NASCAR heads to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course this weekend, marking the eighth time the venue will host a Cup Series playoff race since its debut in 2018. It’s a different type of playoff venue, for sure, with drivers talking about its inclusion all weekend long. Chase Elliott, for one, described exactly what makes it so different.
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The 2025 season marks the sixth consecutive year the Roval serves 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), each with two wins to their name.
When asked what sets the Roval apart from other road courses, Elliott offered a straightforward answer. “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.”
“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.”
“That 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 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,” the Hendrick Motorsports driver continued.
Evaluating the track further, Elliott noted that it’s nothing new at this point. NASCAR has been coming to the Roval for years now, and in his eyes, it remains a choppy, makeshift road course that lacks the fluid rhythm most drivers look for.
Elliott emphasized that rhythm and flow are key to mastering any road course, at least for him, but finding that balance at Charlotte Roval doesn’t come easy.
The challenge lies in creating it from scratch. The #5 HMS 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, he looks forward to hitting the track again, determined to find the flow that separates the good from the great on Roval weekend.
