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Chase Elliott on What Really Differentiates the ROVAL from Other Road Courses in NASCAR

Neha Dwivedi
Published

Aug 27, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Chase Elliott answers questions from the media during NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Media Day at Charlotte Convention Center

This Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course will be the eighth time the venue will host a NASCAR Cup Series playoff race since its debut in 2018. The 2025 season marks the sixth consecutive year in which the Roval has served as the sixth Playoff event — the elimination race for the Round of 12.

Before Shane van Gisbergen’s dominant arrival this season, five different drivers had conquered the Roval in the Playoffs, led by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (2019, 2020) and Kyle Larson (2021, 2024), who have won there twice.

It’s a different type of playoff venue, for sure, and drivers have been talking about it the whole weekend. Elliott described exactly what makes the Roval so unique.

“It’s just about how much of a natural flow it has; that’s the only difference I see with it. This is just a place that doesn’t have a very good natural flow. You go to Watkins Glen, and it flows, whether you like it or not,” said Elliott.

“That’s just kind of what it is, the way the racetrack was built, where certain turns set you up for the next one. And that’s how a lot of road courses are,” added the 2020 Cup Series champion.

Elliott then elaborated on how the track requires the driver to go about his business without having the luxury of following a certain rhythm like other road courses.

“They [other road courses] were purpose-built that way. Sonoma was that way in a lot of ways. COTA is that way in a lot of ways, and this place [Roval] is just not. And I think that’s where, coming back to finding that within yourself, creating that rhythm, creating that flow, is going to help you create repetition and lap time and be able to hit your marks and do it throughout the entirety of a run,” he elaborated.

NASCAR has been coming to the Roval for years now, and in Elliott’s eyes, it remains a choppy, makeshift road course that lacks the fluid rhythm most drivers look for. And since rhythm and flow are key to mastering any road course, at least for him, finding that balance at Charlotte Roval doesn’t come easy.

The challenge lies in creating the flow from scratch. The #5 driver admitted that he’s had weekends when he’s managed to strike that balance and others when it’s slipped through his fingers. Still, Elliott is determined to find the flow that separates the good from the great on Roval.

Post Edited By:Somin Bhattacharjee

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi

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Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 3000 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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