Bank of America Roval 400 Preview Article (x2)

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Bank of America ROVAL 400 Preview and Best Bet

NASCAR Cup Series: Bank of America ROVAL 400
Sunday, October 10, 2021 at 1 p.m. ET at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

Playoff Update

We are currently on the third race of the second round of the playoffs, which is the Round of 12.

Still only one driver, Denny Hamlin, automatically qualified for the next round of the playoffs because a driver who is not in the playoffs won the last race.

Everything is on the line, therefore, for the remaining drivers. One could automatically secure his spot for the next round by winning Sunday's race.

The other seven will advance based on points remaining. As it stands, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Alex Bowman stand to be eliminated. But, because of how tight the standings are, every remaining driver has to be on edge.

Our betting approach should remain the same: there is no good reason to invest in Hamlin in any positive form because he has less incentive to perform well than other drivers. His claim that he will still try because he is a "professional" is just rhetoric: it's something that he has to say.

There are still 11 other drivers who have more incentive to perform well and are therefore more worth investing in. These are the 11 drivers remaining in playoff contention.

Race Info

For Sunday's race, drivers must complete a total of 109 laps.

As has nearly always been the case this season, there will be three stages for this event.

Stage 1 requires drivers to complete 25 laps. Stage 2 consists in 25 more laps. Stage 3 consists in the remaining 59 laps.

An entry list is published at the start of every week for the upcoming race. So, barring any unexpected circumstances, we already know which drivers will compete in this event.

The starting lineup, meanwhile, gets posted on Wednesday morning. Because drivers are already familiar with this track, there will not be any qualifying or practice session.

Instead, the starting lining lineup will be determined by NASCAR's usual predetermined formula.

Track Info

Charlotte's motorsport complex hosts a variety of different types of races on different courses.

For Sunday's NASCAR race, the road course, also called the "road oval" or "roval" will be in use, as it has been since 2018.

The surface of this road course is asphalt. There are 17 turns per lap.

Each lap requires 2.280 miles. So, in completing 109 laps, drivers will have accumulated approximately 248 miles or 400 km.

What is innovative about this track is that it is not simply a road course, but also an oval. So, uniquely, there is also banking here.

Each oval turn is banked at 24 degrees while the oval straightaways are banked at five degrees.

Banking helps the drivers reach higher speeds as they use it to corral more momentum for their cars.

Driver to Avoid

One driver you should avoid relying on to do well is Kyle Busch.

Since competing here for NASCAR became a possibility in 2018, he has always performed atrociously both overall and relative to his starting position.

In all three races at the Charlotte ROVAL, he failed to finish better than 30th. He also always finished at least 18 spots behind his starting position.

My Guy

Chase Elliott is the guy who people automatically think of backing on road courses because he has cultivated a reputation for thriving particularly on road courses.

This course presents no exception. He won both of his last races at Charlotte's ROVAL course. His win in 2019 was particularly impressive because he had started in 19th place. That was a very tall ladder for him to climb.

He's currently sitting in seventh place, literally on the edge of elimination.

Given his history and reputation on road courses, including on Charlotte's, you should expect him to come through in a big way.

Best Bet: Elliott to Win at +200 with Bovada
 
Bank of America ROVAL 400 Odds and Expert Picks

NASCAR Cup Series: Bank of America ROVAL 400
Sunday, October 10, 2021 at 1 p.m. ET at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

Playoff Update

Right now, we are in the second round of the playoffs, which is the Round of 12. This is the third and final race of this round.

Because a driver who is not a part of the playoffs won the last race, still only one driver, Denny Hamlin, has automatically qualified for the next round of the playoffs.

Everything is up for grabs, therefore, for the rest of the drivers. A playoff competitor could clinch his spot in the next round by winning Sunday's race.

The drivers who advance without winning Sunday's race will have to do so by having more points than the other drivers. As it stands right now, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Alex Bowman would be be eliminated.

But, because of how tight the standings are, no remaining driver (except Hamlin, of course,) can afford to feel safe.

Our betting approach should continue to account for motivation. There is no good reason to invest in Hamlin to do well because he has less incentive to perform well than the other drivers.

It is true that he said he is a "professional" and will therefore attempt to perform well. But this is just a claim that he has to make. It's just rhetoric.

There are still 11 remaining drivers who are still alive in the playoffs and who consequently have more motivation to perform well and are therefore more worth investing in.

Race Info

For Sunday's event, drivers must finish a total of 109 laps.

As has almost always been the reality this season, there will be three stages for this race.

Stage 1 consists in 25 laps. Stage 2 requires drivers to complete 25 more laps. Stage 3 consists in the last 59 laps.

An entry list is posted at the beginning of every week for the upcoming race. So, barring any unexpected circumstances, we already know which drivers will compete in this event.

As for the starting lineup, that gets posted every Wednesday morning. Because this track is already well-known to drivers, there will not be any qualifying or practice session.

Instead, NASCAR will utilize its usual predetermined formula in order to establish which drivers will start in which position.

Track Info

Charlotte's motorsport complex hosts a variety of different types of races on different courses.

Sunday's NASCAR race will be run on Charlotte's road course, which is also called the "road oval" or "roval." NASCAR has been using this specific course since 2018.

This road course has an asphalt surface. There are 17 turns per lap.

Each lap is 2.280 miles long. So, in completing 109 laps, drivers will have accumulated just about 248 miles or 400 km.

What is unique about this track is that it is not simply a road course, but also an oval in the sense that we are used to. So, this track is unique because there is also banking here.

Each oval turn has 24 degrees of banking while the oval straightaways are all banked at five degrees.

Banking is important because it helps drivers reach higher speeds as they use it to collect more momentum for their cars.

Drivers to Avoid

Even apart from the fact that he already secured his spot in the next round, Hamlin is worth going against in head-to-head betting because he has never finished stronger than 12th here.

Also avoid trusting Kyle Larson here, who has yet to figure things out at this track. In two tries, he finished 25th and then 13th.

My Guy

In terms of betting value, I think Alex Bowman is a superb pick.

He isn't getting the respect of oddsmakers despite finishing in the top eight in all three of his races here.

Bowman currently sits in 12th place and needs a big race. Expect a big day out of him.

Best Bet: Bowman to Win at +2500 with Bovada
 
I played Bell to win +1500 (small)

I am fading Keselowski today and played:

Brisco -115 vs Keselowski
Reddick +120 vs Keselowski
DiBendetto +100 vs Keselowski
 
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