Key information for Sunday’s NASCAR playoff race at Charlotte

Another week, another ticket punched to the NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 8.

Chase Elliott needed two overtimes to make it to victory lane in the Cup Series playoff race at Kansas last weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the top spot over Denny Hamlin, who had dominated much of the race, thanks to a late surge on the final lap.

This marked Elliott’s second win of the season and came three months after his win at Atlanta in the Quaker State 400.

His Hollywood Casino 400 win makes him the second driver to secure a spot in the next round alongside 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney.

Elliott was eighth on the final restart but managed to take the win by just 0.069 seconds over Hamlin thanks to his final-lap heroics. He’ll breathe a little bit easier in Charlotte this week knowing he’s safely on to the next round in pursuit of a second Cup Series title.

Come the checkered flag Sunday evening in Charlotte, four drivers will be eliminated from playoff contention. Here’s everything you need to know to get ready for the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, Oct. 5:

What time does the NASCAR playoff race at Charlotte start?

The Bank of America Roval 400 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 5 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

What TV channel is the NASCAR playoff race at Charlotte on?

The Bank of America Roval 400 will be broadcast on USA Network, the home for the Round of 12 part of the Cup Series playoffs. Pre-race coverage will start at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR playoff race at Charlotte?

Yes, the Bank of America Roval 400 will be streamed on Peacock, HBO Max, Sling TV and Fubo, which is offering a free trial to new subscribers.

Stream the NASCAR playoff race at Charlotte on Fubo

How many laps is the NASCAR playoff race at Charlotte?

The Bank of America Roval 400 is 109 laps around the 2.32-mile track for a total of 252.9 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 25 laps; Stage 2: 25 laps; Stage 3: 59 laps.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings

Here’s how things look after the playoff round in Kansas with the gap to the leader in parentheses. The bottom four drivers will be eliminated after Charlotte as the playoffs move on to the Round of 8.

Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin (+6)
Christopher Bell (+10)
William Byron (+14)
Chase Elliott (+20)
Ryan Blaney (+25)
Chase Briscoe (+33)
Joey Logano (+41)
Ross Chastain (+54)
Bubba Wallace (+67)
Tyler Reddick (+70)
Austin Cindric (+89)

Who won the NASCAR playoff race at Charlotte last year?

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson took his second playoff win of 2024 with a comfortable victory over Christopher Bell in last year’s playoff race at Charlotte. Larson led the most laps – including most of the Stage 3 running – to take the win at the final road course event of the season. Bell, William Byron, Austin Cindric and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five runners. One of the biggest stories from the race was Alex Bowman’s disqualification after he failed post-race weight inspection.

NASCAR playoff race at Charlotte starting lineup

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

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