. “I was never a fan of the Roval,” Dale Jr. said. “Me and Marcus [Smith, CEO of SMI] are pals and I’ve told him in person to his face.”
He continued, “Not going to love that one. Not going to miss it if it goes away. And I think Marcus is smart. He’ll shelve the Roval and take advantage of this popularity that this Next Gen car has on mile and a half.” He contended that the Roval was brought into existence because the racing product was bad in Charlotte, and that it held up to its purpose only the first few times that it hosted a NASCAR race.
He concluded, “The Roval was good out of the gate in the same vein that racing at the Coliseum was cool the first time. But for me after one or two, I’m done.” The 2024 Roval race that will pop up in October will be the 7th time the Cup Series races on it. It will be a part of a crucial stage in the playoffs and determine who cuts the Round of 8.
The Charlotte Roval falls out of favor with Denny Hamlin as well
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin has called out for more mile-and-half races after Kansas too. However, he has a clear pick on his mind unlike Dale Jr. He said on Actions Detrimental, “We should be going back to Chicagoland, for sure.” The last time the Chicagoland Speedway hosted a NASCAR race was back in 2019. The sanctioning body decided not to return after the pandemic for various reasons.
The track that Hamlin would sacrifice to bring Chicagoland back into the mix is the Charlotte Roval. He reasoned his choice, “Let’s start with the ROVAL. Let’s start there. This car is made for mile-and-a-half tracks and we’re running through the parking lot at Charlotte Motor Speedway…” Despite his preferences, he was aware that tracks cannot be picked up and dropped as a knee-jerk reaction.
