Larson Dominates Playoff Race at Charlotte as Four Drivers are Eliminated
CONCORD, NC – RIS – Kyle Larson dominated the race at the road course within Charlotte Motor Speedway and won as the dominate car. Now, only eight drivers remain in the championship hunt following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL.
Larson held off Christopher in the final laps. With the victory, Larson earned an automatic berth into 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 berths were claimed there.
Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe were eliminated from championship contention following Sunday’s race.
Though it was a strong points day for Logano, he lost ground in the final stage, while Reddick, who finished 11th, rallied in the final 20 laps after pitting for fresh tires and restarting outside of the Top 20. Reddick, the regular-season champion, then drove through the field and passed enough cars to outpoint Logano, who had trailed Reddick by 14 points entering Sunday's race.
Larson dominated the third stage and took the checkered flag for his sixth victory of the season. Bell finished second followed by Byron, Cindric and Elliott as playoff drivers took up the entire Top 5. A.J. Allmendinger came home sixth and Shane Van Gisbergen seventh – the top finishes by non-playoff drivers. Logano, Bubba Wallace and Blaney rounded out the Top 10.
One playoff driver saw his championship hopes dashed before the race even ended. Briscoe lost a tire on Lap 36 and then was forced to pit again a few laps later after contact on the track. Two laps later, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver hit pit road a third time for damage, but his No. 14 team was unable to repair his Ford, ending his day – and his title chase – early.
The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs move to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. NBC will televise the race.
Unofficial Results: Bank of America ROVAL 400, October 13, 2024 - Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 6, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 109, 5, 10, 3, 62, 5, 47, Running
2) 12, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 DEWALT Toyota, 109, , , 1, 1, , 35, Running
3) 10, William Byron (P), No. 24 Valvoline Confetti Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 5, Austin Cindric (P), No. 2 Menards/Sylvania Ford, 109, 10, 7, , , , 38, Running
5) 7, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet, 109, 3, 4, , , , 47, Running
6) 3, AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, 109, 8, 2, 1, 14, , 0, Running
7) 1, Shane Van Gisbergen*(i), No. 13 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 109, 6, , 1, 21, , 0, Running
8) 4, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 109, 2, 3, , , , 46, Running
9) 9, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Leidos Toyota, 109, , 5, , , , 34, Running
10) 14, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Discount Tire Ford, 109, 4, 6, , , , 39, Running
11) 2, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota, 109, 1, , 1, 6, 1, 36, Running
12) 20, Carson Hocevar #, No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 11, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Lenovo Chevrolet, 109, , 9, , , , 26, Running
14) 18, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, 109, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 21, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 109, , 8, , , , 25, Running
16) 24, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Harris Teeter/Totino's Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 29, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, 109, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 17, Alex Bowman (P), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 109, , 1, 1, 5, 1, 29, Running
19) 15, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Boozy Jerky! Ford, 109, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 23, Zane Smith #, No. 71 Ambetter Health Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 26, Harrison Burton, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 109, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 30, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 109, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 36, Josh Berry #, No. 4 Bed Bath & Beyond Ford, 109, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 8, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford, 109, 9, , , , , 15, Running
25) 27, Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 34, Ryan Preece, No. 41 United Rentals Ford, 109, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 33, Justin Haley, No. 7 Mattress Warehouse Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 31, Kaz Grala #, No. 15 Meat N' Bone Ford, 109, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 16, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 38, Josh Bilicki*(i), No. 66 NCSHPfoundation.org Ford, 109, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 13, Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 Choice Privileges Chevrolet, 108, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 32, Noah Gragson, No. 10 Beef A Roo Ford, 108, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 22, Austin Dillon, No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet, 107, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 37, Erik Jones, No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota, 56, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 35, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Mobil 1 Toyota, 55, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 19, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota, 54, 7, , , , , 5, Engine
37) 25, Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford, 41, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 28, Corey LaJoie, No. 51 Schluter Systems Ford, 3, , , , , , 1, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (*) Must qualify on time, (*) Rookie, (P)Playoffs
Race Length: 109 Laps, 252.88 Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 0 Mins, 3 Secs.
Average Speed: 82.817 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.511 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 45, 22, 9, 12, 5, 13, 54, 16, 6, 2
Stage 2 Top 10: 48, 16, 22, 9, 23, 12, 2, 34, 8, 5
Comments: Kyle Larson won the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, his 29th NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Cautions: 5 for 13 laps;
Laps: 27-29 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
37-38 (Debris in turn 14 [41]);
52-54 (Stage 2 Conclusion [None]);
57-59 (Debris [None]);
82-83 (Debris in turn 3 and 4 [None]).
Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers;
S. Van Gisbergen*(i) 1-21;
T. Reddick (P) 22-27;
K. Larson (P) 28-47;
A. Bowman (P) 48-52;
A. Allmendinger(i) 53-66;
K. Larson (P) 67-75;
C. Bell (P) 76;
K. Larson (P) 77-109.
Unofficial Points Report: Bank of America ROVAL 400 - Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Pos) Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Kyle Larson (P), 5, 31, -2, 4052, 0, 0, 6, 12, 52
2) Christopher Bell (P), 20, 32, 0, 4032, -20, 20, 3, 10, 32
3) Tyler Reddick (P), 45, 32, -4, 4029, -23, 3, 2, 4, 29
4) William Byron (P), 24, 32, 3, 4023, -29, 6, 3, 2, 23
5) Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 32, -1, 4019, -33, 4, 2, 4, 19
6) Denny Hamlin (P), 11, 32, 2, 4015, -37, 4, 3, 6, 15
7) Chase Elliott (P), 9, 32, -1, 4014, -38, 1, 1, 1, 14
8) Joey Logano (P), 22, 32, -1, 4012, -40, 2, 2, 2, 12
9) Alex Bowman (P), 48, 32, 4, 2195, -1857, 1817, 1, 1, 0
10) Austin Cindric (P), 2, 32, -1, 2174, -1878, 21, 1, 4, 0
11) Ty Gibbs, 54, 32, -2, 2150, -1902, 24, 0, 2, 0
12) Martin Truex Jr) 19, 32, -2, 2146, -1906, 4, 0, 4, 0
13) Daniel Suarez (P), 99, 32, 3, 2127, -1925, 19, 1, 1, 0
14) Brad Keselowski, 6, 32, -1, 2120, -1932, 7, 1, 0, 0
15) Chase Briscoe (P), 14, 32, 3, 2110, -1942, 10, 1, 0, 0
16) Harrison Burton, 21, 32, 0, 2065, -1987, 45, 1, 0, 0
17) Chris Buescher, 17, 32, -1, 830, -3222, 1235, 1, 3, 0
18) Bubba Wallace, 23, 32, -1, 824, -3228, 6, 0, 1, 0
19) Ross Chastain, 1, 32, 2, 821, -3231, 3, 1, 2, 0
20) Kyle Busch, 8, 32, 0, 711, -3341, 110, 0, 1, 0
21) Carson Hocevar #, 77, 32, 0, 604, -3448, 107, 0, 0, 0
22) Todd Gilliland, 38, 32, 0, 579, -3473, 25, 0, 0, 0
23) Michael McDowell, 34, 32, 0, 574, -3478, 5, 0, 1, 0
24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 32, 0, 543, -3509, 31, 1, 0, 0
25) Noah Gragson, 10, 32, 0, 522, -3530, 21, 0, 0, 0
26) Ryan Preece, 41, 32, 0, 507, -3545, 15, 0, 0, 0
27) Josh Berry #, 4, 32, 0, 506, -3546, 1, 0, 1, 0
28) Austin Dillon, 3, 32, 0, 483, -3569, 23, 1, 0, 0
29) Zane Smith #, 71, 32, -3, 460, -3592, 23, 0, 0, 0
30) Justin Haley, 7, 32, -1, 459, -3593, 1, 0, 0, 0
31) Corey LaJoie, 51, 32, 2, 457, -3595, 2, 0, 0, 0
32) Erik Jones, 43, 30, 2, 456, -3596, 1, 0, 0, 0
33) Daniel Hemric, 31, 32, 0, 455, -3597, 1, 0, 0, 0
34) John Hunter Nemechek, 42, 32, 0, 395, -3657, 60, 0, 0, 0
35) Kaz Grala #, 15, 21, 0, 188, -3864, 207, 0, 0, 0
36) Cody Ware, , 8, 0, 130, -3922, 58, 0, 0, 0
37) Joey Hand, , 1, 0, 43, -4009, 87, 0, 1, 0
38) Jimmie Johnson, , 7, 0, 40, -4012, 3, 0, 0, 0
39) Derek Kraus, , 5, 0, 32, -4020, 8, 0, 0, 0
40) David Ragan, , 1, 0, 17, -4035, 15, 0, 0, 0
41) Kamui Kobayashi, , 1, 0, 8, -4044, 9, 0, 0, 0
42) Will Brown, , 1, 0, 6, -4046, 2, 0, 0, 0
43) Juan Montoya, , 1, 0, 5, -4047, 1, 0, 0, 0
44) Cam Waters, , 1, 0, 2, -4050, 3, 0, 0, 0
45) * Shane Van Gisbergen(i), 13, 10, 0, 0, -4052, 2, 0, 1, 0
46) AJ Allmendinger(i), 16, 15, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 1, 0
47) Anthony Alfredo(i), , 3, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Parker Retzlaff(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Justin Allgaier(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) Ty Dillon(i), , 7, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) BJ Mcleod(i), , 7, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Joey Gase(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Corey Heim(i), , 3, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) JJ Yeley(i), , 6, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Riley Herbst(i), , 4, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Austin Hill(i), , 4, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Josh Williams(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) * Josh Bilicki(i), 66, 3, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Timmy Hill(i), , 2, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) David Starr(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Chad Finchum(i), , 1, 0, 0, -4052, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points
Ron Fleshman and John Davison
Ron Fleshman and John Davison are Editors at ris-news.com