CONCORD, N.C. — Xfinity Series winner Sam Mayer has a message ahead of Sunday’s Cup race at the Charlotte Roval about the new restart zone.
It’s toughhhhh,” Mayer said. “It is the hardest restart zone we’ve had this year. I thought Indy and Portland were going to be pretty tough and then we saw this and experienced this. This was way harder.”
MORE: Drama builds heading into Roval elimination race
Previously, NASCAR Cup and Xfinity teams started and restarted on the frontstretch at Charlotte instead of going through the final chicane. That meant cars went faster into Turn 1, often causing accidents.
In an effort to limit the carnage at road courses, NASCAR changed the location of restart zones at some courses. Teams restarted before a 90-degree corner at Chicago and before the final turn at Indianapolis.
This weekend, Cup and Xfinity teams are going through the final chicane on the start and restarts. Cup drivers said Saturday that they planned to watch the Xfinity race to see how the field handled it and if one lane had an advantage over another in Sunday’s race (2 p.m. ET on NBC).
“We obviously want to know which lane is preferred, preferred from the front row, preferred from five back or preferred from 15 back,” Chris Buescher said before the Xfinity race.
Said Martin Truex Jr.: “Restarts are always pretty crazy here, and I’m sure it’ll still be that way.”
Early in the race when Mayer led, he chose the inside lane and that proved challenging. The final corner is a left-hander on to the frontstretch. Mayer said it was such a sharp turn from the inside lane that it was difficult to maintain grip while accelerating. He made contact with teammate Josh Berry, who was on the outside, on one restart.
In that sense, Mayer said, the right side (outside lane) was the preferred lane but that also had its perils. Shortly after crossing the start/finish line, cars would go into the left-hand Turn 1. A car on the outside could be moved up the track. So, there were challenges with either lane.
Further back in the field, the action was wilder, as Parker Kligerman noted from his experience in the Xfinity race.
“They’ve never hit a restart as fast as this in their life at a road course,” Kligerman said. “What happens is, especially if you’re not the leader, by the time they get to the (restart) line we’re cruising and then everyone just guns it. So it’s a wild restart.
“About third or fourth row back, you’re struggling for grip, so you’re running into each other. It’ll be interesting for Cup for sure.”
