● The Bank of America Roval 400 Sunday at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval is the fifth and final road-course race on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Beef-a-Roo Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing, finished 34th in the series’ first road-course race of the year March 24 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. He then placed 26th in the series’ second road-course stop June 9 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. On the streets of downtown Chicago for the July 7 Grant Park 165, Gragson finished 14th. In his most recent road-course start Sept. 15 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Gragson finished 11th.
● The Bank of America Roval 400 will mark Gragson’s second career NASCAR Cup Series start at the 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course nestled inside Charlotte Motor Speedway. He finished 23rd in his only Cup Series start at the Roval in 2022 while subbing for driver Alex Bowman in the No. 48 machine from Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman was recovering from concussion-like symptoms stemming from a crash two weeks prior at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
● Despite limited NASCAR Cup Series experience at the Roval, Gragson is still very familiar with the track. From 2019 through 2022, Gragson made four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the Roval and never finished outside the top-10. In fact, his worst result was sixth in 2021. His best effort was a runner-up drive in 2020 when he led 16 laps. Collectively, Gragson’s average Xfinity Series finish at the Roval is fourth.
● Despite his history at the Roval, Gragson and his counterparts will face a slightly reconfigured layout when they begin turning laps on Saturday during practice and qualifying. From the exit of turn five, an elongated straightaway greets drivers before funneling them into turn six. From that standard, right-hand corner, drivers shoot down another short straight before navigating a super-tight, left-hand hairpin that sends drivers back onto the NASCAR oval in traditional turn one. And then toward the end of the lap as they exit off the NASCAR oval in traditional turn four, drivers will have to navigate a reshaped chicane which will create a harder and more emphatic braking zone before transitioning back onto the frontstretch and crossing the start/finish line.
● Across the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Gragson has made a total of 42 road-course starts – seven in Cup, 21 in Xfinity, two in Trucks, two in ARCA and 10 in K&N – amassing four wins, 16 top-fives and 27 top-10s with 167 laps led.
● Gragson’s four road-course wins all came in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, and three were earned in a one-week stretch in September 2016. Gragson swept a pair of K&N Series West races at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Tooele, beating Todd Gilliland on Sept. 10 and then besting him again on Sept. 11 when Gragson took the lead from Gilliland on the last lap. Six days and 2,219 miles later at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, Gragson scored his third straight road-course win, this time in the K&N Series East where he beat Justin Haley. Gragson’s fourth and most recent road-course win was earned in the 2019 K&N Series West race at Sonoma.
● Beef-a-Roo, known for its famously delicious burgers and fresh, quality ingredients, will serve as the primary partner for Gragson and the No. 10 team of Stewart-Haas in the Bank of America Roval 400. Beef-a-Roo is a beloved fast-casual restaurant brand that has garnered a loyal fanbase for its commitment to quality food and community engagement. The Roval is the second of three primary races for the No. 10 Beef-a-Roo Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Beef-a-Roo debuted with Gragson last weekend at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and will return to his car one more time Oct. 27 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This partnership, facilitated by agency AMG Sport, marks a key step in Beef-a-Roo’s strategy to align with dynamic personalities who resonate with racing fans and support local communities through motorsport. Coinciding with Beef-a-Roo’s partnership with Gragson is the opening of three new locations in October: Manhattan, Kansas; Pittsburgh, Kansas; and Joplin, Missouri. These soon-to-be-opened restaurants will join already established Beef-a-Roo locations in serving a special Noah Gragson-inspired burger throughout the month of October. Gragson’s “Nacho Burger” features a premium beef patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, tortilla chips, jalapenos and taco sauce, all drizzled with melted cheddar cheese. Download Beef-a-Roo’s new loyalty app to earn Beef-a-Roo discounts and the chance to receive VIP giveaways, including Beef-a-Roo/Gragson merchandise. To learn more about Beef-a-Roo and its offerings, please visit www.beefaroo.com.
Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 10 Beef-a-Roo Ford Mustang Dark Horse
How different is the Roval compared to a traditional road course?
“The infield is more like a road course with off-camber turns, but it’s also like a street course in the infield because it’s so tight in there, and then the oval is just fast and has a back straightaway and front straightaway chicane. For the most part, other than the banking in the corners of the NASCAR turns, it’s like a regular road course.”
The Roval’s layout has been altered a bit. What do you know about it and how will it change the way you drive it?
“It’ll definitely be different just because we got so used to going through that front straightaway chicane. We’re going to have to find different braking markers into there and see if we can push it more or less. I’m assuming you’re going to have to slow down more with them bringing that curve out. And then the infield portion before you get back onto NASCAR turn one, they’ve changed that up. So it’s going to be completely different through those two corners. We’re just going to have to figure it out on the fly.”
