Only a handful of Xfinity Series cars participated in the first optional practice session but 30 cars had made laps by the time NASCAR halted the second session late Thursday afternoon due to lightning in the area. Despite Xfinity teams’ lack of prior testing on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn course there were few on-track incidents. Brandon Jones twice went off course in the final session but was able to continue on without an issue both times. Xfinity playoff contender Cole Custer ended up with the fastest average lap speed Thursday at 103.223 mph in the second session. He was followed by Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Hemric and Justin Allgaier. Cindric was also fastest in Thursday’s first session. “I think we did an exceptional job of being prepared and fast right off the truck and I think it showed today,” said Cindric, who will drive Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford in Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 200. “We have two more practices, a qualifying session and three stages of hard racing left so we still have a long ways to go.” Cindric, who has extensive road course experience in sports car racing, said he felt the course layout met a lot of his expectations. “I think you really approach it like a street course where there are different changes in the road, a lot of different compromises to find a line that is drivable,” he said. “I think we were able to do that pretty quickly throughout the day. “In some ways, though, I think we’re all still trying to figure it out.” Cindric said he’s just as interested as everybody else what the racing will actually be like. “Obviously, it’s incredibly narrow. I think it’s no secret that tires are going to fall off and when that happens, stuff happens,” he said. “On restarts, it’s going to be tough to decide what lane you want to be in, where you want to be in certain spots (on the track) because it’s definitely going to bottleneck in a lot of different positions. When to pit is going to be incredibly critical throughout the stages.”<doc-sep>Hello? There's no Racing News down here. Where ya off to? Bob, this doesn't look good... Are you lost... The blue dot on the GPS won't help you here. It's probably too late to turn back now anyway. Baby Jessica, it appears you've fallen into the well. Like a mummy at night fightin' with bright lightnin'. I'm not here to save you. I'm just here for the ride. So, let me entertain you and everything will be fine. Have you had it up to here? That's Rock Bottom. Click here to exit the well.<doc-sep>For the first time in the NASCAR Playoffs drivers will compete on a road course. And for the first time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Charlotte Motor Speedway will be turned into a road course — the Charlotte road course, or the Roval as it is popularly being called. Here’s what to know about the new track before Sunday’s race, the Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Series racing on the Roval: Monster Energy Series and Xfinity Series Length: 2.28 miles Turns: 17 Change in elevation: 35 feet Tires: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials (Cup: 3 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying, 7 sets for race; Xfinity: 8 sets for the event). Driving in the rain? Yes, wet weather tires will be on hand should conditions warrant their use. Cup teams are allowed two sets of “wets” for practice and up to four sets for the race; Xfinity teams are allowed up to two sets of “wets” for practice and up to two sets for the race. Penalty for short-cutting any part of the course: If you short-cut the course (ie: blow through the chicane), you will be required to come to a full stop in one of the pre-determined zones (the restart zone alongside Turns 15-17 if the violation occurs in the Turn 11-12 chicane; the apron before the start/finish line if the violation occurs in Turns 15-17). Teams would be assessed a pass-through penalty if drivers fail to serve their penalties by stopping in the designated areas. Read More What about restarts? Restarts will not include the chicane in the trioval so that all cars are on an even-playing field, and that the front of the pack does not have an advantage over the back. Will “local” cautions be in effect? Yes. A spin or incident on certain portions of the track may not yield a full-course caution, but rather a blue flag specific to the area of the track where the incident occurred to warn competitors of an issue. Playoff implications: This is the first elimination race in the 2018 playoffs for the Monster Energy Series. Twelve playoff drivers in the 16-driver field will advance to the Round of 12 next week at Dover. For the Xfinity Series, this is the second race in the opening round of the playoffs. The schedule: NASCAR’s top division hasn’t had three road courses in a single season since 1987, when the series visited Riverside (California) International Raceway twice and Watkins