The NASCAR Cup Series drivers entering into the Charlotte Roval weekend will have a big surprise waiting for them. And no, it’s not something that is going to aid them on race day but rather leaves them tussling among themselves. Last time around the Cup Series raced on the road course, William Byron’s race landed on top of the window of the #6 Ford. It wasn’t a one-off incident, but the result of an overly aggressive style of racing.

And it looks like NASCAR’s new changes at Roval might just lead to a repeat of the chaos that engulfed drivers at the Glen.

1. It’s the reconfiguration of the track on the two altered areas. The first one in Turns 6 and 7 complex that leads from the infield section and back to the oval.
2. Another revision has been made to sharpen the section exiting Turns 16 and 17, which also serves as the restart zone.
3. The changes made to 6 are a rather dramatic one; it has resulted in a longer straightaway entering the turn. When the field does eventually reach Turn 7, they will have to be hard on the brakes, which leads to passing opportunities. Which are better known as ‘dive-bombs’.

Curious to know the views of the NASCAR community on these changes, Jeff Gluck from the Athletic wrote this via his X account. “Just curious: Why do you all think they made these changes to the Roval layout? Interested to see if we are of the same mind on this.” And, next thing you know, messages started flooding in, and they certainly weren’t impressed with NASCAR’s vision to manufacture chaos for an important playoff race.

Speaking of what the track favorites are expecting from the 17-turn track, Chase Elliott, the two-time winner of Charlotte’s road and oval, said, “To me, I kind of look at it like it’s a new race track; truthfully, 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.”

Is NASCAR trying to notch up the entertainment quotient with wrecks and chaos?

As mentioned, the changes coming on the Turn 7 are tight. The hairpin essentially will force the drivers to hit the brakes hard and imagine the field side by side coming on these turns. Those who witnessed the wreck fest at the Glen could imagine what the scenes might look like. Fans haven’t taken well to these changes, which was visible in this response. “Because they want carnage in turn 7, being an elimination race, they want to make it as much of a crapshoot as humanly possible.”

“I don’t really understand how guys can call themselves the best in the world when they just drive through everyone on restarts at the end of these races.” A frustrated Martin Truex Jr. said this after the Watkins Glen race. While the wrecks and crashes do make for good content, do these changes challenge the drivers skill-wise? Well, this is up for debate; for this fan, it is a deliberate attempt by NASCAR to create chaos. “100% for carnage and highlights for engagement. This change wasn’t made for any real competition’s sake. Just another area for dive bombs.”

Roval’s addition to the NASCAR schedule often stirs up debate among the fans every year. When the 2025 schedule was released, Roval retained its place, but Richmond Raceway, a traditional oval track, lost its date. Although NASCAR is fixated on keeping Roval, the fans are often frustrated about why they haven’t switched back to the oval setting. “How we haven’t switched back to the oval with this new car yet is mind-boggling.”

With these reconfigurations in place, the Xfinity and the Cup Series teams will have a longer practice run than usual. However, this race fan wasn’t buying into NASCAR’s grand scheme of things and accused NASCAR of rigging the race. “No opinion other than I’ll bet HMS had the sim version before anyone else.”

Although NASCAR has plenty of good road racers, Shane van Gisbergen has become the new king of these races. He’s already bagged three wins in the Xfinity Series this season and will be eyeing to make it fourth this weekend. The Kiwi speedster is against the ropes, and a win will help him advance to the next round in the playoffs. Although the debate was about how these changes affect the racing, a user on X felt that changes wouldn’t matter as SVG just might sweep away the win. “SVG lol.”

It is indeed a hard guess to know how the races this weekend at Roval will pan out. But it is expected to deliver high-octane racing action, and it will be interesting to see how big of an impact these events will have on championship storylines.