That last chicane just before the start/finish line is getting tightened up. Other than slowing you down, how challenging does it make that portion of the track?
“You’re probably going to have to brake earlier just because you can’t carry as much speed through there and straight-line it as much. It’s more of a 90-degree corner, and then you set yourself up for the next one.”
How would you rate yourself as a road-course driver?
“I would probably rate myself, on a scale of 1-10, as a seven on road courses. Not terrible, but always trying to improve. I felt like I picked up road-course racing pretty well and had a lot of success in the Legend Car ranks and Bandoleros, and then moving on up into the K&N Series, I ran really well. I had opportunities to win some Truck races, ran in the top-five a lot and led laps in the Xfinity Series, but never got a win in either Trucks or Xfinity, but was always a contender. But then in the Cup Series, man, it’s challenging, everybody’s good. You used to have the road-course ringers, but now, not so much. I used to take a lot more pride in my road-course efforts coming up through the ranks, but now everybody’s so super good that I’m probably an average guy. I don’t think I’m terrible at it, but I’m not elite at it, either.”
Some guys like road courses, others don’t. Where do you stand when it comes to competing on road courses?
“We used to just have two or three, or maybe only one on the Truck schedule, and my thinking was, ‘Oh man, this’ll be cool, I’ll get to do something different.’ Now there are five road courses – at one point, there were seven on the schedule – so it’s a big chunk of our season. You have to be good at it, but I’d also say it’s just another race where you have to carry the same amount of intensity. It felt a little more unique and special when there was just a limited number of road courses.”
Seven Cup Series starts on road courses and 21 road-course starts in Xfinity, where you finished among the top-five nearly 50 percent of the time, and top-10 all but three times. You’ve had success on road courses, but what makes success on road courses at the Cup level so much harder?
“Cup cars are definitely a lot different to drive than Trucks, Xfinity cars and K&N cars. They’re more like a sports car with the independent rear suspension, so just trying to figure that out – my first-ever road-course race in a Cup car came at the Roval in 2022 and the shifting, everything, is just a little bit different than what you’re used to. The brakes are massive, you can really push the braking zones, and you’re just hustling the car all the way around the racetrack. You can’t hit curbs as much because of the shock limiters where you used to just motor over curbs. They’re a lot more aggressive with the front steering, so you can maneuver very well with these cars, and they respond very well. It’s kind of a mix between an F1 car and one of the old stock cars like the Gen 6 stock car with how you get around these tracks. But with that being said, it’s been a little bit of a change of pace, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
What do you work on to become a better road-course racer?
“I think just constant reps in the sim has been the best for me. I’ve also worked with Carter Fartuch, who’s been a road-course instructor at the Skip Barber Racing School at COTA. Been there for two years now, got a lot of help from him, he’s been a big part of our road-course program the last two years, so that was really good and I appreciate his knowledge. On top of that, just a lot of laps in the simulator seeing where you can try different things and improve your times.”
The current Cup cars seem exceptionally suited to road-course racing to where they’re forgiving and drivers aren’t penalized for mistakes. Because of that, it seems like there’s more rooting and gouging out on the racetrack than ever before. What’s your take?
“I don’t know if it’s harder to pass, but everyone’s really, really close on their lap times, so the final restarts are just chaos. You’ve got to screw the other guy before he screws you on a restart. If you spin him out, so be it, or else you’re going to be the one being spun out. It makes it exciting for the fans, I can say that.”
With track position at such a premium on road courses, can you afford to be nice, or do you need to have a selfish and unforgiving attitude?
“I definitely think it ramps up late in the race. You let guys go in certain areas, like if it’s the middle of the race and there’s no point in abusing your stuff, especially if you’re not the leader or going for the lead, there’s no point. I always felt like there’s time lost to the leader when you’re battling a guy, you’re just slowing each other down. You’re not going to get lapped, but you’re still slowing each other down. If he runs you down, just point him by and let him go because you’re only losing time to the leader.”
How important is qualifying at road courses? Has it become a bit like Formula One where track position is so precious that in order to finish up front, you really need to start up front?
“Absolutely. It’s really hard to pass. Everybody is so close on speed, especially in the Cup Series. With this NextGen car on these road courses, it definitely is somewhat like Formula One, where the winner’s probably going to come from the top-five unless there’s somebody absolutely elite and they messed up their qualifying lap and start deeper in the field. But everyone’s so close that it’s really hard to find that advantage, so between strategy and starting up front, that’s where these races are won.”
● Event: Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 32 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 13
● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval
● Layout: 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 109 laps/252.88 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 25 laps / Final Stage: 59 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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