05/21/2026
Roberson Breaks Through as Charlotte Delivers Strategy, Controversy, and Frustration Across the Field
Concord, NC, iRacing World — The NSRLA SoarDogg Cup Series’ stop at Charlotte Motor Speedway had the feel of a true crown jewel event, but by the end of the night, the story was bigger than just the winner. Charles Roberson captured the victory in the No. 99 Exide Batteries Ford Mustang, while several other drivers left Charlotte debating strategy calls, race control decisions, aggressive driving, and missed opportunities.
Roberson’s win came after a strong final run where his car fired off well and gave him enough pace to hold the lead late. He admitted Dustin Lewis appeared to have slightly more speed near the end, and with about five laps remaining, Roberson felt the right front begin to wear out. Still, he managed the car when it mattered most and finally secured the win.
Lewis finished second in the No. 33 Black Diamond Enterprises Ford Mustang, but his result came with mixed emotions. Although a runner-up finish in a major Charlotte race would normally be a strong night, Lewis said the finish felt hollow. He pointed to an early restart where he spun the tires, collected teammate Evan Janik, and damaged another driver’s race. Later, Lewis also had to step into a Race Control role while still competing, a situation he said followed series rules but still left him feeling responsible for how it affected the event.
Jose Mercado finished third in the No. 6 Build Submarines Ford Mustang and believed he had a winning car. Mercado said his crew made a strong fuel strategy call that had him in position to lap the field by the scheduled end of Stage 3. However, he said the stage being extended from lap 151 to lap 152 forced him to save fuel and changed the race by putting more cars back on the lead lap. Mercado felt that decision took away his best shot at the win.
Josh Christman came home fourth in the No. 83 Ancient World Gaming Chevrolet Camaro after showing strong pace, especially when running behind Roberson. Christman said he was quicker than the No. 99 at times but lost the nose every time he got close in dirty air. A four-tire call on the final stop also cost him track position to cars that took two tires, leaving him without enough laps to run them back down.
Caleb Jones rounded out the top five in the No. 12 Jesus Loves You, Duane Jones Racing Ford Mustang. Jones called it likely his best Cup race ever in the league and said the car was easily capable of a top-five finish. While strategy may have kept him from finishing higher, the result gave his team a major boost heading into Nashville.
Jerry Salitis finished sixth in the No. 63 Big Red Toyota Camry after sticking to a clean and disciplined race plan. Salitis said his goal was to avoid mistakes, keep the racing clean, and not make errors on pit road during the longest race on the schedule. That approach paid off with a strong top-10 result.
Ryan Bitler finished seventh in the No. 13 Rockstar Punched Toyota Camry, but his post-race comments focused heavily on driving standards. Bitler said the race was cleaner than the truck event, but he still criticized overaggressive driving, repeat offenders, black flag clears, and lapped traffic interfering with lead-lap battles. He said the key to a top-10 finish was avoiding certain drivers and keeping the car clean.
Joshua Thornton brought the No. 25 Precision Speed Solutions Toyota Camry home eighth after a night of speed and recovery. Thornton said the car was strong, especially on long runs, but traffic kept him from fully opening it up. Contact with the No. 83 and a speeding penalty that dropped him two laps down forced the team to fight back, but Thornton praised the effort and resilience of his crew.
Further back, Andrew Allen finished 11th in the No. 96 Country Candles entry after fuel strategy and lucky dog confusion derailed what he believed could have been a podium run. Casey Bristow finished 13th in the No. 11 Jordan Brand Toyota after being turned on lap three, leaving him highly frustrated with early-race side drafting and aggressive driving. Alex Pollack finished 15th with a DNF in the No. 92 Black Diamond Enterprises Ford Mustang after being caught in another incident, saying he has now been wrecked out of six of the first 12 races because of other people’s mistakes.
The DNF list told much of the story of the night. Evan Janik had speed in the No. 60 AMSOIL Ford Mustang, but a fuel strategy call cost him track position and put him in the middle of trouble. After taking seven minutes of damage, his night was effectively over. Michael Kostek’s No. 8 Jack Daniels Chevrolet Camaro was sent into the inside wall after contact with the No. 93, ending his race early. Noah Ganger finished 19th after taking responsibility for a botched side draft that wrecked himself and affected several other cars.
The most serious moment of the race came on lap 91, when Gino Villanti, driver of the No. 35 A.R.M Racing Toyota, was involved in a violent crash. Villanti was evaluated at the infield care center before being airlifted to Atrium Medical Hospital for further evaluation. No post-race interview was available at the time.
Charlotte ended with Roberson in victory lane, but the race left behind several major talking points. Strategy shaped the front of the field, race control decisions became a major post-race topic, and multiple drivers called attention to aggressive driving and repeat incidents. For some teams, Charlotte was a breakthrough. For others, it was another missed opportunity in a season already filled with frustration.
Nashville Preview
The NSRLA SoarDogg Cup Series now heads to Nashville with plenty of momentum and plenty of tension.
Roberson enters Nashville as the most recent winner and will look to prove Charlotte was not a one-off breakthrough. Lewis, Mercado, Christman, Jones, Salitis, Bitler, and Thornton all showed enough speed or ex*****on at Charlotte to be considered serious threats if they can stay out of trouble.
Mercado may be one of the biggest drivers to watch after feeling like Charlotte got away from him. Christman also showed race-winning pace but needs clean air and the right strategy to fully capitalize. Jones and Salitis enter with confidence after clean, disciplined top-six runs, while Thornton showed he can recover even when the race goes sideways.
For Bristow, Pollack, Janik, Kostek, Allen, and Ganger, Nashville represents a reset. Some are trying to rebound from being caught in other drivers’ mistakes, while others are looking to clean up ex*****on and avoid another frustrating finish.
The biggest question heading into Nashville is whether the field can race cleaner. Charlotte exposed concerns about patience, lapped traffic, black flag enforcement, and aggressive moves too early in long races. If those issues continue, Nashville could become another chaotic night. But if the field settles down, the next race could reward the drivers who showed speed at Charlotte but did not get the finish they deserved.
