CONCORD, N.C. — The Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL has a new look this weekend, and the new reconfiguration has been the talk of the town.
Reactions to the changes in the garage have ranged from excited, frustrated, anxious and everything in between.
With the new configuration’s potential to generate chaos and throw a curveball to the entire NASCAR Cup Series field, it’s not a surprise that two of the playoff drivers that enter this weekend well below the cut line are the most enthusiastic about the new-look layout.
“100% [in favor],” Daniel Suarez said. “Every time there is change, there is an opportunity. We have worked very hard for these changes, and hopefully we are in the good end of it.”
“I’m honestly glad of the changes just due to the fact that I feel like it just makes it a little bit more of an even playing field and kind of reminds me the first time we came here,” Chase Briscoe said. “There’s a lot of new and nobody really has the advantage of just having laps here, so I’m excited for the new changes.
“I think it fits me a little bit better anyways. That section that they took out was probably my worst part of the racetrack. So yeah, I feel really good about it, for sure.”
The new turns 6 and 7 are widely considered to be the biggest trouble spots, as a sharp, blind, uphill turn 6 leads directly to a slow, nearly 180-degree hairpin turn in 7. The turn is a transition section, marking the exit of infield course and the entrance to the high banks of the oval. It’ll be the slowest section of the track, but it’s configuration will invite the possibility for desperate drivers to divebomb, force their way in and cause calamity.
“I think the best way to describe it is if the race goes green, I don’t think that we’re going to notice much, maybe another passing opportunity to overtake a car in front of you,” Christopher Bell said. “But the real difference maker is going to be on restarts whenever we’re all bottled up and we’re trying to jam it to turn 7 to gain track position.”
“I’ve run…
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