Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team are headed into this weekend’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway hoping to avoid being swept up in the drama that comes with a cut-off race in the Playoffs.
The ROVAL 400 is the final event in the Round of 12 and there will be pressure on drivers and teams still in the Playoffs to get a finish that will put them in the Round of Eight. After Sunday’s race, the bottom four drivers in the Round of 12 will be eliminated from championship contention.
“One thing about the Playoffs, the cut-off races for each round are sure to provide some drama, and I think the Roval probably tends to be the wildest,” said Jeremy Bullins, crew chief of the No. 21 DEX Imaging team. “Hopefully we can go have a solid weekend with our DEX Mustang Dark Horse and fly below the radar for a good finish.”
In addition to the Playoff-related drama, drivers will have to adapt to some reconfiguration of the 17-turn, 2.28-mile ROVAL. According to a news release from the speedway, two new braking zones have been created. The release stated that “included in the reconfiguration, crews will extend the straight-away coming out of Turn 5 and create a new Turn 6, sending the field toward a much sharper hairpin in Turn 7. On the frontstretch, a sharper apex in Turn 16 of the final chicane will be created.”
Bullins said that’s two big issues for teams and drivers to tackle.
“With the playoff implications and the track configuration changes there will be a lot going on this weekend,” he said. “I feel like we have been making some progress with Harrison on the road courses and hopefully we can put together a good race and come away with a strong result.”
Practice for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 is set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time to be followed by qualifying at 2 p.m. USA Network will carry the TV coverage.
Sunday’s 109-lap, 248.52-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2 p.m., with the TV broadcast on NBC.
Stage breaks are planned for Laps 25 and 50.
WBR PR
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