NASCAR at Charlotte: Schedule, watch info, picks for Bank of America ROVAL 400

Another elimination race is here.

Four more drivers will see their championship hopes dashed on Sunday when the Cup Series rolls into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the Round of 12 finale.

Competitors will have a unique challenge at the North Carolina track, which is dubbed the “Roval” because it uses a combination layout of Charlotte’s infield road course and traditional oval. And in 2024, the track has added some layout tweaks to the 17-turn layout that will undoubtedly impact the race.

So, who is racing in Charlotte? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And what drivers could contend for the win? Here’s everything you need to know for 2024 Bank of America ROVAL 400:

When is the NASCAR race at the Charlotte Roval?

The Bank of America ROVAL 400 is set for Sunday, Oct. 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Before the race on Sunday, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. The 38 drivers will be split into two groups (found here), with 20 minutes of practice scheduled for each.

Then, the field will compete in two-round qualifying. Here’s how it works:

• The 38 drivers will remain split into their two groups.
• First round: 15 minutes for each group. Drivers can make unlimited laps.
• The five fastest drivers from each group advance to the second round. Starting positions 11 through 38 are set based on speeds from the first round.
• Second round: 10 minutes for the 10 drivers who advanced. Drivers can make unlimited laps. The top 10 starting positions are determined based on the best single-lap speeds from the second round.

What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?

Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC with Marty Snider, Kim Coon and Dave Burns reporting from pit road. Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:

Saturday, Oct. 12 (USA Network streaming)

• Practice: 12:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
• Qualifying: 2 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app

Sunday, Oct. 13 (NBC and streaming)

• Countdown to Green: 2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports app
• Bank of America ROVAL 400: 2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports app

NASCAR Charlotte Roval entry list, drivers

Thirty-eight drivers will race in Charlotte – the 34 full-timers, plus four others.

Two Xfinity Series regulars will step up into the Cup Series on Sunday, with road course ringers A.J. Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen driving for Kaulig Racing. Then there’s part-timers Kaz Grala for Rick Ware Racing and Josh Bilicki for MBM Motorsports.

Here’s the full entry list for Charlotte:

Car number	Driver	Team	Sponsor
1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Busch Light
2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Menards
3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	BetMGM
4	Josh Berry	Stewart-Haas Racing	Bed Bath & Beyond
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	HendrickCars.com
6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Castrol
7	Justin Haley	Spire Motorsports	Mattress Warehouse
8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Lenovo
9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	UniFirst
10	Noah Gragson	Stewart-Haas Racing	Beef A Roo
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Sport Clips
12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Discount Tire
13	Shane van Gisbergen	Kaulig Racing	WeatherTech
14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford Performance
15	Kaz Grala	Rick Ware Racing	Meat N' Bone
16	A.J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Celsius
17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Fifth Third Bank
19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Bass Pro Shops
20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	DeWalt
21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	DEX Imaging
22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Shell/Pennzoil
23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Leidos
24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Valvoline
31	Daniel Hemric	Kaulig Racing	Cirkul
34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Love's Travel Stops
38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Boozy Jerky
41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	United Rentals
42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Mobil 1
43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Family Dollar
45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Monster Energy
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Harris Teeter/Totino's
48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Ally
51	Corey LaJoie	Rick Ware Racing	Schluter Systems
54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Interstate Batteries
66	Josh Bilicki	MBM Motorsports	NCSHPfoundation.org
71	Zane Smith	Spire Motorsports	Ambetter Health
77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Delaware Life
99	Daniel Suarez	Trackhouse Racing	Choice Privileges

NASCAR Charlotte Roval predictions, picks, favorites

There have been five different winners in the six races at the Roval, but a few standouts have typically dominated races.

It all starts with Elliott, who is the only two-time winner. He has an 8.2 average finish, plus a series-best 109 laps led and 111.2 driver rating in six starts. Even though he’s winless in the last three races, he’s still won a stage in two of those three events.

Beyond Elliott, the next four drivers with the best average finishes at the Roval included four playoff contenders: Bowman (6.4), Reddick (7.0), Logano (8.7) and Blaney (10.2). Bowman has never finished outside the top-10 in five starts, while Reddick has led more than 20 laps in each of the last two races.

The tricky part in picking a winner could be strategy, with playoff drivers potentially opting to chase stage points rather than the race win. With that in mind, there are a few non-playoff contenders who should be all-in trying to take the checkered flag.

Allmendinger and van Gisbergen will be at the top of everyone’s list, and for good reason. The former is the defending Roval winner, and he’s won all four of his Roval starts in the Xfinity Series. SVG, meanwhile, is always a road course threat even though he’s never raced at the Roval. He finished second at Watkins Glen last month and won the Chicago Street Race in his debut start last summer.

NASCAR Charlotte Roval winners list, race history

Five of the 38 drivers in the field are past winners at the Charlotte Roval, but only one has multiple wins.

Elliott won back-to-back races in 2019 and 2020, making him the winningest driver at the track. Blaney won the inaugural event in 2018, while other winners include Larson (2021), Bell (2022) and Allmendinger (2023).

NASCAR playoff standings, clinching scenarios for Charlotte

With Chastain and Stenhouse winning the first two races in the Round of 12, none of the playoff drivers automatically advanced to the Round of 8 with a victory. Byron is the only driver who has scored enough points to lock himself into the next round, leaving the other 11 drivers fighting for the final seven spots.

You can find a full explanation of NASCAR’s playoff format right here.

Here’s the playoff standings entering Charlotte, with the bottom four set to be eliminated unless they can win the race or gain enough points to get into the top-eight:

Rank	Driver	Points
1.	William Byron	3,122 (advanced)
2.	Christopher Bell	3,105 (+57 above the cut)
3.	Kyle Larson	3,100 (+52 above the cut)
4.	Denny Hamlin	3,078 (+30 above the cut)
5.	Alex Bowman	3,074 (+26 above the cut)
6.	Ryan Blaney	3,073 (+25 above the cut)
7.	Tyler Reddick	3,062 (+14 above the cut)
8.	Chase Elliott	3,061 (+13 above the cut)
9.	Joey Logano	3,048 (-13 below the cut)
10.	Daniel Suarez	3,041 (-20 below the cut)
11.	Austin Cindric	3,032 (-29 below the cut)
12.	Chase Briscoe	3,029 (-32 below the cut)

No matter what anyone else does, these drivers can automatically clinch a spot in the Round of 8 with the following finishes or points:

• Bell: 26th, or 11 points
• Larson: 21st, or 16 points
• Hamlin: 38 points
• Bowman: 42 points
• Blaney: 43 points
• Reddick: 54 points
• Elliott, Logano, Suarez, Cindric and Briscoe: Cannot automatically clinch without a win