CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hendrick Motorsports said Monday it will not appeal Alex Bowman’s disqualification at Charlotte Motor Speedway that eliminated him from the NASCAR title race.
Bowman finished Sunday’s race at The Roval in 18th place – high enough to knock Team Penske’s Joey Logano out of the playoffs by four points.
But NASCAR said the No. 48 Chevrolet failed a post-race inspection and disqualified Bowman for failing to meet minimum weight requirements. That dropped him to 38th and Logano earned that playoff spot.
Hendrick had the right to appeal, but said in a statement that would not be the case.
“NASCAR allows a net margin to account for the difference in weight before and after the race. After extensive review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not give ourselves enough headroom to meet post-race requirements,” the team said in a statement. “Although unintentional , the offense was avoidable. We are extremely disappointed to lose a playoff spot under these circumstances and we apologize to our fans and partners.”
All playoff cars are inspected after a race.
NASCAR said Hendrick had several opportunities to refuel the car, flush the water system and add water in an attempt to reduce weight. But when the car returned to the weight station, the Chevy was still light.
The news was particularly disappointing for Bowman’s sponsor Ally, whose marketing director posted on social media Monday that Bowman had earned a playoff spot. He was the leading point scorer in the first round of the playoffs.
“I woke up this morning – after barely sleeping – and I didn’t feel any better. » wrote Andrea Brimmeradding that she was “gutted” for Bowman and “the team who fought for every point this year and deserve to move forward.”
The eight drivers who will now compete in the third round of the playoffs are Hendrick drivers William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, Team Penske drivers Logano and defending series champion Ryan Blaney, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick. from 23XI Racing.
It was a particularly brutal disqualification for Hendrick Motorsports, which celebrated Sunday night by earning half of the spots in the eight playoff series. The team now heads into this Sunday’s race in Las Vegas with only three of its cars still eligible.
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