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Kyle Busch suggests alterations be made to Charlotte Roval

2015 NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Busch says he has raised concerns over Charlotte’s Roval following the latest test of the circuit ahead of its 2018 playoffs appearance.

Tom Errington

Edited: Mar 28, 2018, 5:18 PM

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Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Caramel

Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval

Jamie McMurray, Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet

Charlotte road course tire testing

Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Jamie McMurray, Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Busch took part in the test last week that was curtailed by bad weather, and other drivers echoed Martin Truex Jr.’s comments about the track being intimidating and unique.

The circuit, which will be the first road course ever in the NASCAR’s playoffs, has undergone changes to the layout that will make a lap 10-15 seconds quicker by eliminating the final loop and the infield hairpin.

Raising concerns

Busch says he found some of the track’s corners to be a concern and raised them with Charlotte Motor Speedway general manager Marcus Smith and Speedway Motorsports Inc (Charlotte’s operator) vice president Don Hawk.

“There were a couple corners that were a little iffy that I talked to Marcus [Smith] and Don Hawk about and they have an idea for changes to one of them, but not the other one,” said Busch.

“When you’re coming down onto the front straight and you have that zone in the infield grass and then you turn, you have a direct, head-on impact into the wall on the front straight there so that’s kind of a concern.

“The chicane on the front stretch, when we were testing it wasn’t bad because you could hop this curve and hop that curve, but then they wanted to straighten that out more from Turn 7 like at Sonoma, which is more of a 90-degree turn and would make that angle worse.

“I expressed my displeasure with that idea and then we also had the same thing coming from Turn 7 to Turn 8 where you’re braking in a zone and heading head-on into the front straight wall to get back on NASCAR [Turn] 1.

“[What needs to be done is] softening up that corner as well and making that tighter and a softer corner where you can corner that and get back on the main track a little safer.”

"Kind of okay"

Busch added that the track will be a race of survival and that its narrowness won’t prevent it being an exciting race.

“Those are some instances that I felt were kind of the worst instances, other than that I thought the track was kind of okay, it’s a bit narrow and tight in places, but I think you have that at some other road courses that I have not been at that NASCAR has been at.

“Montreal is really narrow too and it puts on a decent show. I think it will be fine, it will just be different. I think it’s going to be about survival more than anything.”

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