Allmendinger grabs emotional win in Charlotte Road Course elimination race

October 8, 2023 

By Reid Spencer 

NASCAR Wire Service 

 

CONCORD, N.C. – Road course aficionado AJ Allmendinger stole some thunder from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers with a convincing victory in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

 

Driving the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, Allmendinger led twice for a race-high 46 laps, including the last 33, and beat runner-up William Byron to the finish line by 0.666 seconds to win his first Cup race of the season, his first at the Charlotte Road Course and the third of his Cup Series career—all on road courses.

 

Kyle Busch finished third at the 2.32-mile, 17-turn circuit, two spots short of the win he need to advance to the Playoffs’ Round of 8. Joining Busch on the Playoff elimination list were Ross Chastain (who finished 10th), Bubba Wallace (16th) and Brad Keselowski (18th).

 

Allmendinger took the lead for the final time when Ryan Blaney pitted from the top spot on Lap 77, under caution for a wreck in the frontstretch chicane involving Denny Hamlin, Ty Dillon and Mike Rockenfeller.

 

The 41-year-old from Los Gatos, Calif., survived four more cautions and four more restarts before he completed what he termed “the drive of my life.”

 

Allmendinger was weeping during the cool-down lap and teared up in his post-race interview.

 

“I hate crying right now, but it’s a freaking Cup race, man,” he said. “You don’t know when it’s ever going to happen again…

 

“This is why you do it. This is the only reason you do it. You fight. All the blood, sweat, tears, everybody at Kaulig Racing has just been such… I’d say a down year, but up-and-down year. It’s our second year in the Cup Series.”

 

Byron and Ryan Blaney already had advanced to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs by virtue of their respective victories at Texas and Talladega.

 

Joining them in the next round, which starts next Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, are Tyler Reddick (who ran sixth from the pole on Sunday), Denny Hamlin (37th), Christopher Bell (15th), Chris Buescher (seventh), Kyle Larson (who started from the rear in a backup car and finished 13th) and Martin Truex Jr. (20th).

 

The regular-season champion, Truex, claimed the final berth in the Round of 8 by 12 points over Chastain, the first driver out.

 

Ill-fortune that befell Chase Elliott near the end of Stage 2 facilitated Allmendinger’s victory. Just as Elliott, the race leader, was approaching pit road to “short” the stage, BJ McLeod’s spin in Turn 4 caused the second of seven cautions and forced NASCAR to close pit road.

 

Elliott steered back to the racing surface and won the stage but lost critical track position after pitting during the stage break and never regained it. He finished ninth behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.

 

Ty Gibbs came home fourth, followed by Joey Logano.

 

After a strong run from start to finish, Busch was philosophical about his exit from the Playoffs.

 

“The guys gave me a great piece today,” he said. “The Lenovo Camaro was pretty fast, just lacked a little bit on the long run, just didn’t quite have the feel of the tire that I was really looking for to be able to turn into the corners and to be able to drive out of the corners and keep pace with the front two there at the end.

“But overall, this ride is on me anyways. The first two weeks of this round were obviously not very good, and we didn’t score any points. That’s where it’s at. That’s where it lies. Texas, Talladega, just not being able to execute and do a good job when points were on the line.”

 

–30—

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Bank of America ROVAL 400

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

Concord, North Carolina

Sunday, October 8, 2023

 

1. (6)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 109.
2. (14)  William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 109.
3. (5)  Kyle Busch (P), Chevrolet, 109.
4. (10)  Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 109.
5. (7)  Joey Logano, Ford, 109.
6. (1)  Tyler Reddick (P), Toyota, 109.
7. (20)  Chris Buescher (P), Ford, 109.
8. (16)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 109.
9. (8)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 109.
10. (12)  Ross Chastain (P), Chevrolet, 109.
11. (18)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 109.
12. (17)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 109.
13. (36)  Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 109.
14. (15)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 109.
15. (2)  Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 109.
16. (4)  Bubba Wallace (P), Toyota, 109.
17. (24)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 109.
18. (19)  Brad Keselowski (P), Ford, 109.
19. (22)  Kevin Harvick, Ford, 109.
20. (11)  Martin Truex Jr. (P), Toyota, 109.
21. (21)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 109.
22. (25)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 109.
23. (32)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 109.
24. (31)  Harrison Burton, Ford, 109.
25. (29)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 109.
26. (28)  Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 109.
27. (33)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 109.
28. (30)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 109.
29. (26)  Mike Rockenfeller, Chevrolet, 109.
30. (34)  Zane Smith(i), Ford, 109.
31. (37)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 109.
32. (13)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 109.
33. (3)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 109.
34. (27)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, Electrical, 96.
35. (35)  Andy Lally(i), Ford, Accident, 84.
36. (23)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, Accident, 79.
37. (9)  Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, DVP, 76.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  81.596 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 57 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.666 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 18 laps.

