Shane van Gisbergen knows better than most how to master a road course, but even he admits the Charlotte Roval presents a different kind of challenge. Ahead of Sunday’s Round of 12 cutoff race, the Trackhouse Racing driver highlighted the curbs as the single factor that makes the 2.28-mile layout unique compared to the other road courses on the schedule.
The Roval stands as the final venue before the Round of 8, with 10 playoff drivers chasing six spots. For those below the cutline, including Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Austin Cindric, it’s a win-or-go-home scenario. The hybrid layout combines oval banking with 17 tight, technical corners and completes the six-race road and street circuit slate on the Cup calendar.
Asked how the Roval differs from the other road courses this year, van Gisbergen explained in the pre-race press conference:
"I don’t think it does. It’s got similar parts of everywhere to tracks we’ve had. I think it’s a pretty good combination of slow and high-speed corners. Probably the only thing here is the curbs. You got to have good recovery over the curbs and how quick the car settles down. That’s probably the unique thing from other tracks." [4:48 onwards]
The curbs have always been a defining feature at Charlotte. Carry too much speed and the car bounces wide, carry too little and precious tenths vanish. For playoff contenders, the wrong hit can be race-ending. Additionally, with its heavy-braking Turn 7 hairpin, off-camber Turn 6, and chicanes on both straights, it’s built to produce chaos.

Shane van Gisbergen acknowledged the oval section brings its own bite as he said:
"The oval part is only a little dodgy at turn four when you’re at full speed. It’s on the ground and on the rub blocks. It’s pretty loose the first couple of laps till they wear away. But yeah, it’s a pretty cool little track."
Both the Truck and Xfinity races this weekend reinforced just how punishing the Roval can be. Friday’s Truck race saw 12 cautions and a multi-truck pile-up in Turn 1. Saturday’s Xfinity event went into overtime and ended under yellow after 13 cautions. If Sunday follows that script, even the three-time Supercars champion won’t be immune to trouble.

Still, van Gisbergen enters with unmatched form. He has won four of the five road races so far this year - Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen - and finished sixth at COTA. His dominance has been staggering, with double-digit second-margin victories at Mexico and the Glen among the largest in recent memory.
Even so, he downplayed the Roval’s difficulty.
"Have you seen Chicago? (laughs) This is nothing compared to that and some other street tracks I’ve been to. So, this is a pretty smooth track," he added [5:45 onwards].
The Next Gen cars have been tweaked with added front downforce for road courses, creating better braking stability and improving recovery through the chicanes.
Shane van Gisbergen starts on the front row for the Roval showdown

Shane van Gisbergen’s 2025 season has already established him as NASCAR’s modern road course authority. But Saturday’s qualifying session reminded everyone he can still be beaten.
Tyler Reddick, carrying a 29-point deficit into Sunday, snatched pole with a 1:25.939s run with a top speed of 95.510 mph, edging van Gisbergen’s 95.474 lap by just 0.032 seconds. Practice also showed similar signs. AJ Allmendinger, a former Roval winner, topped the charts at 94.748 mph while SVG's single-lap pace was only mid-pack. But his 10-lap average was the best in the field.
Tire fall-off has been extreme all weekend, upending pre-race strategies and forcing teams to rethink pit windows. For SVG, that could play into his favor, given his knack for preserving pace over distance, who’s now aiming for a strong finish in the standings, with 13th place still in reach.
There’s also the bigger picture for Trackhouse Racing. Ross Chastain sits 13 points below the elimination line, and Shane van Gisbergen's win on Sunday could help by stealing a transfer spot from another playoff rival.
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