CONCORD, N.C. — Three burning questions facing the field (and our writers) heading into Sunday’s inaugural Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s combination road course and oval:
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1. Which driver above the cutoff line should be the most worried?
Allie Davison: Alex Bowman has two top-15 finishes on road courses in 2018, but the Roval seems to demand a different kind of taming. He is only one point ahead of Ryan Blaney, who currently holds the final transfer position. The No. 88 will fire off third on Sunday, but being up front could be where danger lies for mistakes or getting caught in messy wrecks or traffic.
Jessica Ruffin: Austin Dillon hit the wall of the backstretch chicane in opening practice and while his crew was able to repair the No. 3, there’s still damage. He’s also never finished better than 16th at a road course and is rolling off the grid mid-pack — a scary place to be — in 24th. Dillon may have won at Charlotte Motor Speedway before, but this Roval is a whole different game that he may have trouble playing.
Zack Albert: Realize he’s 23 points to the good and in a relatively comfortable spot entering Sunday’s event, but Aric Almirola’s weekend performance thus far means he might be cutting it close. He didn’t crack the top 20 in any of the three practices and his No. 10 Ford sustained damage in a Saturday crash in Turn 3.
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2. What have we learned about the track?
Allie Davison: If you miss your line, the chance of you spinning out or wrecking are seemingly much, much higher than normal. Saturday’s Xfinity Series race was the first time we’ve seen cars attempt passing or go two-wide racing … and it’s even crazier than originally thought.
Jessica Ruffin: Expect some new faces near the front; road courses typically have their ringers, but this track is even more of a wild card. ‘Big 3’ driver Martin Truex Jr. has been strong, but we’ve also seen speed from drivers like outside pole-sitter AJ Allmendinger, Michael McDowell and even Daniel Hemric in the No. 8, making his second-career Monster Energy Series start.
Zack Albert: This might be more of a confirmed hunch than a learning, but the course is exacting. We knew that the scarcity of run-off room would likely mean damage in the case of a misstep, but the curbing (including the feared “turtles”) have been especially bruising.
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3. Will we see a surprise winner?
Allie Davison: Daniel Hemric has logged plenty of laps around the Charlotte road course. The double-duty job may just be the ticket to cap off a weekend that he’ll forever remember, as it was announced Friday that he would race in the Monster Energy Series full-time in 2019 with Richard Childress Racing. He placed 10th in the Saturday NXS event.
Jessica Ruffin: Hendrick Motorsports has shown speed this weekend, particularly Jimmie Johnson; the No. 48 Chevrolet topped the 10-lap leaderboard in final practice, led second practice and qualified sixth. Johnson needs a strong run to advance to the Round of 12 and with his veteran driving experience, the tricky Charlotte road course seems like the place where he could do more than that by finally snapping that 51-race winless streak.
Zack Albert: Let’s give a nod to AJ Allmendinger, the front-row starter finishing out his term this season in the No. 47 Chevrolet. His road-racing pedigree has always shown up on non-oval tracks and would make for a fond farewell to JTG Daugherty Racing.
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