By Michael Pedro
An Underdog Story in Charlotte: Allmendinger wins the 2023 Bank of America ROVAL 400.
On October 8, 2023, the NASCAR Cup Series took to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the eliminator race of the Round of 12 on the Charlotte Motor Speedway “ROVAL”, a hybrid road course/oval track.
The Fan Zone on the outskirts of the track was bustling with people in the early morning hours. Several notable faces of the sport could have been found there, like Hall of Famers Donnie Allison and Chad Knaus and recently-retired Cup Series driver Kurt Busch.
At 11:00, the track opened, and people flooded the infield and the grandstands. If you were in the infield, you had the opportunity to potentially meet some of the drivers who would be in the race.
Around 1:00, country music artist Riley Green took the stage for a pre-race concert.
Around 2:30, the race began. Cars poured into the corners, turning both left and right. The first half of the race was calm, but the rest would not be. Fan-favorite driver Chase Elliott, piloting the number 9 car, had a close call when he narrowly avoided a penalty near the midpoint of the race. This was only the start of the chaos that was to unfold.
Shortly after this, the 11 of Denny Hamlin would suffer not one but two spins, the latter of which would end his race. Since he had gained enough points during the Round of 12, he was safe and would not be eliminated. Shortly after the restart, the 43 of Erik Jones and the 34 of Michael McDowell would collide, ending Jones’ day and hampering McDowell’s efforts for a win severely.
Then, with 16 laps remaining, the 20 of Christopher Bell and the 99 of Daniel Suarez would collide, sending the latter into the wall. Both drivers could continue, but much like McDowell, Suarez’s bid for a victory would be slim to none.
The final caution of the race would fly when the 47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr, who had been battling an ill-handling race car all day, would catch fire just off of turn 3. Stenhouse was okay, as he was able to get out of his car before the fire got too bad. This set the field up for a short restart, which would decide the winner.
In the end, it was an underdog story, as AJ Allmendinger, driving the number 16 car, would clinch a victory, the third of his career. Allmendinger was overjoyed, stating, “It’s a Cup win! You don’t know when it’s gonna happen again!” Overall, the race was interesting, complete with action and a surprise winner.
