Four drivers will be eliminated in the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend as the Round of 12 comes to a conclusion on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.  Ryan Blaney automatically advanced to the Round of 8 in Cup with his Talladega victory on Sunday while Cole Custer has already done the same on the Xfinity side.

TWICE AS NICE

Ford is coming off a successful weekend at Talladega Superspeedway with victories in both series races.  Brett Moffitt, making his first start of the season in a second Ford F-150 for Front Row Motorsports, captured the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday while Ryan Blaney won a thriller for his third career Cup win at the track.  That marks the second time in 2023 Ford has taken the checkered flag on the same weekend in both series with the first coming at Charlotte Motor Speedway when Ben Rhodes and Blaney accomplished the sweep.

BLANEY TIED WITH THE KING

In addition to being Blaney’s third career win at Talladega, it also marked his ninth series victory which ties him with Richard Petty on Ford’s all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list. The King ran the 1969 season with Ford and won nine times, including the debut event at Dover Motor Speedway. Additionally, Petty won twice at Martinsville and once at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC.

CURRENT CUP PLAYOFF STANDINGS

The Round of 12 concludes on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski looking to join fellow Ford driver Ryan Blaney in the Round of 8. Here’s where all three contenders sit going into the weekend.

2nd – Ryan Blaney (Clinched spot in Round of 8)

5th – Chris Buescher (+19)

8th – Brad Keselowski (+2)

NOTE: The top 8 drivers will advance after Charlotte

BUESCHER’S ROAD RECORD

Chris Buescher’s impressive streak of top-10 finishes on road/street courses ended at eight after finishing one position shy at Indianapolis, but he started a new one with a seventh-place run the following week at Watkins Glen.  Going into this weekend at the Roval, Buescher’s average finish is a sparkling 7.3 in those events and he’s coming off finishes of third and sixth in his last two Roval starts.

2023 Watkins Glen – P7

2023 Indy – P11

2023 Chicago – P10

2023 Sonoma – P4

2023 COTA – P8

2022 Roval – P6

2022 Watkins Glen – P9

2022 Indy – P10

2022 Road America – P6

2022 Sonoma – P2

KESELOWSKI HANGING ON

Brad Keselowski comes into Sunday’s Roval race with nine top-10 finishes in the last 13 races, but he got collected in a multi-car accident in the latter stages at Talladega and finds himself holding the eighth and final transfer spot by two points. Keselowski’s best finish on the Roval course came in 2019 when he was fifth, but led 29 laps in the inaugural race in 2018 before an accident ended his day six laps from the finish.

BLANEY CAPTURES INAUGURAL CUP ROVAL RACE

The debut of the Charlotte Roval didn’t disappoint as Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. wrecked each other in the final chicane heading to the checkered flag, allowing Ryan Blaney to sneak past both and win the inaugural Bank of America Roval 400. Blaney put himself in position to win thanks to some sound strategy that enabled him to stretch his fuel mileage and win Stage 2. He found himself in 25th place with 38 laps to go after a trip to pit road, but cycled his way back up to the front before being in the right place at the right time. That capped a weekend in which Ford won the pole and race in the NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Cup Series. In five career Roval starts, Blaney has four top 10 and two top 5 finishes.

CUSTER THROUGH TO ROUND OF 8

Cole Custer will likely enjoy Saturday’s race on the Charlotte Roval a little more than usual because he’s already clinched his spot in the Round of 8. The Stewart-Haas driver goes into the race third in the standings and has enjoyed consistent success in his two series Roval starts with seventh and eighth-place finishes. Additionally, he has a ninth-place Cup finish in the inaugural race to his credit. Custer already has two road course victories this season after triumphs in Portland and Chicago.

BRISCOE WINS FIRST NXS RACE ON ROVAL

Chase Briscoe led the final 24 laps and became the first driver to win a race on the new Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval course by taking the checkered flag in the Drive for the Cure 200. The win was Briscoe’s first in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and he was able to do it thanks to a good restart with 11 laps to go. Briscoe, who had been locked in a tight battle with Daniel Hemric throughout the final stage, got the jump after the race’s fifth caution and when Hemric missed the frontstrech chicane, it gave Briscoe some extra breathing room to take the checkered flag.