ROVAL Rallies

BOFA 400:

Once again the Charlotte ROVAL did not disappoint. Plenty of action packed racing, hard fought battles to advance, drama, pissed off drivers, and a miraculous drive to the win by Kyle Larson.

Let's start with the high point drama: Harvick v. Elliott. To start, I thought they had put Bristol behind them or at least wouldn't let it directly impact their respective races through the playoffs this year. Sure, they would make each others lives a living hell on the track, but that's just racing. Yet, Harvick proved us all wrong by intentionally dumping Chase Elliott with nearly 60 laps to go in the race. To this point, each driver was sitting in a fine spot, Elliott more likely to advance, but Harvick was having a respectable day and maximizing his stage points to advance AND making Chase's life hard. However, he had the chance and took it putting Chase into the wall right before the entered what is oval turn 1. Immediately I thought it was intentional, immediately so did many others. I watched the replay and thought maybe Harvick got back to the gas quicker than Chase - throttle sound from replays did not make it seem like it was accidental but I am also not behind the wheel. Chase and the 9 team, rightfully pissed, plotted their revenge once they could catch back up to the 4 car. Before that, they had repairs to make and a playoff to salvage both of which they did thankfully to their rear bumper cover coming off and forcing NASCAR into the caution. (We could debate that all day, but it is what it is at this point). Chase started making his way back through the field - somehow with that car - and was looking pretty to advance. Then he started to catch Harvick and I sat up on the couch waiting to see the retaliation. Before that could happen Harvick made an error I never expected him to make - he over drove turn 1 and planted his car head first into the wall. Hopefully, for both teams, this puts an end to the drama.

Now for the rest of the race: before Chase was wrecked I thought for sure he was going to win. He was fast, he was daring, and Alan had the car tuned to perfection. Yet, as the race continued to play out it was obvious Byron, Reddick, Kyle Busch and Hamlin would be factors - especially once Bowman (who has run well on the ROVAL in the past) and Larson (who wins everything) had electrical issues. However, the racing gods had other plans. Because of Chase's wreck and bumper cover coming off later causing a caution, the race flipped. It put Larson back in contention with the aforementioned players - and saved Chase's playoff chances. That caution and some intense racing set up Harvick's wreck, which set up more insane battles throughout the field. All in all it led to Larson being very aggressive on what would be the final restart and placed him in Victory Lane. Again, the ROVAL, in my opinion, did not disappoint. What I was once skeptical about is a top race of the year the past several years and a configuration I hope Marcus Smith and the SMI folks keep in place.

Drive for a Cure 250:

No shocker at all for me in this race. It was, as I believe all ROVAL races have been, entertaining and intense. However, as no surprise, AJ Allmendinger won another road course race cementing his place as one of the best to ever do it in NASCAR - especially the Xfinity Series. It was a 3-peat for him on the ROVAL - no easy feat for anyone - but he seemed to just walk away with the win. The arguable highlight of the day was Bilicki busting through the back chicane area after losing his breaks and tearing up the curbing. After Indy I am not entirely sure what the curbing was there for in the first place, but Bilicki found it and ripped his car to shreds. And my only "complaint" of the day was Ty Gibbs having brake issues - I was hopeful to see him duke it out with AJ for the win.

Up Next: Texas!

It's not secret Texas has been boring as hell the last several years. They are switching out PJ1 for resin in hopes of having better action on track - and I hope it works because otherwise we will be in for another abysmal 500 miler on Sunday. Resin or not, PJ1 or not, it's hard to think anybody can beat Kyle Larson (or any HMS car) with the 550 HP package, but I think Denny Hamlin punches his ticket to the Championship 4 and keeps his streak of winning the first race of each round alive. Let's hope the resin makes a difference and we see intense action packed racing this weekend. Below are my other picks for the weekend:

• Cup Winner - Denny Hamlin

• Cup Darkhorse - Austin Dillon

• Xfinity Winner - Daniel Hemric

• Xfinity Darkhourse - Kaz Grala

Also! Do not forget to tune into the F1 race this weekend at COTA. I know it clashes with the Cup race, but I am excited to have F1 back in the United States and will proudly cheer on McLaren for the win!

Header Photo: Jim Dedmond, USA Today Sports