Glen once. The Roval’s placement on the Monster Energy Series schedule also breaks up the all-oval monopoly that had held since the 10-race postseason format was introduced in 2004. The tight confines: Unlike Watkins Glen and Sonoma, which both have gravel traps and paved run-off areas, the Charlotte oval/road course offers few places to veer off course in the event of a problem. That’s led to more than a handful of significant wrecks during testing, with drivers pushing the limits of the curbing and tire barriers that define the course. Gallons of paint used to give Roval its look: 5,400 (RoadGrip, a British track surface painting company, painted the course. Mycroft Signs painted the frontstretch turf, the wall designs and signage, giving the Roval Grand Prix-style visuals.) The ‘grass:’ Track officials installed 112,000 square feet of new synthetic turf in place of the existing frontstretch grass. The project stemmed from questions raised by Kevin Harvick among others about how to minimize damage from off-track skids. The intended goal is an even surface that prevents car bodies from digging into the turf. The first driver to overcook Turn 17 in practice will be the guinea pig. Why is the pit wall pink? To salute breast cancer awareness. Seven-time Monster Energy Series champion Jimmie Johnson led other drivers, celebrities and dignitaries in painting the 1,500-foot wall pink on Thursday, Sept. 20. How big is the new pedestrian bridge? The 80-foot long, 22,000-pound infield pedestrian bridge is between Turns 2 and 3 and features an open walkway as well as two elevators and will allow spectators to access Roval camping and infield Circle K convenience store. Track layout: See map below Contributing: Zack Albert, George Winkler<doc-sep>
CONCORD, N.C. – Cole Custer topped the field in Thursday’s second Xfinity practice at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The two-hour session was stopped 20 minutes early because of severe weather in the area. Custer posted a lap of 103.223 mph. He was followed by Austin Cindric (102.896 mph), Tyler Reddick (102.895), Daniel Hemric (102.759) and Justin Allgaier (102.708). Chase Briscoe ran the most laps in the session at 26. Custer ran 25 laps. Reddick ran 24 laps. Thirty cars ran at least a lap in the session. Allgaier had the best average over 10 consecutive laps at 102.034 mph. He was one of only four drivers to run 10 consecutive laps. Cindric was next at 102.004 mph. First Practice Austin Cindric posted the fastest lap in the first of two optional Xfinity practices Thursday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Cindric topped the field with a lap of 102.603 mph. He was followed by Daniel Hemric (101.495 mph), Ryan Truex (101.139), Ryan Preece (101.075) and Justin Marks (101.022). Matt Tifft was sixth on the speed chart with a lap of 100.902 mph. He was followed by Elliott Sadler (100.626 mph), Brendan Gaughan (100.601), Justin Allgaier (100.524) and Alex Labbe (100.490) Click here for practice report Twenty-five cars ran at least one lap in the session. There were no cautions for incidents on track. Spencer Gallagher had damage to the right rear of his car. His team pulled out the backup car. Ryan Reed ran the most laps in the two-hour session that was interrupted by moisture on track. Reed ran 21 laps. Michael Annett ran 20 laps. Tyler Reddick ran 17 laps. Teams will have another practice. The track will be open from 2-4 p.m. ET. Teams will have two practices on Friday before they race on Saturday (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Tifft said the course is challenging. He said the infield section reminded him of the back section at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He said he ran most of that infield course section on the Roval in second gear. He also said the backstretch chicane is attention grabbing. “You go in so hard and use up all the curbs there and you’re jumping curbs right,” he said. “Right now with the blue curbs (which are larger), you are probably going to just pull out the transmission because they’re so stacked so high right there it’s going to be dangerous for the cars. That’s a little bit strange. “The entry off the oval to the frontstretch chicane … the transitions there are pretty interesting. I had to pass a slower car getting through there. That’s the part I think that is going to be interesting when we do start working in traffic. There are so many awkward spots on this track that it’s going to put drivers in a really tight position to try to get around those guys. I think it’s going to be a race of attrition and trying to make sure you get yourself in the right spot because if you catch anybody in the wrong spot, there’s just not really that many places to get around somebody, you’re just kind of stuck.” Tifft also said Turns 3, 4, 5, 6 on the infield portion of the course remained slick. The track had run the tire dragon in those sections only but Tifft said morning rain made those areas slick.