Cars in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series are quite adept at handling any kind of challenge that a race track throws at them. But traversing corners at a slow pace is something they dread. And that is precisely what the reconfigured Charlotte Roval will hit them with this weekend.
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A new Turn 6 has been created by extending the straightaway from Turn 5, and it will lead the field into a narrow hairpin on Turn 7. Turn 16 has also been made sharper to facilitate overtaking. NASCAR’s heart was in the right place making these changes but they are bound to manufacture chaos.
Ryan Flores, the tire changer of the No. 12 Team Penske group, agreed with this on NASCAR’s Around the Track segment. He stated, “This track has been reconfigured and I think it is going to promote some chaos.” Turn 1 is already infamous for being a hotspot where multiple wrecks occur, and the hairpin in Turn 7 appears set to join the rank.
AJ Allmendinger, last year’s Roval winner, explained the technical aspect of the changes following Flores. He said, “It (Turn 5) will be a quicker corner now. It’s kind of a right kink but really makes it a little bit more challenging in the fact that if you carry too much speed in, you will definitely crash out. Late race, I’m gonna see some divebombs here (Turn 7).” The Xfinity Series full-timer expects at least one pile-up in Turn 7 this weekend.
Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, reasons the changes to Roval
Why was the reconfiguration necessary in the first place? The previous layout did not have many braking zones. It becomes extremely difficult to pass on road courses if drivers don’t have tight corners. Adding more such zones also allows drivers to play around with the brake pedal and try to gain an advantage over competitors.
Marcus Smith detailed the decision and said that the upgrades will give rise to multiple overtaking opportunities. His words went, “One of the biggest things we’ve heard is about off-throttle time in oval racing. In road-course racing, you want as much of an opportunity as possible for a driver to play with the brake pedal, the gas pedal, and the steering wheel.”
That’s what a well-designed track is going to provide, those overtaking opportunities, and that’s what we’ve done today.” Sunday’s race has received a lot of attention owing to the reconfiguration. NASCAR does not have many tracks with such tight corners, and it will be interesting to watch how the cars and drivers perform in them.
