Kyle Larson wins at Roval to lead eight drivers into third round of NASCAR playoffs

Only eight drivers remain in contention for the title after Sunday’s victory. NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kyle won the Bank of America Roval 400holding off Christopher Bell to take the checkered flag on the part-road, part-oval course. 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.

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

Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe were eliminated from the championship after Sunday’s race.

The playoffs now advance to the round of 16, which includes three races, beginning next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The series will then move to Homestead Miami Speedway on October 27 before the final playoff race at Martinsville Speedway on November 3. After Martinsville, the playoff field will be cut in half, leaving the final four to compete for the championship at Phoenix Raceway. on November 10.

Here’s how Sunday’s race on the Charlotte Roval went:

STEP 3

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, while the playoff drivers occupied the entire Top 5. AJ Allmendinger came in sixth and Shane Van Gisbergen seventh – the highest finishes of the non-playoff drivers. Logano, Bubba Wallace and Blaney complete the Top 10.

Although it was a good points day for Logano, he lost ground in the final stage, while Reddick, who finished 11th, rallied in the final 20 laps after getting fresh tires and starting again on the outside of the Top 20. Reddick, the regular-season champion, then moved through the field and passed enough cars to pull ahead of Logano, who trailed Reddick by 14 points heading into Sunday’s race.

STEP 2

Alex Bowman took advantage after leaders Larson, Shane Van Gisbergen, Bell and Byron opted to stop under the green before the end of the stage and forfeit stage points – although they put themselves in good position for the start of the final segment. Bowman took the lead, staying out of the way until the end of the 25-lap stage, and took the checkered flag ahead of AJ Allmendinger, who had stopped midway through the segment and raced through the field to return in front.

Larson was also able to make up ground after the pits and finished the stage 10th to join Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron in reaching the third round in points.

A playoff driver had his championship hopes dashed before the race was even over. Briscoe lost a tire on lap 36 and was then forced to pit a few laps later after contact on the track. Two laps later, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver hit pit road a third time due to damage, but his No. 14 team was unable to repair his Ford, ending his day – and his race to the title – earlier.

Here is the order of finish of the Top 10 for stage 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

STEP 1

Van Gisbergen started on pole and led every lap of the opening 25-lap segment until choosing to pit under green with three laps remaining in the stage. Larson also chose to pit from second place, and both had built up enough of a lead to rejoin the peloton in a good position and finish the stage in the Top 10. More than half the peloton chose to pit. stop and give up any chance of scoring stage points, but some playoff drivers like Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott stayed out for the entire segment to capture points.

Here is the order of finish of the Top 10 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

This article was originally published on USA TODAY: NASCAR: Kyle Larson wins the Roval while 4 drivers are eliminated from the playoffs