NASCAR Star Revolts Over Chaotic Roval Changes Which Have ‘Made a Bad Track Worse’

Revisions to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval have sparked debate among NASCAR drivers. As Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) unveiled modifications to the track just before the Bank of America ROVAL 400, drivers voiced strong opposition to the changes. Riley Herbst, a driver in the Xfinity Series, laid bare his frustrations.

“I don’t know if you’ve seen it but they’ve taken a really bad race track and made it worse. That’s not good English but that’s how I feel about it. I’d feel better if it were the old layout but the new Turn 7 is dismal,” he said via Sportsnaut.com.

The Roval made its debut in 2018, introducing a half-oval, half-road course into the NASCAR circuits. Throughout its history, the track has remained a point of contention, facing criticism from drivers despite the promotional efforts by NASCAR and track owners, SMI, to lighten its appeal.

The recent changes aim to increase fan engagement by making the track more exciting, particularly given its role in an elimination round. However, the alterations have been met with skepticism from seasoned drivers who describe the changes as chaotic.

Denny Hamlin, a respected figure and co-owner of 23XI Racing, expressed his dissatisfaction with the track’s latest iteration, equating the sharper, tighter corners to those at the LA Coliseum.

“They’ve made the changes with the intention of fostering chaos,” he said, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports. “You’re going to have to convince me otherwise of that.

“They make corners sharper and tighter. It was tighter in Turn 7 anyway, but now they made it to a point.

“So instead of you driving the normal optimum line to make this corner that is really really tight, tighter than the (LA) Coliseum.”

The revised Roval track, extended slightly to 2.32 miles, now features a wider Turn 1 and a newly redesigned hairpin Turn 7, among other tweaks. These changes, intended to create more passing opportunities, also come with increased risks. The new layout includes longer braking zones that heighten the chances of dangerous overtakes and collisions, especially into Turn 7.

Alex Bowman commented on these challenges.

“I’ve just run it at the sim, but yeah, Turn 6 is like 100 percent blind. You can’t see it until you’re there, which is pretty interesting. At least in the sim, your lift mark is before you can see the corner, so that’s definitely different. And Turn 7 is like making a U-turn on a one-way street, so it’s going to be chaos, for sure.”

As the final race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the Bank of America ROVAL 400 carries immense pressure for drivers shooting for a spot in the Round 8. This urgency amplifies the potential for aggressive driving, a concern not lost on the drivers or the race organizers.

Despite the outcry, the event is set to continue on the reconfigured Roval, promising fans an exciting spectacle. The likelihood of late-race cautions, due to the track’s dangerous characteristics, could indeed deliver an exciting conclusion to the race.