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I agree that we should cut back on days 2 and 3 and those look like good places to overnight.
The road going via Knoxville appears (on the map) to be less curvy than the roads through Charleston. Would you agree? Also, do you have any idea what the road is like from Knoxville going though Asheville to Fayetteville? The road looks curvy but for a shorter period of time.
All of the roads we're talking about, for the most part, are 4-lane freeways, designed to keep traffic moving at normal highway speed, even through the mountains. There are no places where we are talking about things like switchbacks or extremely steep grades.
In other words, there should be no issues at all with a compact car dealing with such curves, and I certainly wouldn't recommend driving 100 miles out of your way to avoid them (especially when you'd really just be exchanging one mountain highway for another.)
Unless you were doing something like towing, this shouldn't be an issue at all. A compact car like a Civic should be able to travel all of these roads with ease. The only way it would be a problem at all is if your car is severely overloaded, as discussed above.
I-77 between Charleston and the WV/VA state line is the WV Turnpike - a toll road. Yes, you will have "mountains" to deal with, but nothing like the mountains in the western US. Remember, on I-80 you will have to go over Donner Pass and over Parley's Summit just east of SLC.
I-40 between I-81 and Asheville, in my opinion, is worse than I-77, it's just a shorter mountainous stretch.
You could always do the driving in these areas if your daughter gets nervous. With the proposed schedule, you shouldn't be driving in the dark. I'm a very experienced driver, but I don't particularly like driving after dark on unfamiliar roads. Besides, after dark you can't see any of the scenery!
I agree that it makes no sense to go 100 miles out of the way now that I know the roads are pretty much the same. We will do our best not to overload the car.
Thanks again for all the advice!!