Shane van Gisbergen seeks to win his fifth consecutive Cup road course race Sunday at the Charlotte Roval.
That would put him one behind Jeff Gordon for most consecutive road course victories in series history.
Sunday’s race also will cut the playoff field from 12 to eight. Three-time Cup champion Joey Logano, who won last year’s title, holds the final transfer spot. Among those below the cutline are 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.
Pre-race coverage on USA Network begins at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
With help from Racing Insights, here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup drivers and teams heading to Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval.
23XI Racing — Good news: Tyler Reddick ranks second among playoff drivers in points scored (166) on road courses this season. … Reddick has 16 top 10s on road courses in the Next Gen era, tying him with Chris Buescher for most in the series. … Bubba Wallace has two top 10s in the last three races at the Roval. … Riley Herbst’s 22nd-place finish at Kansas gives him three consecutive top-25 results, a feat he has done two other times this season. Bad news: Both Bubba Wallace (-26) and Tyler Reddick (-29) are below the cutline heading into Sunday’s elimination race. … Wallace has finished outside the top 25 in four of the last seven races. … Reddick has seven finishes of 15th or worse in the last 10 races.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Todd Gilliland’s 12th-place finish at Kansas gives him three top 20s in the last six races. Bad news: Noah Gragson has not finished better than 23rd in two starts at the Roval. … Zane Smith has finished 27th or worse in four of the last six races.
The Front Row Motorsports driver walked away after his car rode the wall on its left side for several hundred feet.
Haas Factory Team — Good news: Of Cole Custer’s two top-10 finishes this season, one came on a road course (eighth at Mexico City). Bad News: Custer has started outside the top 25 in six of the last eight races.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Kyle Larson led 62 of 109 laps in winning last year’s Roval race. … Chase Elliott’s average finish of 7.7 is the best among all drivers who have made at least four starts at the Roval. … Elliott has three top-five finishes in the last four races. … William Byron has finished in the top three in the last two races at the Roval. … Alex Bowman’s average finish of 15.0 on road courses is his best of all track types. Bad news: The organization has yet to win on a road course this season after winning at least one such race each of the previous seven seasons. … Bowman has placed 26th or worse in four of the last six races. … Kyle Larson has an average finish of 31.0 on road courses this season, worst among full-time drivers.
While Chase Elliott celebrated his win, other drivers left Kansas frustrated.
Hyak Motorsports — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 16th at the Roval last year, his best result in seven starts there. Bad news: Stenhouse Jr.’s best finish on a road course this season is 18th.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Chase Briscoe is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all five playoff races this season. … Christopher Bell is the last driver to win a Cup road course race not named Shane van Gisbergen, taking the checkered flag at COTA in March. … Bell has finished in the top five in five of the last six road course races, including three runner-up results and a win. … Bell has scored top-10 finishes in each of the last four playoff races. … Bell has finished third or better in 10 of 31 races this year. … Ty Gibbs has five top-five finishes in the last 12 road course races. Bad news: Denny Hamlin has one top 10 in seven Roval starts. … Hamlin has two top 10s in 21 road course races in the Next Gen era. … Briscoe’s average finish of 23.8 at the Roval is his worst among active road courses.
Chase Elliott beat Denny Hamlin by .069 seconds at Kansas Speedway.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: AJ Allmendinger won the 2023 Cup race at the Royal. … Allmendinger has finished in the top six in the last three races at the Roval, giving him the longest top-10 streak there in the series. … Allmendinger’s average finish of 11.2 at the Roval is his second best among active tracks. … Ty Dillon’s 13th-place finish last weekend at Kansas was his best result since placing eighth at Atlanta in late June. Bad news: Dillon has not placed better than 15th in 30 Cup road course starts.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: John Hunter Nemechek finished sixth in June at Mexico City for his best result on a road course. Bad news: Nemechek has not finished better than 32nd in two Cup starts at the Roval. … Erik Jones has placed 30th or worse in four of his seven Roval starts.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch’s two top-five finishes this season came at road courses (fifth at COTA and fifth at Chicago Street Race). … Busch has three top-five finishes in seven starts at the Roval. … Busch is set to pass Terry Labonte for most Cup road course starts at 64. Bad news: Busch has one top-15 finish in the last 10 races. … Austin Dillon has not finished better than 10th in 44 Cup road course races.
Andy Street takes over the No. 8 while Randall Burnett will continue to work with the team before moving to Trackhouse Racing to be Connor Zilisch’s crew chief after this season.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Cody Ware finished seventh in 2020 in an Xfinity race at the Roval for his best finish at that track in any of the national series. Bad news: Ware finished last at Kansas, the ninth time he has failed to finish a race.
RFK Racing — Good news: Chris Buescher has 16 top 10s on road courses in the Next Gen era, tying him with Tyler Reddick for most in the series. … Buescher has three top 10s in the last four starts at the Roval. Bad news: Brad Keselowski has one finish better than 14th in seven starts at the Roval. … Keselowski has finished 31st or worse in two of the last three road course races. … Ryan Preece has eight consecutive finishes of 13th or worse.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Two of Justin Haley’s six career top-five finishes in Cup were on road courses. … Michael McDowell has four top 15s in the last six races. … McDowell has 12 top 10s in 22 road course starts in the Next Gen era. Bad news: Carson Hocevar has finished 32nd or worse in three of the last four road course races.
NASCAR cites Carson Hocevar for his actions after he was involved in a crash at Kansas.
Team Penske — Good news: Joey Logano ranks first in the series in defending his position on a road course, according to Racing Insights. … Logano has won six playoff elimination races, most among current playoff drivers. … Logano has six top-10 finishes in seven starts at the Roval, most among all drivers. … Ryan Blaney has one win, two top fives and five top 10s in seven Roval starts. Bad news: Logano is the final transfer spot heading into Sunday’s elimination race, holding a 13-point advantage on Ross Chastain. … Logano’s only road course win came in 2015 at Watkins Glen. … Austin Cindric ranks last in the playoff standings, 48 points below the cutline, putting him in a must-win situation at the Roval. … Cindric has five finishes of 17th or worse in the last six races. … Cindric has not finished better than 16th in any of the five road course races this season.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Shane van Gisbergen has won the past four road course races. … van Gisbergen has an average finish of 2.0 on road courses this season. … van Gisbergen has led 52% of the laps run on road courses this season. … Two of van Gisbergen’s four wins on road courses were by more than 10 seconds (11.1 seconds at Watkins Glen and 16.5 seconds at Mexico City. … van Gisbergen finished 10th last weekend at Kansas, his first top 10 at an oval in Cup. … Trackhouse placed all three cars in top 10 for the first time in a Cup race at Wakins Glen, the most recent road course event (van Gisbergen won, Daniel Suarez was seventh and Ross Chastain was 10th). Bad news: Chastain has only one top 10 in six starts at the Roval. … Chastain’s average finish of 24.0 at the Roval is the worst among active road courses. … Suarez has nine DNFs, tied with Cody Ware for most in the season.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Josh Berry has started 13th or better in each of the last six races. Bad news: Berry has finished 30th or worse in five of the last eight races. … The Wood Brothers last won a road course race in 1977 with David Pearson at Riverside.
