NASCAR Basics: What is a roval track in stock car racing?

The NASCAR Cup Series returns this week to the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Bank of America ROVAL 400. It's the seventh time the Cup circuit will race on the Charlotte Roval since its debut in 2018.

The race marks the final of the Round of 12 of the playoffs as seven drivers will look to join William Byron by locking themselves into the next round. For fans watching this weekend, the word "roval" might be unfamiliar to them. Here, we'll take a closer look at what a roval is in stock car racing and which roval tracks NASCAR races on.

What is a roval?

Oct 8, 2023; Concord, North Carolina, USA; Cars crowd into turn four after a restart during the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. NASCAR: Bank of America ROVAL 400 - Source: Imagn

The name is pretty self-explanatory. Most stock car races take place on an oval track with strictly left turns or on road courses where drivers have to handle right and left turns. A roval is a track where the two are combined. Oftentimes, such as the Charlotte Roval, the course is within the walls of the oval.

For instance, the Charlotte Roval races begin on the original front straightaway of the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway oval. Then, the cars take a left-hand turn in the first turn into the track's infield, where then, they make a fair share of right and left turns before exiting the infield and jumping back on the track's oval surface. Any track that uses its oval surface and infield road-course surface is considered a roval.

The Charlotte Roval is the only roval NASCAR competes on today

While the roval's concept is unique, there's only one that NASCAR's premier series competes on. The Charlotte Roval debuted in 2018, which saw a spectacular finish as Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. crashed together coming to the checkered flag, allowing Blaney to scoot around them and win.

Chase Elliott proceeded to win the next two Charlotte Roval races in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Kyle Larson won the 2021 race, while Christopher Bell was victorious in 2022. A.J. Allmendinger enters this Sunday as the defending Charlotte Roval champion after his victory last season.

The Cup Series briefly raced on the Daytona Road Course, which was formatted similarly to the Charlotte Roval. The circuit ran a points race at the track in 2020 and 2021, as well as the 2021 Busch Light Clash, an exhibition race that kicks off the season.

This weekend's Bank of America ROVAL 400 takes place Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and the Performance Racing Network.