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When Kyle Larson took the checkered flag to win the Bank of America ROVAL 400, the field for the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs appeared to be set.
Tyler Reddick had just charged through the field to take the final place in the Round of 8 from Joey Logano in the closing laps, while Hendrick Motorsports was celebrating as the first team since 2018 to place four cars in the penultimate round.
That result was turned on its head in post-race inspection, when Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet was disqualified for failing to meet minimum weight requirements. His 18th-place finish was turned into 38th-place. The difference in points was enough to knock Bowman out and put two-time series champion Logano into the Round of 8. Hendrick later confirmed they would not appeal the penalty, officially ending Bowman’s championship hopes.
Hendrick won’t appeal the Bowman disqualification. They said they didn’t give themselves enough of a margin to meet the postrace standards (no explanation on how the car lost the weight). Team statement: pic.twitter.com/pPtbeKVloZ
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 14, 2024
Larson Dominates Again
Larson’s sixth win of the 2024 season and 29th of his Cup Series career came in a familiar style: pure domination. While he only gained eight stage points due to pit strategy and qualified sixth, it was smooth sailing when he found his way to the front.
Larson led more than half of the laps and won by a comfortable margin against Christopher Bell. While he was already locked into the next round on points, the win earns him another five playoff points, which carry over through the rounds. After the reset, the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet will start with 4052 points, 20 more than second-place Bell and 33 points above Ryan Blaney, the first driver seeded below the cut line for the championship round.
Reddick’s Late Charge
With the battle for the lead essentially over once Larson took it, all eyes were on Logano and Reddick’s fight for the final transfer position. Reddick, who won the regular season championship, ran up front early and won stage 1, but was caught in an accident early in stage 2 that appeared to have doomed his championship hopes.
HUGE PROBLEMS FOR TYLER REDDICK, SLIDING INTO DENNY HAMLIN!#NASCARPlayoffs | NBC pic.twitter.com/PXl7bI9Qne
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 13, 2024
The incident damaged his right rear toe link, which took several trips to pit road to fix. By the time Reddick’s car was competitive again, he was at the back of the field and facing an uphill battle to advance to the next round. However, at the start of stage 3, he began to make up positions, slowly whittling down Logano’s advantage. The deciding moment was a caution with 29 laps to go for Austin Dillon losing his left front tire.
You picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel.
Austin Dillon loses a wheel to bring out the yellow. #NASCAR | NBC | https://t.co/pMMLkX33Y1 pic.twitter.com/S776tjCfb4
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 13, 2024
Since Reddick was still several points below Logano at the time of caution, crew chief Billy Scott called the No. 45 Toyota to pit road for fresh tires. The move put him in the back again, but the tire advantage would prove to make the difference. While he got some help from Logano being passed by a few drivers, Reddick made up most of the gap himself, passing 15 cars in the final 26 laps. With that effort, he finished four points ahead of Logano, locking himself into the Round of 8.
It appeared Logano had been eliminated alongside Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe. However, the penalty to Bowman makes him the fourth driver to be cut after this race.
Road Ahead
Only four races remain until a champion will be crowned. The first race of the Round of 8 provides a golden opportunity for the contenders to lock themselves into the Championship 4 early and have two weeks to prepare the car for Phoenix. In fact, in the 10 seasons since the current playoff format was introduced, the winner of the opening Round of 8 race went on to win the championship four times, including twice in the past three years.
With the stakes higher than ever, the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway should be one of the more entertaining races of the season. Green flag is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday and the race will be broadcast on NBC.
