Sunday’s race may be etched in people’s minds for quite some time. The 2025 Coca-Cola 600 was thrilling, to say the least. After Kyle Larson’s hopes for leading got dashed on lap 43, it was William Byron’s race. He led for 283 laps, but had to deal with Denny Hamlin’s incessant hounding. In the closing laps, however, Ross Chastain topped both of them for the win. As the end offered goosebumps, the Charlotte oval set off a buzz in the NASCAR championship discussions.
According to an announcement rolled out last month, NASCAR will adopt a championship venue rotation. While Phoenix Raceway, which has hosted the finale for the last 5 races, will remain in the mix, other tracks would pop up as well. Now, Sunday’s 2.28-mile crown jewel racetrack is on the cards.
NASCAR has a new Cup title contender
Well, choosing a Championship 4 venue boils down to a few criteria. First of all, weather and temperature are important. In early November, the historical high temperature in Concord, North Carolina, is 66 degrees Fahrenheit. The same goes for Las Vegas, a potential championship venue contender. That is why going back to Homestead-Miami, the former title venue, also makes sense. However, another overarching factor is the quality of racing. By the product that we saw on Sunday, Charlotte Motor Speedway can be a huge contender. Be it Denny Hamlin and William Byron putting up a close competition or Ross Chastain skyrocketing from the last to the first spot due to Phil Surgen’s pit adjustment, a lot of convincing factors emerged.
The Charlotte Roval, on the other hand, has lost a lot of its thrill since it opened in 2018. Kyle Larson won the Roval playoff race in October 2024, finishing 1.5 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell without many other contenders. In a recent episode of The Dale Jr Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr implied that NASCAR’s Roval may lose its sparkle to its oval twin. He said, “In the last decade or so…tracks don’t need two dates. There’s a lot of racetracks that have scaled back to a single date, and they’ve found success there. They’re selling more tickets. Well, Charlotte may have a fear that…in the back half of the year, one or both will suffer a bit in ticket sales ’cause people won’t go to both races. They’ll pick one…the most important one.”
You can guess which is the most important one. Indeed, the Charlotte oval is picking up popularity and might make it to NASCAR’s title race. Journalist Jordan Bianchi demands it: “Let’s be honest, the Roval, the novelty has gone. Everybody’s over it…You have to be worried about diluting the attendance for the 600, which, by the way, was a sellout again. They’ve done a great job with that. But the racing is too good to ignore. And the product is much better on the oval than the Roval. That is indisputable…A playoff race on the Charlotte oval? Give me that…Let’s extend this pretty quick – could also be a championship race…The rotation’s coming, and Charlotte should be in the conversation for that…Inject that into my veins.”
Clearly, the Charlotte spectacle is continuing to dazzle veterans. Dale Earnhardt Jr may still be star-struck by the Xfinity Series race, where his young driver made an amazing comeback.
The prodigy is back in speed
On April 26th, a JR Motorsports driver was involved in a wreck. Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 Chevrolet struck the wall after contact with Jesse Love’s No. 2 car. That left Zilisch with an injured back, and the youngster could not come back for the Rockingham race. After a long medical hiatus, Zilisch returned to his NASCAR duties at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Starting the Xfinity race in second, he ran with the leaders throughout Stage One, holding off teammate Justin Allgaier to finish second. Then the No. 88 driver survived a slew of cautions and implemented good pit strategies to maintain his pace. On the second-last restart, a car bounced into Zilisch’s left rear, causing a minor tire rub. However, Zilisch shrugged off that light misfortune and gave a good fight to William Byron to the finish.
Connor Zilisch‘s runner-up finish showcased how the young driver can perform despite the odds. He gave no rest to himself just after recovering from an injured back. Making Dale Earnhardt Jr happy, Zilisch said after the race, “I felt really good in the car, no problems at all. Second place is never fun, but I’m very grateful for my Jarrett Chevrolet team. Our car was fast, but on that last restart we had a tire rub and I don’t think that was helping us, but to come away second with some really good stage points is a good day. I am really proud of our JR Motorsports team. We executed all day long and put ourselves in position to win.”
Evidently, Dale Jr has more reasons to promote Charlotte as a NASCAR Cup Series title venue at this point. As the rotation discussions continue, let us see if the veteran’s wish comes true.
The post NASCAR Insiders Rally Behind Charlotte Motor Speedway Oval Championship Bid as Roval Novelty Fades appeared first on EssentiallySports.
