This weekend at the Charlotte Roval, the competition is really heating up. Since no Playoff driver won at Kansas or Talladega, it is all on the line at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Among the many hopefuls is Team Penske driver and 2022 Daytona 500 winner, Austin Cindric. Currently, he sits in 11th place, ahead of Chase Briscoe and behind teammate Joey Logano and Trackhouse’s Daniel Suarez.

Unfortunately, this does put him in a do-or-die situation because he cannot afford to have a poor finish. Last weekend at Talladega, he was ever so close to winning and booking his automatic berth. However, leading 29 laps on Sunday, he seemed poised to secure a major boost in the playoff standings—or even clinch a spot in the Round of 8. But in a dramatic twist, his Discount Ford Mustang became the catalyst for the massive 28-car wreck, instantly erasing all his hard-earned momentum.

Sharing his thoughts after finishing P32 in Talladega, Austin Cindric said, “It puts us in a must-win situation for the Charlotte Road Course. We’ve brought some exceptionally fast race cars every single race of the playoffs, and I cannot understate how proud I am of my race team, and we’ll have to bring another one next week.”

So heading into this weekend’s race, a good result is more important than ever. Speaking of his performances on the road course,

1. He captured his first career Xfinity Series victory in 2019, conquering the Watkins Glen International road course.
2. Building on the Glen success, he secured another win in 2019 from the pole at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, leading an impressive 46 of 75 laps.
3. In 2020, he achieved back-to-back wins at Road America and made history by winning the inaugural road course race at Daytona.
4. He added another road course victory to his record in 2021, triumphing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

However, winning the Charlotte ROVAL is easier said than done, especially since qualifying is also a hurdle to be crossed on the newly repaved 17-turn track. Recently, Austin Cindric spoke about his chances of making it into the Round of 8 and admitted the tough road ahead.

In the buildup to the race, he confessed that the opening stage will be hugely important. Where he finishes in Stage 1, compared to his rivals, will likely shape how his playoff survival will unfold. Unfortunately, he does have a massive gap to P8, namely a 29-point gap. Even if he wins the first two stages, that still yields a maximum of 20 points. So come what may, he has to either win or get a good finish at the Roval to keep his title hopes alive.

Austin Cindric told Bob Pockrass, “I think if something happens to the #45, the #9, and the #11 in the first stage, Where they’re not getting points or they’re out of the race or something like that. I think a lot has to happen for us to not just go for the win. Honestly, if you look at these road course events. With how many flipping stages vs. race finishes and all that. I feel like everyone kind of averages out with a lot more similar points than they would if the race was just run straight up, without the ability to flip stages. The opportunity to get points on a road course or lose points is pretty average, honestly. From that standpoint, 29 points back, I think you just put your best foot forward and you go for a win.”

One thing is for sure: the #2 driver will definitely go all guns blazing. The Team Penske driver has a lot to lose, and so do the other 11 drivers, as four of them won’t advance. With this being a road course, the challenge is much trickier, with the lack of stage cautions to bunch up the field.

Would there be any benefit from practice at the Roval for Austin Cindric?

Recently, it came out that the Roval has undergone some changes. Namely, a track resurfacing and a layout change, so the drivers will have to acclimatize to that. While there are many changes, the most dramatic change is the infield reconfiguration, featuring a longer straight from Turn 5 to Turn 6, where a steep drop into a right-hand bend will challenge drivers’ visibility. This leads into a tight left at Turn 7, likely encouraging bold passes—what former Roval winner Ryan Blaney calls a “dive-bomb central” curve. Naturally, NASCAR is not so cruel as to throw the drivers into the deep end, right off the bat. Instead, there will be a couple of practice sessions for the drivers to suss out the new layout and get used to the changes.

Austin Cindric continued, “It kind of gives us an opportunity to work on it for the first run and put laps on tires for the second run. You could look at it, maybe do a mock run if you wanted to, with two sets of tires. Getting used to the track early on, see what your car drives like for the first session. In the second one, expect a lot of long runs.”

Going into the race is the 2-time Charlotte winner (2019, 2020), Chase Elliott, who also shared his side of concerns as he said, “That section of the track is going to change the entire flow of the lap there, so I’ve been kind of approaching it as a new track with my preparation. I’ve spent some time in the simulator, just trying to really memorize the track and where the little bumps are.”

Additionally, the 2022 Charlotte race winner, C. Bell, also noted, “It’s going to be big. We’re going to have a new calamity corner, that’s for sure.” However, when fans asked the defending winner of the Bank of America ROVAL 400, AJ Allmendinger, for his views as they mocked his boring performance last year for the drastic changes, Allmendinger said, “I still hope I make it boring. No, I don’t think that’s true, but it’s it gives me confidence. I’m gonna say yeah, it’s all because of me.”

Further seriously noting his views on the change, he said, “I was the first guy testing it, and we ran the whole infield and we didn’t have any chicanes down the back straightaway or off the turn four. I honestly wanted to do that[…]I still think no matter the layout, It’s a super fun racetrack. It’s something that I’ve always enjoyed. It’s definitely a new challenge with what they’ve done this year and so I’ll see how it feels when we get out there.”

Austin Cindric, who has never won on the track, all he can do is adapt quickly to the layout and the new tires. If he can qualify well, that will go a long way toward aiding his playoff hopes.