Bank of America ROVAL 400
Location: Charlotte, N.C.
Course: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Format: 2.28-mile road course
Laps: 109
Race Preview
The second elimination race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is upon us this week with the Bank of America ROVAL 400. After Joe Gibbs Racing teammates swept race victories in the first elimination round, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are the two drivers already locked into the next round, and a stop at Charlotte's ROVAL could spring a surprise. Joey Logano sits in the final transfer spot with a 13-point advantage over Ross Chastain. While all eyes will be on that pair's points battle this weekend, Tyler Reddick -29 and Austin Cindric -48 are two road course racers capable of winning their way through on Sunday.
Kyle Larson +54 is the defending winner and sits comfortably ahead of danger, but he hasn't won since May and will likely need a victory to secure a second series championship. Most of the weekend's attention will be focused on Shane van Gisbergen, though. While he has already been eliminated from playoff contention, he is seeking his fifth race win of the season and fifth road course win in a row. The potential of him blocking other playoff drivers from victory could add even more pressure to the points battle on the cutline as the final eight championship contenders are decided this week.
Key Stats at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
- Number of races: 7
- Winners from pole: 0
- Winners from top-5 starters: 1
- Winners from top-10 starters: 5
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: 86.661 mph
Previous ROVAL Winners
2024 - Kyle Larson
2023 - AJ Allmendinger
2022 - Christopher Bell
2021 - Kyle Larson
2020 - Chase Elliott
2019 - Chase Elliott
2018 - Ryan Blaney
The Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL is a 17-turn infield road course that also uses most of the traditional 1.5-mile high-banked oval. The course is a technical challenge for drivers and crews to find the right setup to maximize speed on the long oval parts, transition on and off of the banking, and handle nimbly through the tight infield section. The course has two primary passing zones, both of which come at the end of the long blasts around the oval into chicanes that require heavy braking. The infield section is also unique in that it has somewhat significant elevation changes as well as off-camber turns that drivers will have to negotiate.
Contact in braking zones isn't uncommon and restarts can be wild as the field compresses together into turn 1. Teams will likely use aggressive pit strategy to gain or maintain track position since, as with all road courses, track position is imperative. Most winners at the track start inside the top 10, and fantasy players should therefore put more emphasis than normal on practice and qualifying results this week. The furthest back any driver has started this race and was Chase Elliott in 2019 in a comeback win that was aided by several cautions and a red flag as he clawed his way forward.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Shane van Gisbergen - $12,500
Kyle Larson - $10,500
Christopher Bell - $10,200
Tyler Reddick - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
William Byron - $9,700
Chase Elliott - $9,500
Chase Briscoe - $9,200
AJ Allmendinger - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Chris Buescher - $8,700
Ross Chastain - $8,500
Ty Gibbs - $8,300
Alex Bowman - $7,800
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Joey Logano - $7,500
Denny Hamlin - $7,200
Todd Gilliland - $6,300
Zane Smith - $6,200
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Bank of America ROVAL 400
Shane van Gisbergen - $12,500
AJ Allmendinger - $9,000
Ty Gibbs - $8,300
Alex Bowman - $7,800
Austin Cindric - $7,400
Ty Dillon - $5,000
After winning the last four road course races, Shane van Gisbergen (DK $12,500, FD $14,500) will try to make it five this week at the ROVAL. He started on pole at the track last season but failed to capitalize after getting turned around and having to race back through the field. He still finished seventh in that race despite the trouble, and with all the Cup Series experience he now has under his belt, he will be tough to beat on Sunday. Winning this weekend would also put him just one victory away from Jeff Gordon's record six-straight road course wins.
AJ Allmendinger (DK $9,000, FD $9,000) should be a driver SVG expects to contend with. The Kaulig Racing driver won this race in 2024 and has four Xfinity Series wins at the track. From five Xfinity starts, he has never finished lower than second. He knows this circuit well, and this is one of the road courses Allmendinger is often his best at, as evidenced by his Cup Series statistics. Five starts have earned him one win, two top-fives, and four top-10s. He led 89 total laps in those races and the only blemish on his resume is an engine failure that knocked him out of the 2021 edition of this race.
