NASCAR: Is the Roval as big a ‘wild card’ as Daytona, Talladega?

Is the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on the same “wild card” level in NASCAR as Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway?

Prior to the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series and Cup Series races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval back in September of 2018, two tracks on the schedule had been considered “wild card” race tracks.

Those two tracks were the superspeedways, Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, due to the pack racing that goes on there as a result of the packages that are used.

But the 17-turn, 2.28-mile (3.669-kilometer) Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in Concord, North Carolina quickly shot itself into the “wild card” discussion with the crazy races it produced in 2018, and it solidified its position in that discussion last year as well.

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We spoke to Gray Gaulding, who is slated to compete in both the Xfinity Series race and the Cup Series race at the track this weekend, about whether or not the Charlotte Motor Speedway belongs in the same category of the two superspeedways in terms of being a “wild card” race.

“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation during a Q&A session hosted by Panini America, the primary sponsor to whom he gives tons of credit for getting him to where he is today. “It’s hard not to put the Roval in that category and the reason why is because the Roval is one of those tracks, there’s not a whole lot of passing zones. You can get yourself in trouble very quick.

“And another thing is when you come out of, I think it’s turn 7, when you go up on the banking in 1 and 2, right before you get on the backstretch hairpin, think about it, you’re running 150 miles per hour and you gotta get down to 30 miles per hour getting into the corner.

“So if you overstep your boundary or overstep and cross the line as far as driving in the corner, you’ll wheelhop and you either put it in the wall or you’re going to get a penalty.”

He discussed his approach in terms of racing against the playoff drivers in both series, something that he has had to be mindful of in the past.

“I think for me this weekend I’m just going to let it all hang out,” he said. “I’m not running for points, but also, you gotta respect the guys running for points. But I put myself in their shoes, that’s a nail biter race…you got Kyle Busch, the defending champ, 21 points out. He’s gonna have to go get stage wins, stage points and probably win the race.

“So there’s a lot of pressure that goes into that race, just with points, not counting that it’s a road course. Another thing, it’s very hard on equipment. If you hit a curb too much, I mean, I watched the race last night to get studied up for this weekend, there are guys breaking track bars. A track bar, one of the commentators said it, can hold 26,000 pounds of force on a track bar, and they were breaking — multiple guys broke [them].

“So the driver has to make sure they do their job, but also there’s a lot of pressure on the team to make sure every nut and bolt is perfect because it can make or break your race. So I think for those guys, a lot of pressure, so for you fans, it’s going to be fun to watch. I know it is going to be for me, even though I’m driving, it’s going to be a lot of fireworks, there’s no doubt.”

Gaulding would put the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on another level when compared to the other road courses on the schedule.

He considered including the Daytona International Speedway road course on that level, but with that track, which replaced Watkins Glen International due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions this season, only slated to host next year’s Clash as opposed to a points race, he decided against it.

“Yeah,” he said when asked if the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval stands above the other road courses on the schedule in terms of it being a “wild card” race.

“You know, I would say now, but looking at the schedule for next year, I would’ve said Daytona…I didn’t run it this year, but I couldn’t imagine just going into turn one and saying ‘Alright, green green green, here you go, no practice, no nothing’, so I think that was tough. But since the schedule, looking at it now, the Roval is just, it’s very tight, very confined, there’s not a lot of room. And like I said, if you make one mistake, you’re in the tire barriers.

“And luckily, Chase Elliott got away with one last year. When he overdrove the corner, he hit the tires instead of the barrier, which if he would’ve hit the barrier, he would’ve been done. But he was able to at least manage and come back, and obviously he won the race. So I would put it, it’s a tough race — Daytona, Talladega and then the Roval — that trio right there stands alone for sure.”

Gaulding has made one start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, with that coming last September in the Xfinity Series race. He finished in 29th place.

The Xfinity Series race, the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, and the Cup Series race, the Bank of America ROVAL 400, are set to be broadcast live from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET this afternoon and 2:30 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon, respectively.