Lead Changes:  7 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   T. Reddick (P) 1-27;C. Bell (P) 28-35;C. Elliott (P) 36-50;C. Bell (P) 51;K. Busch (P) 52-57;A. Allmendinger 58-70;R. Blaney (P) 71-76;A. Allmendinger 77-109.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  AJ Allmendinger 2 times for 46 laps; Tyler Reddick (P) 1 time for 27 laps; Chase Elliott (P) 1 time for 15 laps; Christopher Bell (P) 2 times for 9 laps; Kyle Busch (P) 1 time for 6 laps; Ryan Blaney (P) 1 time for 6 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 45,23,1,19,20,99,9,8,54,16

Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,20,11,45,5,1,23,19,34,8

Aric Almirola is 300/1 to win at Charlotte ROVAL

 

ARIC ALMIROLA Roval Advance No. 10 IHOP Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

●  Event:  Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 32 of 36) ●  Location:  Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval ●  Layout:  2.28-mile, 17-turn road course ●  Laps/Miles:  109 laps/252.88 miles ●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 25 laps / Final Stage: 59 laps ●  TV/Radio:  NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Almirola has 39 road-course starts in the NASCAR Cup Series with two top-10 finishes and a best of eighth at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in 2018. His road-course results include five top-20s at Watkins Glen with a best finish of 12th in 2019, three top-20s on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval with a best of 14th in 2019, and a 12th-place finish in the non-points Busch Clash in 2020 on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road course. While Almirola is seeking his first road-course victory in the Cup Series, he did race his way to victory lane June 10 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma.   ● Driver Standings: Almirola arrives at Talladega 22nd in the driver standings.   ● Almirola’s career: In 455 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, Almirola has three wins, 28 top-five finishes, 93 top-10s, six poles, and has led 1,075 laps.   ● Last weekend at Talladega, Almirola earned his second pole of the 2023 season and the sixth of his NASCAR Cup Series career. He led seven laps on race day, but was collected in a multicar accident on the last lap.   ● IHOP will be the primary sponsor on the No. 10 Ford Mustang this weekend with a brand new paint scheme. For more than 65 years, IHOP has been a leader, innovator and expert in all things breakfast, lunch and dinner. The chain offers 65 different signature fresh, made-to-order breakfast options, a wide selection of popular lunch and dinner items, including Ultimate Steakburgers, Hand Crafted Melts, Burritos & Bowls and more. IHOP restaurants offer guests an affordable, everyday dining experience with warm and friendly service. As of June 30, there are 1,790 IHOP restaurants around the world, including restaurants in all 50 states, two U.S. territories and 13 countries outside the United States. IHOP restaurants are franchised by affiliates of Pasadena, Calif.-based Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE: DIN).   ● “Do a Pancake:” For too long, the popular circular burnout to celebrate a win has been called a “donut.” This season, IHOP is taking over the ultra-cool racecar move to make it its own by changing the name of a “donut” to its true inspiration – a “pancake.” The partnership includes Almirola’s IHOP-branded racecar on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval this weekend and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend. In celebration, IHOP is giving International Bank of Pancakes rewards members a free PanCoin every time a winner does a “pancake” during a race featuring the IHOP car. Additionally, if Almirola wins at Charlotte or Las Vegas, one lucky loyalty member will be awarded 100,000 PanCoins.   ● Beyond the 10 YouTube Series:In 2023, Almirola is continuing to share his life beyond the No. 10 Ford with season five of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and the show gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 IHOP Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What has been the key to Stewart-Haas Racing’s improved performance, recently?   “It’s good that everybody else notices it because, internally, I feel like we notice it and everyone here is continuing to be motivated by seeing things start to go in the right direction, so that’s nice. From my standpoint, to show up to the racetrack with a little bit more speed and be a little bit more competitive is encouraging, but it starts at the shop and it really has gotten to a point to where we were at a pretty low spot, and everybody was searching. Every team, every crew chief, every engineer is searching like, ‘Oh my God, we’re off. What can we do to find speed. Let’s try this setup. Let’s do this to the car. Let’s do that to the car.’ So you end up with everybody kind of going off on these islands trying to figure out what we need to do to put speed in our racecars. And, over the last couple of months, I feel like we’ve come back together because that hasn’t worked and there’s been a lot more unity and collaboration internally inside of our organization – bringing all the smart people together talking about what we need to do and kind of going at it more collectively, and that’s been a turning point. I feel like that’s been beneficial.”   You won your first road-course race in the Xfinity Series earlier this year at Sonoma. How could that translate to the Roval this weekend?    “Just confidence in myself on road courses. The cars don’t translate much from Xfinity to Cup, and the Roval is a mix of speed and handling on the oval with the tight turns in the road-course portion. If we could find that balance in our cars, we’ll be competitive. I’m proud of our team and the effort we’ve all put in to improve our road-course cars over the year.”

