Ready or not, the Roval is here.
Cup teams will get to compete in the inaugural Bank of America Roval 400 this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
It’s the third and final road course race of the season and represents the end of the first round of the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the playoff drivers who are hot and cold entering the highly anticipated race.
Who is Hot
Brad Keselowski
• Finished 9th at Richmond (3rd in Stage 1, 5th in Stage 2, 67 laps led); slow pit stop after coming in 3rd on Lap 104 due to front tire carrier dropping a tire
• Finished top 10 in the last 4 races and 5 of the last 6
• Finished in top 2 in 4 of last 6 races
• Advanced to Round of 12 for 5th consecutive season
• Never won on a road course in Cup
• Finished outside the top-10 in the last three road course starts
Kevin Harvick
• Finished 2nd at Richmond (2nd in Stage 1, 2nd in Stage 2, 40 laps led)
• Finished in top 10 in 9 of last 10 races
• Finished in top 5 in 3 of last 4 races
• Won 7 of last 27 races
• Two career road course wins
• Finished in top 10 in 8 of last 9 road course races
Aric Almirola
• Finished 5th at Richmond (6th in Stage 1, 3rd in Stage 2, 1 lap led)
• Finished 6th or better in 2 straight races. His sixth (Las Vegas) and fifth (Richmond) combined for an avg finish of 5.5, tying his career-best for consecutive races.
• Last 10 races: 5 top 10s and 5 finishes of 14th or worse
• One top 10 in 15 career road course starts (2018 Sonoma – 8th)
Kyle Busch
• Won at Richmond (13th in Stage 1, 11th in Stage 2, 92 laps led); started in rear after fixing damage from qualifying (unapproved adjustment)
• Finished top 10 in 4 straight races and 9 of last 10 races
• Won 7 of last 22 races
• Advanced to Round of 12 for 5th consecutive season
• Finished in Top 5 in 11 of last 16 races
• Finished in the Top 5 in 18 of 28 races this season
• Four career road course wins (leads active drivers)
• Finished top 10 in 8 straight road course races
Martin Truex Jr.
• Finished 3rd at Richmond (1st in Stage 1, 1st in Stage 2, 163 laps led); penalized for uncontrolled tire on Lap 202 after coming in 1st
• Finished 3rd in back-to-back races
• Advanced to Round of 12 for 4th consecutive season (has clinched on points)
• Finished in the Top 5 in 12 of last 18 races
• Three career road course wins (2nd among active drivers)
• Finished top 2 in the last three road course races, average finish of 1.3
Who is Cold
Denny Hamlin
• Finished 16th at Richmond (9th in Stage 1, 15th in Stage 2)
• Finished 16th or worse in the last two races
• Last 7 races: 3 top 10s and 4 finishes of 13th or worse
• One career road course win (2016 Watkins Glen)
• Finished in top 10 in 5 of last 6 road course races, top 5 in four of those six
Erik Jones
• Finished 11th at Richmond (7th in Stage 1, 17th in Stage 2); penalty for removing equipment on Lap 104 after pitting from 7th
• Finished 11th or worse in the last two races
• Finished top 10 in 9 of last 13 races
• Finished in top 10 in 3 of 4 career road course starts
Kurt Busch
• Finished 18th at Richmond (5th in Stage 1, 14th in Stage 2); fell to 2 laps down when caution came out for Jeffrey Earnhardt spin on Lap 326 during green flag stops
• Finished 18th or worse in the last two races
• One career road course win (2011 Sonoma)
• Finished top-10 4 straight road course races and 10 of last 12
Alex Bowman
• Finished 12th at Richmond (8th in Stage 1, 6th in Stage 2, 1 lap led)
• Finished 12th or worse in 4 straight races and 14th or worse in 5 of last 7
• One top 10 in 6 career road course starts (2018 Sonoma – 9th)