Charlotte Royal preview

The NASCAR season is winding down and one of the most pivotal races on the schedule is coming up on Sunday.

The Charlotte Roval is one of the most challenging races on the schedule and in the playoffs and has not failed to provide entertainment for fans.

Now it's the last race in the Round of 12, which will spell doom for four unfortunate drivers and crews when they take on the 248.5-mile course with 17 turns varying from flat, infield turns to the highbanked and fast speedway curves.

Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric are all on the outside looking in with Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott locked into the Round of 8 with wins at New Hampshire and Kansas, respectively.

Elliott won a wild race last week as he stole a win from Reddick, Wallace and Denny Hamlin on the final lap after Hamlin ran his own car into Wallace up the track in turns three and four.

Hamlin, who is still alive in the playoffs, sits well above the cutline along with Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and William Byron.

For Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano, who are 21 and 13 points above the cutline, they can not afford to have a bad performance because that will put their championship hopes underground.

Briscoe finished 10th and fourth at New Hampshire and Kansas, which gives him a little more of a cushion compared to Logano.

Logano finished in the top 10 at New Hampshire but finished a less-than-stellar 24th at Kansas which has put the defending champion’s hopes for a repeat on thin ice.

It is an odd year, which many superstitionists would point to as it not being Logano’s year for another title but he could continue to defy the odds with a good run that earns him a spot in the Round of 8.

A good finish for Logano will hopefully be enough to put him past a hard-charging Ross Chastain, who has finished ninth and 11th in the round.

The driver of the 22 has six top ten finishes in seven starts at the Roval, which bodes well for him this weekend if history holds up.

History does not look good for Ross Chastain at the Roval. Taking his results into account, his best finish was 10th in 2023 but he has not had another finish inside the top 20.

Logano will be put out of the playoffs if one of the drivers below him and the cutoff line win this weekend as well.

Tyler Reddick starts on the pole for the race and will be a threat to Logano if he can cross the finish line first and claim the checkered flag.

Reddick has three Top 10s and one top five in five starts at the Roval and has started on the pole once before at the track as well.

The green flag flies from Charlotte on Sunday at 3 p.m., and when the dust settles, there will be four drivers eliminated from championship contention.

Chase Fisher is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ctf5198@psu.edu.