Martin Truex Jr. is 15/1 to win his 6th career Road Race

 

Martin Truex Jr. Charlotte Roval Advance No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD for Joe Gibbs Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 32 of 36) ● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 8 ● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval ● Layout: 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course ● Laps/Miles: 109 laps, 252.88 miles ● Format: Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 25 laps / Final Stage: 59 laps ● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Martin Truex Jr., and the No. 19 team for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) set the tone for the season right out of the gate by winning the 150-lap feature in the non-points Clash at the Coliseum on Feb. 5 in Los Angeles. Truex won his heat race, then went on to lead the final 25 laps of the feature en route to a victory that gave him and the team much-needed momentum heading into the 2023 season. While the team was knocking on the door over the first 10 points-paying races, the breakthrough win finally came at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway on May 1, and Truex has added two more points-paying victories and four overall this season – June 11 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.   ● Playoff Time: Truex heads to the Charlotte Roval with a 17-point cushion on the top-8 playoff cutline with Sunday’s third and final race of the Round of 12.   ● Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 marks the sixth and final road-course race on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Truex finished 17th in the first one March 26 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, before bringing home the June 11 win at Sonoma. He was 32nd in the Inaugural Chicago Street Race on July 2, seventh on the road course Aug. 13 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and sixth Aug. 20 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.   ● 34 and Counting: Truex’s win at New Hampshire was the 34th of his Cup Series career, putting him in a tie with 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch for 25th on the all-time win list in NASCAR’s top series.   ● Truex has two top-10 finishes and has led a total of six laps in five career NASCAR Cup Series starts on the Charlotte Roval. Truex’s average Roval finish is 14.8.   ● So far this season, Truex has scored three points-paying wins, nine top-five finishes, 15 top-10s and has led an impressive 832 laps through 30 races. To put the laps-led number in perspective, Truex led just 572 during the entire 36-race season in 2022.

Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD

When the Roval was first announced, did you think it would be as cool as many thought it would be?   “Yes, I remember all of it. I remember testing on the track for the first time when it was even a different configuration than we ended up with. There were no curbs, no grass, no paint, there was just dirt and old pavement. They just kept spicing it up and added curbs and paint and all this stuff and it turned out to be a pretty cool-looking racetrack, especially on TV with all the paint, and you had a bit of an F1 feel to it from that standpoint. It’s very unique, it’s different, it’s challenging. They went out on a long limb when it was created and it’s turned out to be pretty cool.”   Did you feel that the Roval was going to be difficult? And what did you think of it after running it a few times?   “I would say so. I was one of the first guys to test with just an infield road course with grass all around. I was wondering, since it was small and narrow and not sure how we would race on it beforehand, but it turned out to be quite the show. You have to be open-minded and embrace the challenges and try to do the best you can with it. That was how I viewed the Roval at the beginning, and how we tried to approach the Chicago Street Race, as well. We almost won the Roval the first year, so we ran well there and would love to get that win there this weekend with our Bass Pro Shops Camry.”   Your playoffs have been tough so far, but you are still in a good position to advance. How close is the competition week in and week out, and how much of a challenge is it during the playoffs?   “Ever since we went to the NextGen car, everything has been closer and it makes it challenging, for sure. It is harder to find an advantage, it’s harder to run at the front every week, consistently. Everything is tighter, closer together, less room for error – and you really have to be on top of things. The points situation is the same as every other race. It’s really, really hard to be at the front all of the time and this weekend we just need a solid day to hopefully get us through with some good tracks for us coming up.”

