Stat Pack: 2024 Xfinity Roval Race Preview
The ringers SVG and AJ Allmendinger should rock the field, with Parker Kligerman having a clear shot at the checkered too.
@ Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course aka The Roval (2.32 mi)
The official name of the race: 2024 Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Entry list notes: Connor Mosack will be in the JR Motorsports 88. Josh Bilicki and Aric Almirola will be in the Joe Gibbs Racing 19 and 20, respectively. Ed Jones will drive the Sam Hunt Racing 26. Austin Green in the Jordan Anderson Racing 32.
Picks
Looking at those entry list specials: Mosack had a sixth place finish in the Chicago Street Race in the 88 in his only Xfinity start this year... Bilicki has no track record of success on these tracks. His best finish this year was tenth at Watkins Glen. In his only road course start in the 19 this year, he finished 12th at Portland... Almirola was a bad road course racer in Cup. Since Cup went heavy on the right turns in 2021, his best AFP was 20.43... Jones has not been successful on road courses this year in Xfinity. He had a fifth place finish at Portland, but a dearth of other top finishes. He also hadn't been particularly successful in IndyCar, but he is theoretically a road ringer. GR-LR loves him: his 1.55 is eighth best in the Xfinity series for drivers with at least as many road course runs this season... Green has an average finish of 9.4 on road courses this year. I'm not blown away by anyone here.
Xfinity's run five road course races this year. Shane Van Gisbergen has won three of them. The other winners were Kyle Larson and Connor Zilisch, neither of whom are in this race. SVG doesn't have the best average finish though: Parker Kligerman's 6.8 is better than the Kiwi's 7. Filling out the top five are AJ Allmendinger (9), Green and Justin Allgaier (both 9.4).
SVG, Mosack, Sam Mayer, and Sheldon Creed are the best runners by weighted average running position. The best net ratings are from SVG, Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, and Allmendinger.
So where does that leave us? SVG should be the odds-on favorite here. Kligerman and Allmendinger have a chance. Given the paths that most of the younger drivers in the series take to get to NASCAR, road courses are the type of track where elite ringers can steamroll the competition.
Via the Lap Raptor race preview page...
Recent Races at Charlotte Road Course
- 2023 Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina (Oct 7, 2023): RESULTS | ANALYTICS | LOOP DATA
- 2022 Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina (Oct 8, 2022): RESULTS | ANALYTICS | LOOP DATA
Links
- Past loop data at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course: LAST SEASON | NEXT GEN | IN DATABASE
- Past loop data on similar tracks (road_course): THIS SEASON | LAST SEASON | NEXT GEN | IN DATABASE
- Analytics at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course: LAST SEASON | NEXT GEN | IN DATABASE
- Analytics on similar tracks (road_course): THIS SEASON | LAST SEASON | NEXT GEN | IN DATABASE