A driver that hasn't yet lived up to his potential at this track is Ty Gibbs (DK $8,300, FD $10,000). The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a history of road course wins from his Xfinity Series days, but that hasn't yet translated to success on the Cup side. He is still searching for his first series win, but his potential has shown here. In the 2023 edition of this race he qualified 10th and finished fourth, and he finished second in the 2022 Xfinity visit. He also finished second and seventh at Chicago and Sonoma this season. He should be racing around the top 10 or higher again this week.
Alex Bowman (DK $7,800, FD $7,500) could be the most overlooked driver this week. His bargain price comes with five top-10 ROVAL finishes from six tries. His best result came from a front-row start when he finished second in 2019. His only blemish at the circuit came last season when he was disqualified after crossing the line 18th after the car was found to be below the minimum weight in post-race inspection. That DQ put Joey Logano into the following round, and he ultimately took the title. Bowman may have redemption on his mind this season despite already being out of the playoff picture.
Another driver that could impress with his road racing skills is Austin Cindric (DK $7,400, FD $8,000). The Team Penske driver is facing a must-win situation this week, so there is no reason for him not to aggressively go for the victory. Cindric won several road course races in his Xfinity career, but has not been able to get one yet in Cup. Specifically at this track, Cindric never finished lower than sixth in Xfinity competition. His best outing in this series came last season when he started fifth and finished fourth.
The prior selections leave little choice for a sixth driver, but Ty Dillon (DK $5,000, FD $4,800) isn't a terrible choice. He has two top-20 finishes from four road course tries this year and just doing that could be enough with the number of road course ringers we've already selected. Dillon's average ROVAL finish from five series tries is 23.2 with a best result of 15th in 2019.
NASCAR Cup Series Best Bets for the Bank of America ROVAL 400
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 3:30 PM ET Friday
Race Winner - Shane van Gisbergen -105, Christopher Bell +1000
Top-Five Finish - AJ Allmendinger +200
Top-10 Finish - Austin Cindric +160
Group Winner - Chase Elliott +220, AJ Allmendinger +250, Chris Buescher +300, Chase Briscoe +300
With four consecutive road course wins under his belt, it is hard to choose anyone other than Shane van Gisbergen to come out on top this week at the ROVAL. When you consider he started this race on pole last year and finished seventh despite contact, the picture becomes even clearer. There isn't anyone as good as SVG on road courses right now, and it seems as though the only thing that could stop him from winning again this week is a mistake. For those not convinced, Christopher Bell offers significantly better odds. Bell won at COTA earlier this year and finished second at Mexico City and Watkins Glen. He also finished fifth at Sonoma. Should SVG falter, Bell would be a convincing longshot option.
Former ROVAL winner AJ Allmendinger is offering nice odds for a top-five finish. He won this race in 2023 and never finished lower than second in five Xfinity tries. He has four top-10 finishes from five Cup Series tries including the win and led a total of 89 laps, too. Allmendinger is already known as an ace at the road courses, and this track is one of his best. It is not unreasonable to expect him to be in and around the top five throughout the weekend. Similarly, he should also be a good option to take in this week's group matchup between he, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, and Chase Briscoe. Allmendinger's strongest competition is likely to come from Elliott, but with a win last week, Elliott and team may be more focused on future races after securing advancement in the playoffs. While Briscoe and Buescher are also both good racers at road courses, this track being Allmendinger's best gives him the advantage.
One final wager to consider is Austin Cindric bagging a top-10 finish. The Team Penske driver is in a must-win situation to keep his championship hopes alive, and he has an excellent history at road courses. Specifically at Charlotte, Cindric had a rough go of things early on, but he made a breakthrough last season with a fourth-place finish. Looking deeper, he qualified in the top five at the track two of three series tries, and he never finished lower than sixth at the track in four Xfinity Series tries. A top-10 finish from him might be the minimum expectation this week.
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