2019 Bank of America Roval 400
# 2019 Bank of America Roval 400

The 2019 Bank of America Roval 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on September 29, 2019, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 109 laps on the 2.28-mile (3.67 km) road course, it was the 29th race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the third race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 16.

## Report

### Background

Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is 2.28 miles (3.67 km) in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race will be contested over a scheduled distance of 109 laps, 400 kilometres (250 mi).

During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" the backstretch chicane on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during restarts. In the summer of 2019, the bus stop on the backstretch was changed and deepened, becoming a permanent part of the circuit, compared to the previous year where it was improvised.

If a driver fails to legally make the backstretch bus stop, the driver must skip the frontstretch chicane and make a complete stop by the dotted line on the exit before being allowed to continue. A driver who misses the frontstretch chicane must stop before the exit.

**Entry list**

* (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
* (R) denotes rookie driver.

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - |
| 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 52 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 53 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota |
| 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| Official entry list ||||

## First practice

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 80.968 seconds and a speed of 103.152 mph (166.007 km/h). Michael McDowell was replaced by Austin Cindric for the session while he was treating a kidney stone, but returned for qualifying later in the day.

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 80.968 | 103.152 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 81.018 | 103.088 |
| 3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 81.520 | 102.453 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

William Byron scored the pole for the race with a time of 80.932 and a speed of 103.198 mph (166.081 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 80.901 | 80.932 |
| 2 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 81.570 | 81.026 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 81.712 | 81.058 |
| 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 81.394 | 81.172 |
| 5 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 81.426 | 81.215 |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 81.721 | 81.576 |
| 7 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 80.950 | 81.595 |
| 8 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 81.740 | 82.068 |
| 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 81.761 | 82.094 |
| 10 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 81.823 | 82.215 |
| 11 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 81.495 | 82.297 |
| 12 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 81.686 | 82.327 |
| 13 | 41 | Daniel Suarez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 81.920 | — |
| 14 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 81.928 | — |
| 15 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 81.973 | — |
| 16 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 81.978 | — |
| 17 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 81.986 | — |
| 18 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 81.993 | — |
| 19 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82.098 | — |
| 20 | 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 82.127 | — |
| 21 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 82.232 | — |
| 22 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 82.252 | — |
| 23 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 82.317 | — |
| 24 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 82.572 | — |
| 25 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82.582 | — |
| 26 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 82.630 | — |
| 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 83.088 | — |
| 28 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 83.099 | — |
| 29 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 83.121 | — |
| 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 83.232 | — |
| 31 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 84.220 | — |
| 32 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 84.690 | — |
| 33 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 85.315 | — |
| 34 | 53 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 85.572 | — |
| 35 | 52 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 85.782 | — |
| 36 | 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 0.000 | — |
| 37 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0.000 | — |
| 38 | 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Toyota | 0.000 | — |
| 39 | 27 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0.000 | — |
| 40 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 0.000 | — |
| Official qualifying results |||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)

### Second practice

Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 81.977 seconds and a speed of 101.882 mph (163.963 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 81.977 | 101.882 |
| 2 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 82.330 | 101.445 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 82.377 | 101.388 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Chase Elliott was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 81.801 seconds and a speed of 102.101 mph (164.316 km/h).

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 81.801 | 102.101 |
| 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 81.875 | 102.009 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 81.970 | 101.891 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race

