Shane Van Gisbergen (SVG) continues to be at the top of the heap on the road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series, and although it looks like the field might be making some inroads on the Auckland, New Zealand-native, it wasn’t enough to win Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400.
The 36-year-old driver parked his No. 88 WeatherTech-sponsored Chevrolet from Trackhouse Racing in Victory Lane for the fifth time this season, beating Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell by a substantial margin to collect a victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
In a race where tire degradation was present like it never has been before, Van Gisbergen used his veteran road course prowess to save the tires on his WeatherTech Chevrolet, blasting away from the competition on the long runs – to the point where his closest competitors, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, figured on an extra pit stop to try and make up time on him.
RACE RESULTS: Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL
Alas, the extra stop strategy for Larson and Bell, which was based on the presumed hope for a caution flag in the final laps of the event, didn’t quite work, and while the drivers did end up finishing second and third on the afternoon, they were more than 15 seconds behind the race-winner.
There were times during Sunday’s 109-lap contest, though, where Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson had the car to fight with Van Gisbergen, and in fact, there was a point in the race where both drivers managed to pass the No. 88 and put Van Gisbergen on his back foot in the final stage.
“Yeah, just started getting hot and sliding around, but what an awesome race, Kyle and Christopher driving really good and got a little rough, but man, the battle was awesome,” Van Gisbergen said post-race. “The WeatherTech Chevy, I lost it a little bit at the start of stage three, and whatever they did for the rest of the race was unbelievable. Really enjoyed that, and that was a long time waiting to hope the yellow wasn’t going to come out.”
Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell put up a fantastic battle in the closing laps of the event, with Larson ultimately coming home in second after putting inside the final 10 laps of the event. Both drivers will advance to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell put together solid top-five results in the final road course event of the 2025 season. While it doesn’t help them much in the points, being non-playoff drivers, it is a pair of solid runs for two drivers not featured in the championship fight.
Ryan Preece recorded his best-ever finish on a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series, bringing the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse home in sixth. Daniel Suarez was seventh, with Chase Elliott eighth, AJ Allmendinger ninth, and Tyler Reddick rounding out the top-10.
William Byron (11th), Ryan Blaney (13th), Chase Briscoe (14th), Bubba Wallace (15th), Joey Logano (20th), Ross Chastain (21st), Denny Hamlin (23rd), and Austin Cindric (37th) were the eight NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs drivers who finished outside of the top-10.
The secondary story of the afternoon was who would advance to the ‘Round of 8’ in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. As the laps wound down at the end of the race, the battle came down to Joey Logano and Ross Chastain, with Chastain slipping back with the advantage in points.
When the field took the white flag, Ross Chastain was sitting one point above the cutline with Denny Hamlin (a fellow post-season driver on his rear bumper). Chastain, with much older tires, was struggling for grip, and Hamlin made the pass into Turn 7, putting the Trackhouse Racing driver tied with Logano for the final spot, and losing the tiebreaker.
In a last-ditch effort to advance further in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Chastain drove his No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet into Turn 17 as deep as possible, hitting Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE and spinning both of them out, which would ultimately end Chastain’s chances at advancing further in the postseason.
Hamlin, post-race, was frustrated with the lack of overall awareness from his Joe Gibbs Racing crew, as they never informed him of the points situation and allowed him to race differently around Chastain in the final laps, who would be fighting for his entire season.
Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric (who was hit by Carson Hocevar earlier in the race and broke two control arms on his Team Penske Ford Mustang, sending him to the garage), and 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick were eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Now, the NASCAR Cup Series ‘Round of 8’ will begin next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with coverage of the event happening on Sunday, October 12, at 5:30 PM ET on USA Network, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
