We’ve reached the end of the Round of 12. The Charlotte Roval, as unpopular as it might be with the fans, it’s here for another race. There will be ample opportunities for drivers below the cutline to make up the points they lost at Talladega or Kansas. As well as opportunities to slam the door closed as William Byron did, and advance to the final round before the Championship race at Phoenix. As usual, Chris and I are here to deliver our picks for the weekend, as well as a driver to fade. So without further delay, here are our picks for the 2024 Charlotte Roval!
Chris’s Picks: #17 Chris Buescher (+1600) & #20 Christopher Bell (+1000)
Embed from Getty ImagesThese odds are not based on previous performances at all at least from my perspective it seems. Chris is tied with Tyler Reddick for the second-best finished average in the last three races on the Roval format. He also is coming off of a road course win at Watkins Glenn, and only finishing outside the top ten on the street course. At +1600 he could easily take half a tank of gas money and turn it into the light bill money if his performances continue on road courses.
This is the perfect Christopher Bell type of race. He’s been super solid lately. I know there have been some pit road issues as of late and others but he has in the last ten races grabbed eight top ten finishes. If he runs consistently enough he could be around at the end to see some others take each other out and capture his first win since New Hampshire. This could very well be the race that propels him to contend for his first championship at the end of this run.
Kaleb’s Picks: #8 Kyle Busch (+1800) & #48 Alex Bowman (+2200)
Embed from Getty ImagesThere is no driver in NASCAR better at the Charlotte Roval than Kyle Busch. In the last three races here, he’s finished third and fourth place. Last year he collected P8 and P10 in the stages and still was a contender for the win at the end. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t fend off the surging #16 A.J. Allmendinger and #24 William Byron, but a valiant effort nevertheless. I love the odds here, I love the history, and I love the driver. Put your money on Rowdy this weekend, I don’t think you’ll regret it.
As for Alex Bowman, he hasn’t finished below P10 here. Every single race has been a top 10, with two top fives to boot. But P8 is the highest he’s gotten in the next-gen era. With just one P9 finish at the end of a stage. Maybe not necessarily a race-win contender, but you can throw a T10 bet in a parlay and create some better odds for yourself. He’s had a fantastic playoff, collecting stage points in all but one stage. If he keeps this up, he could be a threat to insert his name at Phoenix.
Chris’s Fade: #1 Ross Chastain (+1600)
Embed from Getty ImagesA lot of people will rave about Ross and his road racing ability. Rightfully so though, considering a lot like Chris Buescher he only finished outside the top ten once on a road race this season and it was the street course. However, the roval is a different type of road course. Or at least for Ross it is, because he only has one top ten finish since getting into “solid” cup series equipment. Yes, it was last year, but one good run is not enough for me to feel confident in Ross when others have had way better a finishing history on this roval format.
Kaleb’s Fade: #34 Michael McDowell (+1800)
Embed from Getty ImagesI know Michael McDowell is revered for his road course and superspeedway expertise, but the Charlotte Roval has not been kind to him. He hasn’t posted a T15 at this track since before the pandemic. I just don’t see the reason why he’s hanging out with Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, or Ross Chastain when the struggles are very evident here. I’m steering clear of the #34 on the final road course of the year, and we’ll look ahead to the Daytona 500 when he jumps in the #71 for Spire Motorsports next year.
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