### Stage results

Stage One Laps: 25

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage Two Laps: 25

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final stage results

Stage Three Laps: 59

| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 19 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 109 | 52 |
| 2 | 2 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 109 | 35 |
| 3 | 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 109 | 43 |
| 4 | 5 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 109 | 49 |
| 5 | 11 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 109 | 46 |
| 6 | 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 109 | 41 |
| 7 | 8 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 109 | 34 |
| 8 | 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 109 | 34 |
| 9 | 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 109 | 35 |
| 10 | 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 109 | 34 |
| 11 | 18 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 109 | 26 |
| 12 | 22 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 109 | 30 |
| 13 | 7 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 34 |
| 14 | 16 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 109 | 27 |
| 15 | 29 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 22 |
| 16 | 10 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 109 | 23 |
| 17 | 21 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 109 | 20 |
| 18 | 12 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 19 |
| 19 | 28 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 109 | 18 |
| 20 | 23 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 17 |
| 21 | 14 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 16 |
| 22 | 37 | 15 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 109 | 0 |
| 23 | 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 14 |
| 24 | 25 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 109 | 13 |
| 25 | 36 | 36 | Matt Tifft (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 109 | 12 |
| 26 | 40 | 96 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 109 | 0 |
| 27 | 26 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 109 | 10 |
| 28 | 32 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 0 |
| 29 | 31 | 51 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 0 |
| 30 | 33 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 109 | 0 |
| 31 | 39 | 27 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 109 | 0 |
| 32 | 24 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 109 | 5 |
| 33 | 20 | 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 109 | 4 |
| 34 | 13 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 108 | 7 |
| 35 | 27 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 108 | 2 |
| 36 | 35 | 52 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 100 | 0 |
| 37 | 17 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 99 | 1 |
| 38 | 34 | 53 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 83 | 0 |
| 39 | 38 | 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 66 | 1 |
| 40 | 15 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 23 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||

* Cody Ware was supposed to drive No. 51 car in the race but during the Xfinity Series race, the day before, the coolbox of Cody Ware's car didn't work during the race so he felt the heat exhaustion. So J. J. Yeley was called to replace Ware in the No. 51 car in the race.

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 13 among 9 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 10 for 23
* Red flags: 1 for 8 minutes and 22 seconds
* Time of race: 3 hours, 20 minutes and 58 seconds
* Average speed: 75.499 miles per hour (121.504 km/h)

## Media

### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider, and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

NBC :

| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

The Performance Racing Network, with talent and production assistant from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow, and Jeff Hammond called the race from the booth when the field raced down the front straightaway. IMS Radio's Nick Yeoman was assigned the entrance to the road course and into the Bank of America bridge (Turns 1-3). Voice of the Indianapolis 500 Mark Jaynes was assigned the action from the Bank of America bridge to the middle of the infield section. Doug Turnbull called the action exiting in infield into the oval Turn 1 banking (Turns 7-9). Pat Patterson called the action on the backstretch and into the bus stop. Rob Albright was assigned to the oval Turn 3-4 end. (Turns 13-15). Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Steve Richards, and Wendy Venturini had the call from the pit area for PRN.

PRN :

| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| - | - | - |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow Announcer: Jeff Hammond | Infield entrance: Nick Yeoman Middle of Infield: Mark Jaynes Exit of Infield: Doug Turnbull Oval 2 to Bus Stop Pat Patterson Oval 3/4: Rob Albright | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Steve Richards Wendy Venturini |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 1 | Kyle Busch | 3,046 |
| 1 | 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 3,041 (–5) |
| 2 | 3 | Denny Hamlin | 3,030 (–16) |
| 2 | 4 | Joey Logano | 3,029 (–17) |
| 3 | 5 | Kevin Harvick | 3,028 (–18) |
| 1 | 6 | Chase Elliott | 3,024 (–22) |
| 3 | 7 | Brad Keselowski | 3,024 (–22) |
| | 8 | Kyle Larson | 3,006 (–40) |
| 4 | 9 | Alex Bowman | 3,005 (–41) |
| | 10 | Ryan Blaney | 3,004 (–42) |
| 1 | 11 | William Byron | 3,001 (–45) |
| 2 | 12 | Clint Bowyer | 3,000 (–46) |
| 2 | 13 | Aric Almirola | 2,081 (–965) |
| 5 | 14 | Ryan Newman | 2,070 (–976) |
| | 15 | Kurt Busch | 2,056 (–990) |
| | 16 | Erik Jones | 2,009 (–1,037) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Toyota | 1,058 |
| 2 | Ford | 1,025 (–33) |
| 3 | Chevrolet | 987 (–71) |