Chase Briscoe is 50/1 to win 2023 Bank of America 400 at ROVAL

 

CHASE BRISCOE Charlotte Roval Advance No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 32 of 36) ● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 8 ● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval ● Layout: 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course ● Laps/Miles: 109 laps, 252.88 miles ● Format: Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 25 laps / Final Stage: 59 laps ● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Five races remain on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule and Sunday’s race on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval serves as the final road-course event of the season. For Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School team, it’s a return to the track where Briscoe and crew chief Richard Boswell earned their first win in 2018.   ● Briscoe took home the trophy in the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the Roval in 2018 with Boswell atop the pit box. In just their fourth race together, the No. 98 team started ninth, and Briscoe took the lead for the first time on lap 18 and led until lap 26. He regained the top spot on lap 32 and stayed out front for the final 24 circuits en route to his first of 11 career Xfinity Series wins. The victory led to a fulltime ride in SHR’s No. 98 for 2019, and he returned to the Roval that year to secure a ninth-place finish after leading a race-high 21 laps.   ● The Bank of America Roval 400 marks Briscoe’s third Cup Series start on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course. In last year’s event, which was the final race in the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Playoffs, Briscoe started 17th and finished ninth to advance to the Round of 8. The top-10 finish was Briscoe’s best on a road course since the introduction of the NextGen car at the outset of the 2022 season, and he bettered it this year with a finish of sixth on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.   ● Ford Performance Racing School reunites with Briscoe at the track that serves as its home base. Ford Performance Racing School is the only school to wear the Ford oval, and Ford is the only full-line vehicle manufacturer to offer product-focused experiential driving programs exclusively to the owners of its complete line of performance vehicles, from cars to trucks to SUVs.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Why do you feel there’s been such a change in the complexion of road-course races since the introduction of the NextGen car? “The biggest change is the brakes. Everyone has these massive brakes that make it a lot easier for guys who maybe don’t have as much experience road-course racing to drive a little harder into a corner and still be able to make it. It narrows that window you have to find places to make up ground throughout the course. It used to be you would know there was a certain corner where you could outbrake someone and gain a spot or two, or put a gap on the guys behind you, but that doesn’t really exist anymore. It’s now a very level playing field when we get to the road courses.”   Over the last month or so, there’s been a little more consistency for the No. 14 team when it comes to results. Do you feel things are starting to turn around for the team? “Yeah, I think we’re finally starting to get things figured out. Not just the No. 14 team, but Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole. You know, we had a good run of top-five finishes early this season and then we went months without a top-10. It was tough. I’ve never had a season where it was either we finished up front or we were 33rd. When we made the crew chief change, obviously there were a lot of people wondering why we did it in the middle of the season, but I think it has worked out really well. We’re getting a chance to show that we are capable and we can run up front, and Richard (Boswell) is still in the middle of trying to figure out this car. So, I think that shows there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s putting us in a good starting place for 2024.”

Ty Gibbs is 18/1 to win at Charlotte ROVAL. How many races has Gibbs won?

