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Is NASCAR’s best ready for this weekend’s Charlotte Roval race? There are plenty of storylines to keep an eye on. The playoff battle, the bubble is as hard as it has ever been. The Roval marks the final race of the round of 12. Non-playoff drivers have been the story in 2024. William Byron is the only driver of the 12 still in the running for the Championship who can breathe this weekend.
Byron locked himself into the round of 8 on points, with two non-playoff winners in the first two races of the round. That is the theme this season, non-playoff winners winning in the playoffs. That has been the case for the last several seasons. Just look at the Roval race in 2023, who won AJ Allmendinger, someone who wasn’t a playoff driver.
That however isn’t the only storyline going into the weekend, as the Charlotte Roval has plenty of new looks and features. Did I mention there is a major configuration change? It seems time for a playoff driver to win a race, doesn’t it? That isn’t a given, this weekend with so many twists and turns.
Charlotte Roval Isn’t the Same, Can a Playoff Driver Win This Time?
Four drivers will be eliminated on Sunday, and the four that sit below the line right now are Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, and Chase Briscoe. All four of those drivers could have been above the line, if not for some unfortunate circumstances at Talladega last weekend.
REPOST if you'll be watching NASCAR from the Charlotte ROVAL!
SUNDAY | 2:30ET | NBC | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/InQDBoGz9F
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 7, 2024
Those just above the cutline like Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick have both been proven road-course-winning drivers. Still, they aren’t safe, especially with the major changes to the layout of the course. The start of a lap at the Roval may seem the same, but once the drivers get to turn five, things are dramatically different. Instead of turning right at five, the straightaway is extended into a new turn six, which features a major elevation change, which also will give drivers a blind point. That could make for some issues, especially with passing. It has also made turn seven, which was tricky enough, even more tight. If they stay on the driving line, the drivers will almost have to send someone else right into the wall.
A new challenge awaits.
#BofAROVAL | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/B6YZchHqAH
— Charlotte Motor Speedway (@CLTMotorSpdwy) October 7, 2024
The last major change is the front stretch chicane, which will feature a much tighter turn 16. Expect some craziness much like the inaugural Roval was, when everyone was plowing into the turn-one wall. According to motorsport.com’s Nick DeGroot drivers have some concerns about the changes to the track including Trackhouse’s Daniel Suarez.
” This Roval race is going to be different for sure,” Suarez who is below the cutline entering the race said. ” I think the changes to the track will create passing zones. Right now, our work is in the virtual world. We are doing this on a simulator. Nobody has been running laps in real life. So we are going to find out what these changes mean on Saturday.”
Kyle Larson a former winner at the Roval in 2021, doesn’t see passing coming easy. He’s more along the lines of an equal opportunity for passing and wrecking. It’s too early to tell, but playoff drivers have their hands full this weekend.
Who Has the Best Chance Of Winning?
Sure, Larson, Elliott, Reddick maybe even Byron are probably favorites this weekend. However, there are plenty of non-playoff drivers who could easily drive to victory lane on Sunday. Last year’s winner Allmendinger is in the field this weekend. Shane van Gisbergen is also amongst the field of drivers for Sunday. We all know what he can do at the road courses. The whole new layout makes this race a wait-and-see.
My gut says, one of the playoff ace road racers can get the job done. Still, my mind says, a non-playoff driver will be the one celebrating on Sunday afternoon. I hope I’m wrong, it’s far time someone in the playoffs flexes their muscle.
