Last-minute adjustments were made to the Charlotte Roval track after significant safety concerns were raised by drivers.
Responding to feedback on the eve of the Bank of America ROVAL 400, NASCAR opted to replace the existing blue rumble strips in Turn 16 with an updated, lower-profile design. These alterations were implemented just before the Cup Series race, which marks the culmination of the playoff’s Round of 12.
The newly installed curbs are now 2.25 inches tall, reduced from the former 4-inch blue rumble strips. This change comes after drivers raised significant concerns about the harshness of the impacts when navigating the turn. The replacement strips are designed to mitigate the risks of vehicle damage and driver discomfort around the chicane.
The urgency of these modifications stems from alarming feedback voiced by several prominent drivers after Saturday’s practice session. The previous curbing was viewed as excessively abrupt, posing potential risks to driver safety. Martin Truex Jr. stated, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:
“Feels like you get a concussion every lap basically if you hit them. So, yeah. Not much fun.”
Echoing this sentiment, Kyle Busch remarked:
“It’s not overblowing it. It’s 1000% correct. I don’t know when I’ll see the data, probably not until Monday but it fuc… my head hurts.”
Aside from Truex Jr. and Busch, multiple drivers including Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman, revealed their discontent with the track’s new dynamics. Hamlin likened them to those seen at the LA Coliseum, citing narrower and sharper turns that demand heightened precision, whereas Bowman noted the visibility challenges posed by the circuit’s reconfigured Turn 6.
Hamlin stated ahead of the race weekend, as reported by Newsweek Sports:
“The reconfigure was designed to create more chaos. You’re going to have to convince me otherwise of that.
“They make corners sharper and tighter. It was tighter in Turn 7 anyway, but now they made it to a point.
“So instead of you driving the normal optimum line to make this corner that is really really tight, tighter than the (LA) Coliseum.”
Chase Elliott also commented ahead of the race, as per the same Newsweek report:
“To me, I kind of look at it like it’s a new race track, truthfully.
“That section of the track is going to change the entire flow of the lap there, so I’ve been kind of approaching it as a new track with my preparation.
“I’ve spent some time in the simulator, just trying to really memorize the track and where the little bumps are…
“Obviously, we have extra practice next week, so hopefully that’s enough to find a good rhythm and get a good flow for qualifying and then obviously for the race.”
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