Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Ended at Lap 25):
● Kevin Harvick started sixth and finished eighth to earn three bonus points.
● The No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang pitted on lap 21 for four tires and fuel. He was in second, but 10 cars did not pit so he restarted 11th.
● On the restart there was a multicar crash just behind Harvick, and as the stage ended under caution, he was eighth.
Stage 2 Recap (Ended at Lap 50):
● Harvick started sixth and finished fifth to earn six bonus points.
● The No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang advanced to second place on lap 40, 4.1 seconds behind leader Chase Elliott.
● On lap 42, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel. He restarted eighth.
● Harvick worked his way up to fifth at the end of the stage and said his car “isn’t bad.”
Stage 3 Recap (Ended at Lap 109):
● Harvick started fourth and finished third.
● The No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang was running second on a lap-64 restart when leader Elliott missed turn one and brought out a yellow. Harvick was now the leader.
● While leading, Harvick pitted on lap 75 for four tires and fuel.
● There were four cautions – on laps 90, 94, 97 and 100 – while Harvick was leading. For the first three, Harvick was able to pull away from the pack.
● Unfortunately, during the final restart on lap 103, Harvick was passed by eventual winner Elliott and runner-up Alex Bowman to finish third and advance to the Round of 12.
Notes:
● Harvick earned his 11th top-five and 20th top-10 of the season, and his first top-five and second top-10 in two career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Charlotte Roval.
● Harvick’s third-place result bettered his previous best finish at the Roval – ninth, earned last September.
● This is Harvick’s fifth consecutive top-10. He finished seventh in the series’ last race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
● Harvick led twice for 34 laps – his first laps led at the Roval.
● Elliott won the Bank of America Roval 400to score his sixth career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at the Roval. His margin of victory over second-place Bowman was 3.024 seconds.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 23 laps.
● Thirty-three of the 40 drivers in the Bank of America Roval 400finished on the lead lap.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Honestly, it was a great day for us. Without all of those cautions at the end, or one or two less, I think our Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang probably still wins the race, but I could see that 9 (Elliott) creeping in my mirror and I knew how good his car was from practice yesterday. Once he got to us, he just rolled right around the outside of us. I thought if I could just get through turn one and beat the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.), I’d be in decent shape, but the 9 was just so good, even after he crashed.”
Playoff Standings (at the conclusion of the Round of 16):
1. Kyle Busch (3,046 points)
2. Martin Truex Jr. (3,041 points, -5)
3. Denny Hamlin (3,030 points, -16)
4. Joey Logano (3,029 points, -17)
5. Kevin Harvick (3,028 points, -18)
6. Brad Keselowski (3,024 points, -22)
7. Chase Elliott (3,024 points, -22)
8. Kyle Larson (3,006 points, -40)
9. Alex Bowman (3,005 points, -41)
10. Ryan Blaney (3,004 points, -42)
11. William Byron (3,001 points, -45)
12. Clint Bowyer (3,000 points, -46)
Failed to Advance to Round of 12:
13. Aric Almirola (2,081 points)
14. Ryan Newman (2,070 points)
15. Kurt Busch (2,056 points)
16. Erik Jones (2,009 points)
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Dover 400 on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. It is the fourth race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 12. It starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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