NASCAR Cup Series in Charlotte from the composition of the range

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"The bus stop on the back is quite difficult," said AJ Allmendinger. "In race conditions, it's going to be really great – whether it's turbulent or you're sitting side by side."

"It's going to be a challenge for NASCAR to make the right call if someone is being pushed and needs to shorten it, but everything is difficult.You can get into trouble in any part of the race." , that's what makes fun. "

Can drivers really expect to cross the whole weekend unscathed? Even poleman Kurt Busch is not so sure. He acknowledged that baffling on the back rope is the most dangerous of regions.

"There is a lot of speed to gain and a lot of speed to lose," Busch said of the quibble. "When we were testing the tire barrier, it did not seem as close to the race pace as it is today, so the risk versus the reward is a huge penalty when you're rubbing the tire barrier against the speed that you will win. It's where I focus most. "

Martin Truex Jr. hopes to be able to avoid the damage.

"It's so fast and a bit slippery because your plan is to get out of this quibble and be as close to that wall of tires as possible as it's speed," Truex said. . "If you find yourself in the middle of this quarrel and suddenly the back of the car comes out a little, what we saw two or three guys, you have to take it.

"You find your front left tire in this tire wall – there is not much room for error".

The race is the elimination race for the first round of the playoffs, which means that the drivers have a lot on the line. Reminder: the tie-break is the best result of the round and it remains a draw, the second best result, then the third best result. If all the finishes are the same, it is the one who won the first tiebreaker.

Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. took the next round, while Kevin Harvick qualified early in the race. The scenario for the other drivers is included in the breakdown, but here's how they rank in the tiebreaker: Kyle Larson (best 2nd / 7th), Joey Logano (4th / 14th), Chase Elliott (4th / 36th) ), Aric Almirola (5th / 6th), Ryan Blaney (5th / 19th), Austin Dillon (6th / 11th), Jimmie Johnson (8th / 22nd), Clint Bowyer (10th / 23rd), Erik Jones (11th / 40th), Alex Bowman (12 / 19th), Denny Hamlin (16th / 32nd), Kurt Busch (18th / 21st).

Here is the breakdown of the range for the Bank of America Roval 400:

1. Kurt Busch (Ford Racing No 41 from Stewart-Haas): Busch would need 43 points to qualify if Bowyer, Johnson, Jones or Hamlin win, 41 points if Blaney wins and 40 points if anyone else wins. He has 15 points ahead of the current threshold. He is good enough on road courses to accumulate stage points – being on the pole certainly contributes to that – and then seeing what he has to do.

2. AJ Allmendinger (Jagu Daugherty Racing JTG # 47): It was announced Tuesday that Allmendinger would not return on this car in 2019. He would probably like nothing better than winning this race.

3. Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports # 88 Chevrolet): Bowman would get 53 points if Bowyer, Johnson, Jones or Hamlin win, with 51 points if Blaney wins and 50 points if someone wins. He is 11th in the standings and five points ahead of the cup. He just needs to run his race and see what happens. He did his job Friday by earning this strong starting point.

4. Chase Elliott (# 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet): Elliott can win a spot in the next round with 48 points if Bowyer, Johnson, Jones or Hamlin wins; 46 points if Ryan Blaney wins or 45 points if another driver wins. He currently has 10 points ahead of the cutoff (he is tied with Dillon). The key: he has confidence in road races with a win at Watkins Glen.

5. Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Chevrolet Racing No. 42): Larson would need 40 points to qualify if Bowyer, Johnson, Jones or Hamlin win, 38 points if Blaney wins and 37 points if anyone else wins. He has 17 points ahead of the current cut. Fortunately there was no distractions this week other than the wedding.

6. Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports # 48 Chevrolet): Johnson's only way to control his own destiny is to win. In 14th place, he is six points behind Blaney for the current cutoff. The only thing worse than giving him the math all along the race would be to ask him to get some fuel.

7. Clint Bowyer (Ford Racing No 14 Stewart-Haas): If Bowyer sweeps both stages and finishes second, he could win a place in the next round as long as Johnson, Jones or Hamlin do not win. He is currently four points behind Blaney for last place. Something tells me that they're not going to fill Bowyer's head during the race and just tell him to go racing.

8. Jamie McMurray (Chevrolet Ganassi Racing No. 1): If this is McMurray's latest road race, he hopes he'll be able to make it fun. His outlook for 2019 beyond the Daytona 500 looks bleak.

9. Ryan Blaney (Team Penske No. 12 Ford): Blaney can win a spot in the next round with 54 points (finishing second and winning 19 by 20 points in stages or finishing third and sweeping the stages) if Bowyer, Johnson, Jones or Hamlin wins; 52 points if Bowman wins and 51 points if anyone else wins. He's just four points ahead of Bowyer on the bubble. He probably can not earn points, he has to shop and see where things fall.

10. Chris Buescher (Chevrolet JTG Daugherty Racing No. 37): Buescher told ESPN.com that he was not worried a month ago about his future with the team, and team co-owner Tad Geschickter confirmed Friday that Buescher would be back next season. FYI, Buescher has not made any predictions for Charlotte's road course.

11. Daniel Hemric (Richard Childress Racing # 8 Chevrolet): Hemric is just starting the second cup race of his career. He will do a lot more next year for CPR.

