Denny Hamlin makes case for getting rid of Charlotte ROVAL as NASCAR playoff race

Denny Hamlin believes that the Charlotte ROVAL should no longer be part of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin made the case for NASCAR not to have the road course as one of the 10 playoff races.

“If this is on the oval, can you tell me who’s going to win on the (Charlotte) oval?” Hamlin asked. “I don’t think so. The [Coca-Cola] 600 was widely entertaining. The mile-and-a-half product with this car is amazing. I’m fairly certain that [the ROVAL] is on the schedule simply because it’s SMI’s (Speedway Motorsports) date.”

Hamlin then said that NASCAR wants a road course race in the playoffs. And with SMI having a date in October each year, Hamlin said, “I don’t know that they have a choice but to run the ROVAL.” Hamlin also said that SMI doesn’t own any of the road courses, but then corrected himself and said the company does own Sonoma.

Denny Hamlin wants the Charlotte oval to be part of the NASCAR playoffs

When it comes to the road courses, Hamlin said that they have been “proven to be very difficult” on the NextGen car, in terms of passing. “The right thing to do is to put us on the oval,” Hamlin stated. “…I beleive that if SMI and or NASCAR wants an instant bump in ratings and in ticket sales, in 2026, they announce, ‘We’re going to be racing in Charlotte in October, but we’re going to be racing left turns.’ I think your fan sentiment would go up.”

The ROVAL began in 2018 and has been part of the playoffs for the last eight seasons. Jeff Gluck of The Athletic created a poll for the ROVAL, asking fans if it was a good race. out of the nearly 19,000 fans who voted, only 56.5 percent said yes.

For the 2026 season, the ROVAL is set to take place on Oct. 11, and it will likely be the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12. Hamlin is hoping that NASCAR makes the adjustment of having just oval tracks as part of the playoffs, but there have been talks about changing the entire playoff format. It will be interesting to see what happens with the race and playoffs in the next couple of years.