More must-reads:
- NASCAR power rankings: Major top-five shake-up after Watkins Glen
- Jordan Love's thumb surgery comes at inopportune time for Packers
- The 'American League WAR leaders' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Kyle Busch’s Career Nosedive: When a Champion Becomes Just Another Driver
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Kyle Busch, once the terror of NASCAR tracks everywhere, is now serving up more disappointment than a lukewarm gas station hot dog. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is currently riding an 80-race winless streak that’s longer than some drivers’ entire careers, and frankly, watching it unfold is like witnessing a slow-motion train wreck that you can’t look away from. Remember when Kyle Busch was the guy everyone loved to hate? The villain who’d show up, dominate three different series in a weekend, and then smirk his way to Victory Lane while fans booed? Those days feel like ancient history now. His last Cup Series win came at Gateway in June 2023, which in NASCAR years might as well be the Mesozoic Era. The Numbers Don’t Lie About Kyle Busch’s Decline Let’s talk cold, hard facts because they’re more brutal than any rival’s trash talk. Last year marked the first time in 19 years that Kyle Busch failed to win a single race. That’s not just a slump, but a meteorite-sized crater in what was once a legendary career trajectory. Sure, some armchair analysts want to blame the Gen 7 car or his move from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing. But here’s the kicker: Busch managed three wins in 2023 with the same Gen 7 car while racing for RCR. So what’s the excuse now? The car didn’t suddenly forget how to go fast, and last time we checked, Richard Childress Racing still fields competitive equipment. The 40-year-old driver’s struggles aren’t just confined to Cup Series competition either. This performance decline has spread through NASCAR’s ranks like a bad virus, infecting his success in both Xfinity and Truck Series – you know, those series where he used to feast on the competition like a shark in a kiddie pool. Kyle Busch’s Lower Series Struggles Tell the Real Story Here’s where things get depressing for Rowdy Nation. In 2021, Kyle Busch was still that dominant force we remembered. He won all five of his Xfinity starts that year and took two wins in five Truck Series races, finishing runner-up in the other three. Those were the good old days when Busch showing up to a lower series race was a guaranteed victory parade. Fast forward to 2023, and the cracks started showing. Despite returning to Xfinity racing with Kaulig Racing, his winning ways decided to take an extended vacation. Four races, zero wins, and just three top-10 finishes. For a guy who used to collect Xfinity wins like Pokémon cards, going winless was more shocking than finding out your favorite driver has a personality. Wait, it gets worse. This season has been particularly cruel to Kyle Busch’s legacy. In five Truck Series appearances, he started strong with a win at Atlanta – giving fans false hope that maybe, just maybe, the old Busch was back. Spoiler alert: he wasn’t. When Steering Issues Become Career Metaphors Saturday’s performance at Watkins Glen perfectly encapsulated Kyle Busch’s current predicament. A steering issue knocked him out in the first 10 laps, resulting in his second career last-place finish. It’s almost poetic – the man who used to steer NASCAR conversations with his dominance now can’t steer his truck around a road course. With that dismal showing, Kyle Busch managed fewer than three top-five finishes in a Truck Series season for the first time since 2004. Think about that for a moment. In 2004, flip phones were still cool, Facebook was just for college kids, and Kyle Busch was just getting started in NASCAR. Twenty-one years later, he’s posting similar numbers but for entirely different reasons. The Harsh Reality Kyle Busch Must Face What makes this decline particularly fascinating in a car-crash-you-ca n’t-look-away-from sense is that it’s happening across all three major NASCAR series simultaneously. This isn’t just bad luck or a few mechanical failures – this is a systematic performance drop that suggests something fundamental has changed. The statistics paint a picture that even the most optimistic Kyle Busch fan would struggle to spin positively. When a driver who once terrorized three different series every weekend is now struggling to crack the top five in any of them, you’re not just witnessing a slump – you’re watching the potential end of an era. Final Thoughts Kyle Busch built his reputation on being the guy who could jump into anything with four wheels and make it go fast. He was NASCAR’s Swiss Army knife, equally deadly on ovals, road courses, and short tracks. Now? He’s more like a butter knife trying to cut through a steak. The saddest part isn’t just the lack of wins, but it’s also a lack of dominance. Even when Kyle Busch doesn’t win these days, he’s rarely the guy you’re watching, the driver who makes you nervous if you’re rooting for someone else. That intimidation factor that once made him NASCAR’s boogeyman has evaporated faster than water on hot asphalt. Whether this represents a temporary rough patch or the beginning of the end for one of NASCAR’s most controversial champions remains to be seen. But one thing’s for certain: the Kyle Busch who used to make winning look effortless is currently making racing look a lot harder than it used to be.