 

Ty Gibbs Charlotte Roval Advance No. 54 Interstate All Battery Center Toyota Camry TRD for Joe Gibbs Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 32 of 36) ● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 8 ● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval ● Layout: 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course ● Laps/Miles: 109 laps, 252.88 miles ● Format: Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 25 laps / Final Stage: 59 laps ● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Interstate Batteries – one of the most tenured team sponsors in NASCAR history – began its 32nd season as the founding sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) with an expanded presence that featured the brand’s iconic green livery across all four of JGR’s NASCAR Cup Series entries. As the green colors will adorn Ty Gibbs’ car one final time for 2003 this weekend on the Charlotte Roval with the Interstate All Battery Center marks on the car, the final race for Interstate Batteries will be in the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway when Christopher Bell drives with the Interstate colors one final time this season on his No. 20 Camry.   ● The Return of ‘ABC’: Gibbs and Company are ready to roll into Charlotte with support from Interstate All Battery Center retail locations throughout North America. Interstate All Battery Center keeps life and business moving with the best batteries, service, and expertise. They make it easy to find the battery you’re looking for, from auto batteries to button batteries and specialty batteries to chargers, flashlights and more. And every center offers FREE auto battery testing at their location. Having a local battery partner also means just-in-time delivery, so you can receive fresh batteries ready to go. Interstate All Battery Center will be displayed on a Cup Series car for the first time since July 2017 when former JGR driver Kyle Busch raced the All Battery Center scheme at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.   ● Outrageously Dependable: With Gibbs behind the wheel of the Interstate All Battery Center Camry this weekend, fans are encouraged to stop in to one of many local centers, which feature any battery and power accessory needs all in one place for both your home and business. Interstate All Battery Center is a local partner committed to you and your community, recycle more car batteries than they sell and have on-site auto battery testing and installation with no appointments. To learn more, fans can visit https://www.interstatebatteries.com/all-battery-centers to find a store nearby.   ● Gibbs has had a strong rookie campaign. He’s earned season-best finishes of fifth on three occasions – at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in July, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in August, and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September. In all, Gibbs has eight eight top-10s so far in 2023 with five races remaining.   ● Gibbs heads to the Charlotte Roval 19th in the driver standings with 655 points. He leads the Rookie of the Year standings with his next-closest competitor Noah Gragson not expected to compete for the remainder of the season.   ● Rookie Stripe: Gibbs has experienced a season not atypical of a rookie driver in NASCAR’s top series. He has three top-fives and eight top-10s so far through 31 races, but many other strong runs that didn’t yield the results he might have deserved during the most recent stretch of races.   ● At the age of 19 years, 9 months and 20 days, Gibbs made his first career NASCAR Cup Series start last July 24 at Pocono for 23XI Racing. He became the 37th driver younger than 20 years of age to make a Cup Series start. He started at the rear of the field but completed all 160 laps on his way to an impressive 16th-place finish. Best of his 15 Cup Series starts last year was his 10th-place result Aug. 7 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.   ● Dazzling Debut: Gibbs was victorious in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the February 2021 race on the Daytona road course. He led 14 of the 56 laps and became the youngest driver to win an Xfinity Series road-course race at 18 years, 4 months and 16 days. The native of Charlotte, North Carolina, also became the second-youngest winner in Xfinity Series history behind Joey Logano, who won in June 2008 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta at the age of 18 years, 21 days.

Ty Gibbs, Driver of the No. 54 Interstate All Battery Center Toyota Camry TRD

You’ve had some time to get used to each track during your rookie season. How much have you learned over the course of the year?   “It’s been good. The whole season has been special, and I learn each and every week. Just got to get my Interstate All Battery Center Toyota Camry in a good position and try to limit our mistakes as much as possible and get the most points we can each and every week. First of all, you just need to enjoy it. Not a lot of guys get to do what we get to do each week and you have to remind yourself of the bigger picture. You just take it week by week and keep working. I’m looking forward to the Roval, which will be the next challenge. I’m really looking forward to the next couple of races and we’ll keep working at it and try to work as hard as we can.”   You’ve raced on the Roval in the Xfinity Series, and last year in the Cup Series with 23XI. What are your expectations for this weekend?   “Excited about the Roval. I do enjoy road-course racing, plus it is a home race, which will be nice. Good to have Interstate Batteries on the car for the final time this year. Norm (Miller, Chairman Emeritus) has been a longtime family friend, and Lain (Hancock, CEO/President) had been great, too. Also, fun to have Interstate All Battery Center on our car this weekend. They have local centers throughout the country with every type of battery that anyone could need. Hopefully we can give them a great run.”   With Interstate Batteries on your car for the final time during your rookie season, has it been fun to have Interstate Batteries along with you several times this year?   “It’s really an honor to be able to run an Interstate Batteries car every time we’ve been able to do it. We had some good runs for them, and others I wished had turned out a bit better. We were able to get a top-10 for them at Bristol Dirt and at the Chicago Street Race, which was really cool. I thought we had a good shot at another top-10 for them at Nashville, but that didn’t end up how we had hoped there on the last pit stop and run of the race. Really proud of what we’ve learned as a team this year and appreciate those guys and all they do for our team as I continue to learn each and every week.”

