Why is the Charlotte Roval a strong race? Its winningest NASCAR drivers weigh in
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Charlotte Roval's 17-turn layout forces aggressive driving and punishes mistakes.
- Bumpy elevation crests and tight chicanes create inconsistent rhythms and wrecks.
- Heim's Truck Series win No.10 set a season record and highlighted TRICON's sweep.
The Charlotte Roval is a different beast, even for NASCAR’s greatest competitors.
Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 17-turn, 2.28-mile road course hosts the Cup Series for the eighth time Sunday, and its lore is cementing itself in the sport’s history.
A late wreck involving Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. powered Ryan Blaney’s thrilling victory in 2018’s inaugural Roval race. Hendrick Motorsports drivers have collected four victories — with Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson each owning two wins apiece — and Christopher Bell earned a must-win postseason win three years ago.
The Roval is among the most unpredictable races on the NASCAR calendar.
It feels much choppier than other road courses at which the series races, and the layout is unique. There aren’t many places to get out and dodge, and finding a rhythm is difficult.
“It’s a different place, for sure,” Elliott said. “Doesn’t have a lot of outs. Most road courses we go to have grassy areas or access roads, once you commit to a corner you can get out and bail yourself out. If you make mistakes there, it makes it pretty tough at times to push.”
The Roval always provides a challenge
Many parts of the track are particularly bumpy.
Its elevation crest is unlike most venues, and the road-course extensions feel a bit more choppy than the turns from the main oval. Those portions of the Roval are bumpier and slicker, and it’s rough and violent getting from the frontstretch chicane to the Turn Four oval.
The bumpiness of the road course makes it have a different feel than others, Larson said. It takes similar techniques and a car that handles well.
And it’s anybody’s race.
“It’s not unpredictable on which teams are in front, but the racing is really aggressive,” Larson said. “There are more crashes these days. It’s hard to be consistent and get consistent finishes because the competition is just really tight and competitive. But it’s fun — a lot of people have a good shot to win and you never know who’s going to have a good or better week.”
Corey Heim wins first Truck Series race in overtime at Roval
Corey Heim is the winningest driver in Truck Series history.
The 23-year-old Cup prospect earned his 10th victory of the season, outlasting the field in overtime Friday afternoon in the series’ inaugural race at the Charlotte Roval on Friday afternoon.
“It was not easy,” Heim said. “This was probably the toughest one of the year so far. Just shows the resilience of this TRICON team, they fixed it up. Good for me after that incident on the first lap that was just out of our control.
“I thought we were done, honestly, the right front (tire) completely folded when I hit the wall over there. I’m out of breath from screaming after that one.”
Heim and Grant Enfinger, both championship contenders, were involved in a wreck in Turn One on the opening lap. Layne Riggs had made contact with Enfinger, and Heim got into the wall — but the race stayed green.
Ben Rhodes, the two-time series champion, crashed into the wall on Lap 3 with heavy contact as his back bumper got into the tire barrier, bringing out the first caution — and only natural one until the final laps of regulation — of the race.
Heim worked his way back to the front of the pack in the final stage as Brent Crews, who started third and had been running in the Top Five most of the day, grabbed the late lead.
The second natural caution came on Lap 65 of the scheduled 67 as the truck of Toni Breidinger stalled in Turn Five. Crews pitted — nearly out of fuel — as Heim opted to stay out.
Chandler Smith wrecked in Turn 7 from the middle of the pack, as the race restarted in overtime; while Heim kept himself out in front throughout the additional two laps.
Win No. 10 on the season gives Heim, the reserve driver for 23XI Racing, the single-season record in the Truck Series, passing Greg Biffle’s mark set in 1999. TRICON Garage’s one-two-three finish with Crews and Giovanni Ruggiero marks the third time in series history one team swept the podium’s top three, following Thorsport Racing in 2020 and 2021.
“That was pretty wild,” Heim said. “I came on the radio and said ‘I thought we were screwed here’ … A lot of big things are coming up.”
Truck Series results from Charlotte
| Position | Driver | Car No. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corey Heim | 11 |
| 2 | Brent Crews | 1 |
| 3 | Giovanni Ruggiero | 17 |
| 4 | Rajah Caruth | 71 |
| 5 | Connor Zilisch | 7 |
| 6 | Josh Bilicki | 41 |
| 7 | Grant Enfinger | 9 |
| 8 | Ty Majeski | 98 |
| 9 | Tyler Ankrum | 18 |
| 10 | Connor Mosack | 81 |
| 11 | Daniel Hemric | 19 |
| 12 | Bayley Currey | 45 |
| 13 | Dawson Sutton | 26 |
| 14 | Kaden Honeycutt | 52 |
| 15 | Will Rodgers | 20 |
| 16 | Timmy Hill | 56 |
| 17 | Matt Mills | 42 |
| 18 | Corey LaJoie | 77 |
| 19 | Chandler Smith | 38 |
| 20 | Spencer Boyd | 76 |
| 21 | Layne Riggs | 34 |
| 22 | Jack Wood | 91 |
| 23 | Jake Garcia | 13 |
| 24 | Matt Crafton | 88 |
| 25 | Ben Maier | 02 |
| 26 | Kris Wright | 16 |
| 27 | Wesley Slimp | 62 |
| 28 | Mason Maggio | 33 |
| 29 | Tyler Tomassi | 69 |
| 30 | Toni Breidinger | 5 |
| 31 | Tanner Gray | 15 |
| 32 | Andres Perez de Lara | 44 |
| 33 | Josh Reaume | 22 |
| 34 | Carter Fartuch | 2 |
| 35 | Parker Kligerman | 75 |
| 36 | Ben Rhodes | 99 |
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Why is the Charlotte Roval a strong race? Its winningest NASCAR drivers weigh in."
