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    • Alex Bowman DQed, Kyle Larson wins NASCAR playoff elimination race
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    Alex Bowman DQed, Kyle Larson wins NASCAR playoff elimination race

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    (This story has been updated to reflect Alex Bowman's disqualification and that Hendrick Motorsports has decided not to appeal.)

    After Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, only eight drivers remain in the hunt for the championship.

    Kyle Larson won the Bank of America Roval 400 by outpacing Christopher Bell and taking the checkered flag on the part road, part oval course. With the win, Larson secured automatic passage to the third round of the playoffs, while seven other drivers advanced on points. The other two races in the second round – at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway – were won by non-playoff drivers, so no automatic starting spots were claimed there.

    The eight drivers who will continue to compete for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship are Larson, William Byron, Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano.

    Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe dropped out of championship contention after Sunday's race.

    Bowman was originally one of the eight drivers to advance to the next round, but was disqualified after his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet failed the post-race weight check. The DQ stripped him of all but one of his points from Sunday's race and dropped him below the cutline to advance. Logano became the lucky recipient of Bowman's misfortune and moved up to eighth in points, securing the final spot in the third round.

    “Unfortunately, when we ran the No. 48 through inspection, it did not meet the minimum weight specifications,” NASCAR Cup Series general manager Brad Moran said Sunday night. “We give teams every opportunity to try to meet the minimum weight.”

    Hendrick had 24 hours to decide whether he wanted to appeal, but the team said in a statement late Monday afternoon that it would not pursue that option:

    “Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 48 car following Sunday’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL. NASCAR allows clear leeway to compensate for the difference in weight before and after the race. After a thorough review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not allow ourselves enough leeway to meet the post-race requirements. While the breach was unintentional, we are extremely disappointed to have lost a playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and partners.

    This is how the race went on Sunday at the Charlotte Roval:

    STAGE 3

    Larson dominated the third stage and took the checkered flag for his sixth win of the season. Bell finished second, followed by Byron, Cindric and Elliott as playoff drivers took the entire top five. AJ Allmendinger finished sixth and Shane Van Gisbergen seventh – the best finishes of any non-playoff driver. Logano, Bubba Wallace and Blaney rounded out the top 10.

    Although it was a good points day for Logano, he lost ground on the final stage while Reddick, who finished 11th, regained ground in the final 20 laps after pitting for new tires and had restarted outside the top 20. Reddick, the regular season champion, then drove through the field and passed enough cars to surpass Logano, who had trailed Reddick by 14 points at the start of Sunday's race.

    However, Logano would receive a reprieve following Bowman's post-race disqualification.

    Click here for complete Bank of America Roval 400 results.

    STAGE 2

    Bowman benefited after leaders Larson, Shane Van Gisbergen, Bell and Byron decided to pit under green before the end of the stage and give up stage points – despite being in a good position for the start of the final section . Bowman took the lead by staying out until the end of the 25-lap stage and took the checkered flag ahead of AJ Allmendinger, who had pitted midway through the segment and was racing through the field back to the lead.

    Larson was also able to make up some ground after the pit stop and finished the stage in tenth place to reach the third round on points alongside his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron.

    A playoff driver's hopes of winning the championship were dashed before the end of the race. Briscoe lost a tire on lap 36 and had to pit again a few laps later after contact on the track. Two laps later, the Stewart Haas Racing driver made his third pit stop due to damage, but his No. 14 team was unable to repair his Ford, ending his day – and his title hunt – prematurely.

    Here is the top 10 completion order for Phase 2:

    1. Alex Bowman
    2. AJ Allmendinger
    3. Joey Logano
    4. Chase Elliott
    5. Bubbal Wallace
    6. Ryan Blaney
    7. Austin Cindric
    8. Michael McDowell
    9. Kyle Busch
    10. Kyle Larson

    STAGE 1

    Van Gisbergen started from pole and led every lap of the first 25-lap segment until he opted for the pit stop with three laps to go. Larson also chose to pit from second place and both had built up enough of a lead to rejoin the field in a good position and finish the stage in the top 10. More than half of the field decided to pit and forgo a chance at stage points. But some playoff drivers like Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott stayed out the entire segment to score points.

    Here is the top 10 finishing order for Stage 1:

    1. Tyler Reddick
    2. Joey Logano
    3. Chase Elliott
    4. Ryan Blaney
    5. Kyle Larson
    6. Shane Van Gisbergen
    7. Ty Gibbs
    8. AJ Allmendinger
    9. Brad Keselowski
    10. Austin Cindric

    Next playoff race

    The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs take place next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NBC will televise the race.

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    Kathleen William
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