Celtics' ownership move should concern Lakers governor Jeanie Buss
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is supposed to remain in charge of the team for years even after the sale. Given what just happened with the Boston Celtics, it might only be months. When the Grousbeck family sold the Celtics for $6.1B in March, ESPN reported that Wyc Grousbeck would stay on as the Celtics CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season. Now, new owner Bill Chisholm will take over once the sale is final. That should concern current Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss, whose family sold a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to investor Mark Walter. Buss is supposed to stay on as team governor for "at least a number of years," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, but new NBA owners haven't been keen on waiting to take control of teams recently. Mark Cuban thought he would continue running the Dallas Mavericks when he sold a controlling interest to the Adelson family in November 2023. Before the end of that season, when Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, new team governor Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, was firmly in charge. General manager Nico Harrison reported directly to Dumont, which is how Luka Doncic ended up traded to the Lakers despite Cuban's objections. It might be different with the Lakers. Walter has owned a minority share in the Lakers since 2021, so he's had a working relationship with Buss. Her role as team governor may be a condition of the sale itself. With the team preparing for a long-term future with Doncic, Walter and his fellow owners might opt for continuity in the team governor role. But in general, people do not spend billions of dollars on a professional sports team so that someone else can be in charge. Buss is in charge of the Lakers now. Recent history says she won't be for long.
Perhaps Superman Paul Skenes has found his kryptonite
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes may continue to be one of the top contenders for the National League Cy Young Award, but there is one place where he has appeared mortal this season. On Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers did to Skenes what they have done to plenty of MLB pitchers in 2025 ... put up big offensive numbers. For the second time this season, Skenes also pitched in Milwaukee on June 25, the Brewers forced him from the game after just 4.0 innings on Tuesday night, logging six hits and four runs during his time on the mound. Both of those performances came at Milwaukee's home stadium (American Family Field) and both are now Skenes' shortest outings of the season. While another NL Central team has put up more runs against Skenes this season (the St. Louis Cardinals nicked him for five runs in 6.0 innings on April 8), no other team has had the same kind of success over multiple starts by Skenes in 2025 as have the Brewers inside their home stadium. In all this season, Skenes has given up 10 hits and eight runs in 8.0 innings in Milwaukee. It was his third career outing on the road against the Brewers, with his lone 2024 start representing arguably the best outing of his rookie season. On July 11, 2024, Skenes struck out 11 and didn't allow a hit over 7.0 innings as the Pirates would eventually post a 1-0 victory. Tuesday's short outing was highlighted by a pair of Milwaukee home runs, including a leadoff solo shot by Sal Frelick that quickly set the tone for the Brewers. While Milwaukee's hit parade helped raise Skenes' ERA on the season to 2.13, it's hardly any reason for concern in a season where the 23-year-old right-hander is still a heavy favorite (-600) to win the NL Cy Young Award, per BetMGM. Skenes struggling in Milwaukee is likely more yet another stamp of approval on the Brewers' potential to be a threat once the postseason arrives. With an 18-4 record since the All-Star break entering Tuesday, Milwaukee has taken over the NL Central race from the Chicago Cubs. So what's the good news for Skenes? This is Pittsburgh's last trip to Milwaukee this season and the next-to-last series for the Pirates against the red-hot Brewers. Milwaukee will visit PNC Park for a three-game series on Sept. 5-7 and, if Skenes gets a chance for revenge against Milwaukee, there couldn't be a better place for him to take the mound. This season, in 11 starts covering 68.2 innings, Skenes has a 1.70 ERA in the Steel City.
Najee Harris may have role reduced after fireworks accident
Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris still has yet to return to action after a July 4 fireworks accident, and it sounds like he does not necessarily have a job guaranteed to him when he does. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman admitted Tuesday that the team is planning a steady rotation at running back whether or not Harris is available to play in Week 1. First-round draft pick Omarion Hampton, however, is the player who has part of the rotation locked down, not Harris. The Chargers likely intended to use Harris as a part-time back no matter what. However, he certainly cannot have helped himself with his eye injury. The issue was described as superficial after it happened and Harris was expected to be ready for the season, but he is still on the non-football injury list and has yet to participate in a full practice. Harris, 27, is entering his first season with the Chargers after signing with them in March. He can earn up to $9.25 million on his one-year deal, but that will require him to remain part of the rotation with Hampton.
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