Updated October 3, 2025
It's ROVAL Week, as the 2025 Bank of America ROVAL 400 is set to run on Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s infield road course. This is the final race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Many eyes will be on road-course star Shane van Gisbergen, but drivers still in playoff contention may pull out every trick to steal the win from him. Here, I take a closer look at this race and make my ROVAL 400 prediction.
Sunday’s road course race will test drivers across 17 turns. The ROVAL includes pure road-course segments and more technical portions through the infield. It often rewards drivers who balance aggression and patience. Last year’s winner at this race was Kyle Larson. Larson has shown strong form on this layout. He is the driver with the best chance to chase down Shane van Gisbergen, who enters as the clear favorite in betting markets.
Because van Gisbergen is not in playoff contention a win here won't do him any good in the championship chase. But SVG’s road-course history makes him a driver to enjoy watching at this event nonetheless. Among playoff drivers, Larson, Christopher Bell, and William Byron have the shortest odds to get the win here.
It will also be interesting to see how the drivers just above and below the cut line handle this race. Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano currently hold the final two spots in the top eight. But Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick are within striking distance and could steal a spot if they perform at their best at the ROVAL 400.
Shane van Gisbergen is the deserved favorite to win the ROVAL 400. His run of road-course dominance this year is no fluke and our simulations have him coming out on top often in this race. But I do think that there is some better value to be had with a driver like Larson to come out on top in this final race before the championship field is cut to eight drivers.
Larson has the motivational edge over SVG going into this race, as he still has a chance to win the championship and would benefit greatly from a strong showing this weekend. Larson is also someone who has had success on this track before, which could help him to hang with the road-course veteran. Based on pricing alone, I think that Larson is a better bet than SVG, even if SVG ends up being the one to take the checkered flag in the end.