12. Erik Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing # 20 Toyota): At 21 points from the limit, Jones must win to carve a place in the next round. Jones thinks that someone must win, so why not him? He was seventh at Sonoma and fifth at The Glen.

13. Martin Truex Jr. (Row Furniture No. 78 Toyota): Truex has already earned a spot in the next round of points. Her long-time friend, Sherry Pollex, will drive the car on her lap. I wonder how much he paid the pole vaulter to give the race car some polished or not so polished faucets, lol.

14. Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing # 18 Toyota): Last week's victory in Richmond means Busch does not have to worry about moving on to the next round. Considering those who have landed are Busch, Truex, Keselowski and Harvick (after the green flag), it would be great to see them in a race without waiting until the finish.

15. Joey Logano (Team Penske No. 22 Ford): Logano can clinch a spot on the next round with 33 points (a fourth place if no stage point), 31 points (sixth) if Blaney wins and only 30 points (seventh) as long as Bowyer, Johnson, Jones and Hamlin do not. not win At 35 points of the cutoff, he is in good shape. Do not dive in the first step.

16. Trevor Bayne (Ford Us Roush Fenway Racing): Bayne would like a great performance as he looks for a race for next year. But he can not do it at the expense of the anger of a possible owner of the 2019 team.

17. Daniel Suarez (Joe Gibbs Racing # 19 Toyota): He holds the key to the silly season. A win could certainly help as he continues to look for a race in 2019.

18. Michael McDowell (Ford Front Row Motorsports No. 34): McDowell is 26th in the standings, three points behind David Ragan, 25th. This pretty much shows that the pilots are quite equal in similar equipment.

19. Kevin Harvick (Ford Racing No. 4 Stewart-Haas): Harvick clinched a spot on the next lap by riding off-road for the start of the race. This should not be a problem. It's good to have already won seven races this year.

20. Aric Almirola (Ford-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford): Almriola can win a spot on the next round with 35 points (second place if no stage point) if Bowyer, Johnson, Jones or Hamlin wins; 33 points (fourth) if Blaney wins and 32 points (fifth) if anyone else wins. He should not focus on a top-5 – at 23 points of the current threshold, a top-10 should suffice.

21. William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports # 24 Chevrolet): Byron's two goals are likely to win the rookie of the year and finish in the top 20. He is in good shape for the first with a 114 point lead over Bubba Wallace. But he needs 67 points to catch the 20th place in Suarez.

22. Paul Menard (Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford): Menard is a solid road racer and generally takes care of his equipment. Do not be surprised to see him with a shot in the end. But considering that he's not in the playoffs, do not be surprised to see him with a shot in the end – and then see him being dumped by someone desperate to get to the next round.

23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford): It will probably not be a fun race for Stenhouse, who crashed into training and the team repaired the entire rear of the car. But at least there is no pressure.

24. Austin Dillon (Chevrolet Childress Racing # 3): Dillon can win a place in the next round with 48 points if Bowyer, Johnson, Jones or Hamlin wins; 46 points if Ryan Blaney wins or 45 points if another driver wins. He currently has 10 points ahead of the threshold, so he has to go out and run well. Not great, but good. The stage points would help.

25. Brad Keselowski (Team Penske No. 2 Ford): Keselowksi is one of four drivers who does not care. Of course, he would like more points in the playoffs. But would he use the bumper knowing that the refund could be in another round?

26. Ty Dillon (Chevy Racing No. 13 Chevrolet): Dillon reiterated this week his commitment to Germain Racing until 2020 and he intends to honor that commitment. There is something to be said about not being under the thumb of his grandfather every day.

27. Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota): Hamlin is in a world of suffering. He is 21 points off the score, not to mention that he should cross three other drivers in the standings. His best bet is to win and yet he will go to the back of the pack as he crashed in qualifying and start with a spare car. If he needs to use the bumper to make gains, so be it.

28. Matt DiBenedetto (Go Fas Racing No. 32 Ford): DiBenedetto continues to look for a ride for next year, but this is probably not the place to make noise.

29. Ryan Newman (Chevrolet Childress Racing # 31): Newman leads the "best of the rest" with a 17-point lead over Menard. Not sure it's a big problem but it's something.

30. David Ragan (Ford Front Row Motorsports # 38): Ragan, who is not exactly an ace of the road, will try to keep the car on the right track. We'll see how it goes.

31. Justin Marks (Premium Motorsports No. 15 Chevrolet): Marks, who has made 78 career starts in all three NASCAR national series, including a Xfinity victory in 2016 in Mid-Ohio, said it was his last start in NASCAR. Marks: "I have sort of passed through this line as a business leader and a business leader and race car driver for several years, I have very good aspirations over the next few years. [in business] professionally and I have the feeling that it's time to move full-time to pursue these opportunities. "

32. Regan Smith (Chevrolet Leavine Family Racing No. 95): It could very well be Smith's last race in this car as Kasey Kahne will be back next week in Dover.

33. Cole Whitt (TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet No 72): Whitt's last race was The Glen, where he finished 34th.

34. Bubba Wallace (Richard Petty Motorsports # 43 Chevrolet): The best thing about this road course is that maybe it improves the terrain a bit, and for a driver like Wallace who has trouble following road courses, at least that gives him hope.

35. Ross Chastain (Chevrolet Motorsports No. 7): Chastain moves into the car while Justin Marks gets the Premium Headquarters.