The lap
Charlotte Motor Speedway · Roval 2025
5 corners, 4 of which decide the lap. What each one asks of the car, and what you do about it.
Frontstretch
Front chicane
Infield esses
Hairpin
Backstretch
Back chicane
Banking
StraightFast cornerMedium cornerSlow corner
The lapTwo circuits in one: a tight, kerb-heavy infield and a stretch of banked oval where the car is loaded harder than anywhere else it runs. The compromise is the whole problem — a car soft enough for the chicanes will bottom on the banking.
Set up forBraking stability into two chicanes, kerb compliance through both, and enough platform left that the banking does not use up the car's travel.
Classic mistakeSetting up for the infield alone. Soft and compliant is right for the chicanes and wrong on the banking, where sustained load will put the car on its bump stops.
Works hardestBrakes into both chicanes, everything on the banking
Length3.7 km · road course · US
Corner by corner
Every corner on this layout
A • marks the corners that decide the lap.
T1–2 Frontstretch Chicane •
Slow · chicane · heavy braking
Hard braking off the banking into a tight left-right, with kerbs that will throw the car if you take too much.
- Technique
- Brake while the banking is still helping you, then take the kerb square. Being greedy here ends races.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Kerbs are part of the line · Wants yaw on entry · Low speed — aero does little
T3–5 Infield Esses
Medium · flowing
A quick sequence through the infield where the car has to change direction cleanly.
- Technique
- Flow rather than attack. The exit onto the infield straight is what you are protecting.
- Demands
- Transient, not steady-state · Turn-in transient · Sustained mid-corner load
T7 Infield Hairpin •
Slow · hairpin
The slowest point on the circuit, and the best overtaking chance on the lap.
- Technique
- All exit, but expect company. Leaving the door shut here costs less than the place does.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Low speed — aero does little · Wants yaw on entry · Traction-limited · Exit-phase limited
T9–10 Backstretch Chicane •
Slow · chicane
A tight left-right before you rejoin the banking, with a heavy stop from real speed.
- Technique
- Get the car straight before the kerb. A car still rotating when it hits this kerb does not come back.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Kerbs are part of the line · Wants yaw on entry · Wants a settled rear
T3–4 oval Oval Turns Three and Four •
Fast · banked
Sustained high load on the banking, where the car weighs far more than it does anywhere else on the lap.
- Technique
- Nothing to do but commit and hold a line. What matters is that the car is stable under load — the banking does the rest.
- Demands
- High speed — aero is live · Sustained mid-corner load · Wants a settled rear · Aero platform sensitive
Corner names and numbering follow common usage; some circuits number differently between layouts.
Sideways
Where to go next
The ranked answer is per car. Pick yours to see what this lap asks of it.
This lap, car by car