The 2024 Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina was the 29th stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the third race of the playoffs, the final race of the Round of 12, and the 7th iteration of the event. The race was held on October 12, 2024, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval layout in Concord, North Carolina, a 2.32 miles (3.73 km) permanent road course. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 67 laps, but was extended to 72 laps due to an overtime finish. In an action-packed event that sparked late-race controversy, Sam Mayer, driving for JR Motorsports, would take away the lead from Parker Kligerman in a fierce battle on the final restart, and cruised the rest of the way to earn his seventh career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his third of the season. Mayer would also claim a spot in the next round of the playoffs.[9] Although there were numerous lead changes, A. J. Allmendinger led a race-high 18 laps, finishing second behind eventual winner Mayer. To fill out the podium, Shane van Gisbergen, driving for Kaulig Racing, would finish 3rd, respectively.
Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is 2.28 miles (3.67 km) in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race will be contested over a scheduled distance of 109 laps, 400 kilometres (250 mi).
During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" the backstretch chicane on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during restarts. In the summer of 2019, the bus stop on the backstretch was changed and deepened, becoming a permanent part of the circuit, compared to the previous year where it was improvised.
If a driver fails to legally make the backstretch bus stop, the driver must skip the frontstretch chicane and make a complete stop by the dotted line on the exit before being allowed to continue. A driver who misses the frontstretch chicane must stop before the exit.
On May 26, 2024, it was announced that the Charlotte Roval would get a redesign, featuring an updated infield road course which includes an extension of the straightaway after turn 5, a new turn 6, and a sharper hairpin for turn 7, in addition the apex for turn 16 on the final chicane was made tighter.[11]
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, October 12, at 10:00 AM EST, and would last for 50 minutes.[12]Shane van Gisbergen, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:25.221, and a speed of 96.314 mph (155.002 km/h).
Qualifying will be held on Saturday, October 12, at 11:00 AM EST.[12] Since the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval layout is a road course, the qualifying system is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each driver will have multiple laps to set a time. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. The fastest driver to set a time in the final round will win the pole.[13]
Under a 2021 rule change, the timing line in road course qualifying is "not" the start-finish line. Instead, the timing line for qualifying will be set at the exit of Turn 13. Shane van Gisbergen, driving for Kaulig Racing, would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary round and setting the fastest time in Round 2, with a lap of 1:24.523, and a speed of 97.110 mph (156.283 km/h).[14]
During the late stages of the race, NASCAR faced heavy criticism due to an incident that occurred with two laps to go. With two to go, an incident occurred after Leland Honeyman locked his brakes up and plowed into the tire barriers in turn three, becoming stuck. NASCAR continued on with the race, with Parker Kligerman (in a must-win situation) leading over Sam Mayer. NASCAR eventually brought out the caution as Kligerman crossed the start/finish line for the white flag. It was determined that the leader did not take the white flag before the caution came out; NASCAR would rule that the caution came out just a few feet before Kligerman crossed the line, resulting in an overtime restart. Mayer would eventually pass Kligerman on the final restart to win the race, earning his spot in the next round of the playoffs. Kligerman was officially scored in the sixth position, falling back numerous spots after a tire rub ended his chances at a win.[15][16]
^"Charlotte Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
