CONCORD, N.C. – It took less than two hours for the stars of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series to find a flaw in the track design for the 2.28-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL during Tuesday’s Test Fest.
Multiple drivers cut the backstretch chicane during the morning portion of the nine-hour open test session by simply rolling over the rumble strips laid down before the entrance to oval turn three, forcing NASCAR and CMS officials to add two additional rows of rumble strips and a tire barrier to stop the practice.
The pass over the rumble strips allowed drivers to shorten the track distance before hitting the banking, scrubbing off lap time without diminishing their speed.
Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman, who also unveiled his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride for the upcoming Eldora Speedway event during the day, spoke about the backstretch alterations during his media availability following the truck reveal.
“The changes on the backstretch were just to keep everybody honest and keep everybody on the line that was defined [by] putting the tire barriers out there and all that stuff,” said Newman. “It is what it is.
“I hope it doesn’t change for the sake of us having the same opportunity as the guys next week at the test, but it’s been a learning experience for me all day.”
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was in favor of the changes made by NASCAR and track officials, citing a “natural flow” of the race course that drivers were ignoring by cutting the back chicane.
“We need to run the course like it’s designed to be run and right now you’re just looking at areas you can cheat it. The guys that cheat it run way faster,” noted Hamlin. “There was made to be a chicane to slow us down. [The change made] is going to make us respect that corner.”
– Though he wasn’t allowed to test on Tuesday at Charlotte due to his status as a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, Daniel Hemric was still on hand at the track soaking in knowledge and notes from his RCR teammate Newman.
Hemric will run double-duty during Bank of America ROVAL 400 weekend in September, piloting his usual No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series as well as wheeling the No. 8 Chevrolet in the Cup Series.
“I’m just trying to build my mental notebook to get as acclimated as I can be,” Hemric said on Tuesday. “I think it’s just a very technical track – not from a shifting standpoint, but just how close you are with everybody with no margin for error. If you make mistakes, you could struggle to recover from them. It’s going to be survival of the fittest.
“It’s going to be a crazy show. Guys are going to be pushed to race the race track. If I wasn’t running a double with the Xfinity and the Cup cars, I’d be in the grandstands watching it.”
Hemric also spoke at the driver’s meeting prior to the racing program for the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout, which followed Tuesday’s test and took place in the evening on the frontstretch quarter-mile oval.
– Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson agreed with Hemric’s assessment about the ROVAL race setting up as a battle of attrition after spending time out on-track in his No. 48 Chevrolet.
Though Johnson is an eight-time Charlotte winner on the traditional 1.5-mile oval, he was as green as anyone else at Tuesday’s open test session on the combined ROVAL layout.
“I think surviving (is the biggest challenge),” Johnson said. “There are a lot of areas to make a mistake. It’s going to be tough with 40 cars on the track. I think survival will be the biggest hurdle to clear.”
– In preparation for Tuesday’s test session, speedway operations and track services staff logged, 4,500 hours of work to prepare the 2.28-mile, 17-turn course.
The speedway utilized more than 2,000 gallons of white paint; 81,500 tires for barriers; 346 pieces of T-Lok barriers; 164 pieces of blue rumble strip; 275 pieces of red and white rumble strip; and 1,756 asphalt anchors and bolts in creating the ROVAL course.
– Tuesday’s open test session featured free admission to fans who wanted to watch the action, with a healthy crowd of fans taking in the sights and sounds of the ROVAL for the first time.