Christopher Bell is 18/1 to win at the Charlotte Roval

Christopher Bell / No. 20 DEWALT Plumbing Solutions Toyota Camry TRD Preview

Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

 

No. 20 DEWALT Plumbing Solutions Toyota Camry TRD News and Notes:

• BELL AT THE ROVAL: Christopher Bell will make his fourth NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) start on the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. Bell heads into the weekend as the defending winner following his walk-off victory in 2022. Bell qualified eighth in the race and ran inside the top 10, he was able to capitalize on a strategy call for fresh tires late in the race, taking over the lead for the final laps of the race.
• ROVAL NXS: Bell has two prior NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at the ROVAL. In 2019, Bell led 19 total laps and was running second late in the race when he was issued a penalty for running off course in the chicane while battling for position. After taking the final restart from the back of the field, Bell raced his way forward to finish 12^th. In 2018, Bell qualified 13^th, ran in the top five most of the race, won stage two, led five laps and crossed the finish line fifth.
• PLAYOFFS SO FAR: Bell heads into the Charlotte ROVAL ranked fourth in the Round of 12 Playoff point standings. Bell kicked off the 2023 Playoffs by claiming the pole position in the first three races and so far in the Round of 12 earned fourth-place finish at Texas and a 14^th-place finish at Talladega.
• DEWALT PLUMBING SOLUTIONS: The No. 20 has a new look this weekend featuring DEWALT PLUMBING SOLUTIONS. DEWALT’s full system of Total Plumbing Solutions for pipe trades is designed by material type to help you run pipe efficiently. Whether you’re tackling copper, plastic, or black iron, do it with DEWALT. 
• DEWALT HOOD: DEWALT will feature Precision Walls, Inc. on the lower hood of the No. 20 Toyota Camry TRD at the ROVAL. For more information visit: https://precisionwalls.com/
• DEWALT DECKLID: The 20’s decklid will feature Lithko Contracting. For more information visit: https://lithko.com/
• TALLADEGA RECAP: Bell entered Talladega with the goal to be there at the end and even though he got caught up in an accident at the very end he was able to finish 14^th. Bell qualified 15^th and was running towards the front of the field at the end of the final stage before suffering some nose damage when a car ahead ran out of fuel. Luckily the damage was minor and the team was able to make repairs. During the final stage he once again dodged a big incident on track but bumped the right front again. The team checked everything over and returned the No. 20 to the track. Bell went in to earn a 14^th-place finish at Talladega.
• JGR at ROVAL: Bell earned the first win for JGR on the ROVAL last year. In 20 combined starts JGR has earned one win, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes at the Charlotte ROVAL.
• RACE INFO: The Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 8, 2023. The race will be broadcast live on NBC, SiriusXM 90, and PRN Radio.

 

From the Cockpit:

Christopher Bell: “I definitely appreciate the circumstances we are under this time compared to last going into the ROVAL. Last year was a very stressful day, we performed well and kind of hung around the back half of the top 10 and then the yellow came out and gave us an opportunity at it. We were fortunate for it to work out last year but I’m very thankful we are sitting here with a points buffer. We can go into the race with a different mentality this year.”

 

Bell’s Career NASCAR Cup Series Stats at the ROVAL:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
3	1	1	2	0	8	15.7	11.0

 

Bell’s 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
31	1	8	16	5	503	10.0	13.1

 

Bell’s Career NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
139	5	29	59	9	11.94	14.0	15.8

 

 

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