Martin Truex Jr. has won consecutive Cup Series races and the news doesn't get any better for his competitors this week at Charlotte Motor Speedway's ROVAL.
Truex has three wins and five top-two finishes in the last six races on road courses. He led coming into the final chicane at last year's inaugural ROVAL race but crashed out with Jimmie Johnson, allowing Ryan Blaney to get the win.
Truex's shot to sweep this playoff round — and get redemption from last year — could be motivating factors Sunday.
The Bank of America ROVAL 400 is the last race in the opening round of the playoffs as the 16-driver field will be trimmed to 12 after Sunday.
MORE: Watch the Roval race at Charlotte live with fuboTV (7-day trial)
There basically are nine drivers looking to fill the final five berths in the next round of the playoffs.
Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola and William Byron enter Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. ET race inside the top 12, while Alex Bowman, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Erik Jones are on the outside of the playoff cut line looking in, with six of the drivers separated by the 18 points or fewer.
That kind of multi-driver scramble with the wild card of Charlotte's 2.28-mile road course that has a head-spinning 17 turns will make for an interesting race.
It's worth noting that Busch, 14 points out of the 12th playoff spot, holds the qualifying record currently with a fast lap of 106.868 mph on the ROVAL.
NASCAR at Charlotte: What time does the Roval race start?
The Bank of America ROVAL 400 will take place Sunday, Sept. 29. Live coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.
What TV channel is NASCAR on today?
The Bank of America ROVAL 400 will be broadcast nationally on NBC. The race also can be livestreamed on the NBC Sports App or by subscribing to fuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial.
Bank of America Roval 400 schedule, how to watch
Here's a daily schedule of events leading up to the Bank of America ROVAL 400:
(All times Eastern)
Friday, Sept. 27
| 12:05 p.m. | Cup Series first practice | NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN |
| 1:05 p.m. | Xfinity Series first practice | NBC Sports App |
| 3:05 p.m. | Xfinity Series final practice | NBCSN/NBC Sports App |
| 4:40 p.m. | Cup Series qualifying | NBCSN/NBC Sports App/PRN |
Saturday, Sept. 28
| 11:05 a.m. | Cup Series second practice | NBC Sports App |
| 12:10 p.m. | Xfinity Series qualifying | NBCSN/NBC Sports App/ |
| 2 p.m. | Cup Series final practice | NBCSN/NBC Sports App/PRN |
| 3:30 p.m. | Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 | NBCSN/NBC Sports App |
Sunday, Sept. 29
| 2:30 p.m. | Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 | NBC/NBC Sports App/PRN |
Bank of America ROVAL 400 starting lineup
Below is the entry list for the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
| Starting | Driver | Number |
| TBD | Landon Cassill | 00 |
| TBD | Kurt Busch | 1 |
| TBD | Brad Keselowski | 2 |
| TBD | Austin Dillon | 3 |
| TBD | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
| TBD | Ryan Newman | 6 |
| TBD | Daniel Hemric | 8 |
| TBD | Chase Elliott | 9 |
| TBD | Aric Almirola | 10 |
| TBD | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
| TBD | Ryan Blaney | 12 |
| TBD | Ty Dillon | 13 |
| TBD | Clint Bowyer | 14 |
| TBD | Ross Chastain | 15 |
| TBD | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 17 |
| TBD | Kyle Busch | 18 |
| TBD | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 |
| TBD | Erik Jones | 20 |
| TBD | Paul Menard | 21 |
| TBD | Joey Logano | 22 |
| TBD | William Byron | 24 |
| TBD | Joe Nemechek | 27 |
| TBD | Corey LaJoie | 32 |
| TBD | Michael McDowell | 34 |
| TBD | Matt Tifft | 36 |
| TBD | Chris Buescher | 37 |
| TBD | David Ragan | 38 |
| TBD | Daniel Suarez | 41 |
| TBD | Kyle Larson | 42 |
| TBD | Bubba Wallace | 43 |
| TBD | Ryan Preece | 47 |
| TBD | Jimmie Johnson | 48 |
| TBD | Cody Ware | 51 |
| TBD | Garrett Smithley | 52 |
| TBD | Josh Bilicki | 53 |
| TBD | Timmy Hill | 66 |
| TBD | Reed Sorenson | 77 |
| TBD | Alex Bowman | 88 |
| TBD | Matt DiBenedetto | 95 |
| TBD | Parker Kligerman | 96 |
