Drivers expect chaos at Charlotte
NASCAR to try out “Roval” track
CONCORD, N.C. — If there was just one race to watch the entire NASCAR season it would be the one on Charlotte’s new-fangled “roval” thing.
NASCAR has claimed the “best drivers in the world” and they are on display Sunday on a bonus day on network NBC at the same time as the NFL. Come watch them try to conquer Charlotte Motor Speedway, a mystery track where seasons are on the line because four drivers will be bounced from the 16-driver playoff field.
Add in a desperate freeagent season in which a slew of veterans are hunting the very few available jobs. Times are tough in NASCAR and jobs are going to cheaper, younger drivers, so everyone needs a good race Sunday to show they are worthy of a seat.
And so they get the roval, the brainchild of Marcus Smith and Speedway Motorsports Inc., and this track has vexed these drivers.
Well done, scream the fans, energized because this roval is something new.
“We need to take more risks,” roared retired fivetime champion Jeff Gordon, now a television analyst who has taken an active role in stopping NASCAR’s spiral.
“We need to step outside of that comfort zone and take more risks. There’s a potential for Sunday to be a big day.”
Smith has gone outside the box because he’s got a boring 1.5-mile speedway. The roval, good or bad, is his baby. It’s already a success because fans are genuinely giddy about Sunday, in part