The high-speed excitement of Talladega racing is in the books for this season. The race weekend at ‘Dega saw history being made as all three Series had first-time winners at the same track. That’s never happened before in the history of NASCAR. Now, trade in the superspeedway style of pack racing for a bumping and banging road course event as the Cup Series runs the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It’s no surprise that the odds list is topped with a favorite that has had amazing success at the Charlotte ROVAL. Chase Elliott comes in at +170 all by himself with the next nearest driver, Kyle Larson, at +400. Oddsmakers have Elliott is in this position because of his record on the ROVAL. Oddsmakers have Larson behind him because of his overall record and performance during this season. More on these two drivers below.

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The excitement is locked in this week as this is the final race in the Round of 12 for Cup Series drivers. Four drivers will be trimmed from the Playoff list and one of those near the cut-line is Chase Elliott. Last year’s race was amazingly clean for a road course event. Out of 38 cars in the field, there were 32 on the lead lap when the checkered flag flew. Only two drivers, Timmy Hill and Brennan Poole failed to make it to the end and neither was due to a wreck. They both pulled behind the wall due to mechanical issues.

At the same time, there were plenty of issues with cars bumping and grinding during the race. Many fans now see road course racing as being as exciting as the high-banked turns of Bristol Motor Speedway. The 2020 event had 9 cautions for 16 laps.

Chevrolet has the last two wins on the ROVAl with both at the hands of Elliott and he’s the favorite to win the Bank of America ROVAL 500 outright according to Intertops.

Chase Elliott +170

Kyle Larson +400

Martin Truex Jr +650

Kyle Busch +1000

Christopher Bell +1100

Chase Elliott is the only driver of the five listed above that has won on the road course (ROVAL) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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Bank of America ROVAL 400 Preview

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Type: 2.99-mile asphalt road course with 17 turns.

Race Distance: 109 laps / 252.88 miles (399.9 KM)

Defending track winner: Chase Elliott

TV/Radio: NBCS / PRN

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2021 Bank of America ROVAL Predictions

Chase Elliott +170

Chase Elliott has won the last two NASCAR Cup Series races on the Charlotte ROVAL. One of those came dramatically after he missed the braking zone in the first turn which caused him to drive nose-first into a tire barrier. Then, he raced back to the front after many counted him out, and he won the race. Last year he was the front car for 27 of the 109 laps run. Elliott has won seven road course races in his Cup Series career.

Ryan Blaney +2200

Before Chase Elliott made the ROVAL his playground, it was Ryan Blaney who claimed the checkered flag. He won the first race on the course in 2018 when the two lead cars in front of him wrecked each other heading towards the checkered flag. Blaney had put himself into a position to take the win in case something happened and it did. That’s an amazing skill when it comes to racing road courses.

Martin Truex Jr +650

Martin Truex Jr is not thought of as the best road course racer due to his skills on speedways of 1-2 miles where he has 18 Cup Series wins. But he also has four road course wins on his Cup Series resume. He also has several wins this season but he’s not locked into the next round.

Others to Consider: This is the last chance for Kevin Harvick (+2500) to make it to the next round of the Cup Series Playoffs. Heading into the weekend he is below the cutline. Harvick needs a clean race with some Stage points, other playoff drivers to have a bad day, and a top-five finish or a win. I’m going to take a look at Christopher Bell (+1100) as he always seems to be around when road course races finish.

Cup Series Playoff Standings

No. 1 Denny Hamlin

No. 2 Kyle Larson

No. 3 Joey Logano

No. 4 Brad Keselowski

No. 5 Martin Truex Jr.

No. 6 Ryan Blaney

No. 7 Chase Elliott

No. 8 Kyle Busch

Below Cutline after Talladega

No. 9 Kevin Harvick

No. 10 Christopher Bell

No. 11 William Byron

No. 12 Alex Bowman

NASCAR Handicapping Tips and Strategies

2021 Bank of America ROVAL 400 Betting Lines

Chase Elliott +170

Kyle Larson +400

Martin Truex Jr +650

Kyle Busch +1000

Christopher Bell +1100

Denny Hamlin +1200

AJ Allmendinger +1400

William Byron +1400

Ryan Blaney +2200

Kurt Busch +2500

Kevin Harvick +2500

Joey Logano +2500

Alex Bowman +2800

Chase Briscoe +3300

Ross Chastain +4000

Brad Keselowski +5000

Matt Dibenedetto +6600

Tyler Reddick +8000

Ryan Preece +10000

Chris Buescher +10000

Michael McDowell +10000

Justin Haley +12500

Austin Dillon +15000

Erik Jones +15000

Daniel Suarez +15000

Aric Almirola +20000

Cole Custer +20000

Ricky Stenhouse Jr +25000

Ryan Newman +30000

Darrell Wallace Jr. +30000

Corey Lajoie +50000

Joey Hand +100000

Anthony Alfredo +150000

Cody Ware +150000

Kyle Tilley +150000

Quinn Houff +150000

Josh Bilicki +150000

Garrett Smithley +150000

Timmy Hill +150000