Trackhouse Racing lost its appeal in overturning the penalties levied to the organization’s No. 1 Chevrolet team for violating the Member Code of Conduct section from the NASCAR Rule Book following this past weekend’s Cup Series Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway.
The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team piloted by Ross Chastain was one of three teams that came under scrutiny during the Martinsville event, where they and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet team piloted by Austin Dillon were both forming a side-by-side roadblock for Chevrolet teammate William Byron in the closing laps. During the time, Byron, a 2024 Cup Series Playoff contender, was trying to nurse his ill-handling car and race his way into the Championship 4 round over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell.
Ultimately, Byron would finish ahead of both Dillon and Chastain on the track in sixth place while Bell initially crossed the finish line in 18th place after he overtook Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace, who had fallen off the pace after claiming that he had a right-front tire going down, and accelerated his car against the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 approaching the finish line during the final lap. Bell, however, would be relegated to 22nd place for illegally maneuvering his way to gain a spot to make the Championship 4 round by scraping the wall, which enabled Byron to claim the final title berth by four points.
Two days after the event, Chastain along with Dillon and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace were all levied massive penalties for attempting to manipulate the outcome of the Martinsville finish by providing an on-track advantage for their respective Playoff manufacturer teammates. The penalties levied included a $100,000 fine to both the drivers and owners, a dock of 50 driver/owner points and a one-race suspension to the competition executive, crew chief and spotter.
Following the announcement of the penalties, all three of the competitors’ teams (Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing) declared intentions to appeal the penalties. By Thursday, November 7, Richard Childress Racing and 23XI Racing withdrew their penalty attempt, which left Trackhouse as the lone team attempting to appeal.
Upon hearing Trackhouse’s appeal attempt, the National Motorsports Appeal Panel ruled that the team violated the initial rules set forth within the NASCAR Rule Book and upheld the penalties levied. As a result, Chastain’s crew chief Phil Surgen, spotter Brandon McReynolds and competition executive Tony Lunders remain suspended from participating in this weekend’s 2024 Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Despite being docked 50 points, Chastain remains in 19th place in the driver’s standings.
Following the decision of Trackhouse’s penalties being upheld, the panel, which included Kelly Housby, Lyn St. James and Steve York, released the following statement.
“We feel in the best interest of racing and to protect the integrity of the sport, it was appropriate to uphold and affirm NASCAR’s decision with regard to the NASCAR rule 4.4, attempting to manipulate the outcome of the race.”
In addition, Trackhouse took to social media to announce that the team will not be attempting to appeal the National Motorsports Appeals Panel’s decision to the Final Appeals Officer and focus to Phoenix.
The penalties also resulted with the suspensions of crew chief Justin Alexander, spotter Brandon Benesch and team executive Keith Rodden from Richard Childress Racing, and crew chief Bootie Barker, spotter Freddie Kraft and team executive Dave Rogers from 23XI Racing. With the points penalties, Wallace dropped from 17th to 18th in the standings while Dillon dropped from 28th to 33rd in the standings.
No penalties were levied to Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team and to William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team, the latter of whom will be contending for the 2024 Cup Series championship against Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano along with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to conclude this upcoming Sunday, November 10, at Phoenix Raceway for the 2024 Championship Race, where a champion will be crowned. The finale’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
NASCAR levied major penalties to three Cup Series teams for violating the sport’s Member Conduct sections within the Rule Book following this past weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway that occurred on Sunday, November 3.
The teams that were affected under the penalty report were Trackhouse Racing’s No. 1 Chevrolet team piloted by Ross Chastain, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet team piloted by Austin Dillon and 23XI Racing’s No. 23 Toyota team piloted by Bubba Wallace.
In the closing laps of last Sunday’s event at Martinsville, both Chastain and Dillon were performing a side-by-side roadblock for oncoming competitors while remaining behind Chevrolet teammate William Byron, who was racing in sixth place at the time of the actions made between Chastin and Dillon. By then, the handling of Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entry was fading as Byron was trying to retain his sixth-place spot that would enable him to claim the fourth and final berth to the Championship 4 round by a single point over Christopher Bell, who was racing a lap down in 19th place.
Then prior to the final lap, Bubba Wallace, a Toyota teammate to Bell who was racing in 18th place and had been lapped earlier by the leaders, began to fall off the pace as he radioed a potential tire going down on his No. 23 Toyota entry. With Byron, Dillon, Chastain and a host of competitors overtaking Wallace’s slow entry through the frontstretch on the final lap, Bell then caught up to Wallace through the backstretch. Just as Bell overtook Wallace entering Turn 3 for 18th place, he got loose and hit the outside wall. Bell then proceeded to accelerate and scrape his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry through Turns 3 and 4 before he crossed the finish line. As a result, Bell initially overtook Byron in the Playoff standings to claim the final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round.
Following an extensive review of the finish, however, Bell was levied a safety violation for maneuvering his way to the finish line while scraping the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 since the move had been banned for future use, particularly since the start of the 2023 season amid Ross Chastain’s use of it in November 2022. As a result, Bell was demoted to 22nd place in the final running order, which kept him four points out of making his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance. In the process, Byron was awarded the final transfer berth as he is set to square off against reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick for the 2024 Cup Series championship this upcoming weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Despite the Championship 4 field being determined, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, then said during the post-race conference at Martinsville that officials would also examine the actions and radio dialogue made by Chastain, Dillon and Wallace over their on-track actions while racing both Bell and Byron over any forms of manipulation and to provide an advantage for one Playoff competitor over the other.
With the official determination and penalty report levied to Chastain, Dillon and Wallace on Tuesday, November 5, the trio and their respective teams have been fined $100,000 apiece and docked 50 driver/owner points. The points penalty dropped Wallace from 17th to 18th and Dillon from 28th to 34th in the driver’s standings, respectively, while Chastain retained 19th.
In addition, each of their crew chiefs and spotters has been suspended from this upcoming weekend’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The suspensions include Chastain’s crew chief Phil Surgen and spotter Brandon McReynolds, Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander and spotter Brandon Benesch, and Wallace’s crew chief Bootie Barker and spotter Freddie Kraft. Tony Lunders, Keith Rodden and Dave Rogers, all of whom serve as team executives for Trackhouse Racing, Richard Childress Racing and 23XI Racing, respectively, have also been suspended for participating in the finale.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Following the announcement of the penalties, Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing declared plans to appeal the penalties.
The penalties to Chastain, Dillon, Wallace and their respective teams were not the only penalties levied from this past weekend’s triple-header events at Martinsville. In addition to Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet team, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 8 Chevrolet team piloted by Kyle Busch was assessed a safety violation due to a loose left-front wheel that detached off of Busch’s entry entering Turn 3 and prior to a restart with 94 laps remaining. As a result, front-tire changer Michael Russell and jackman Josh Sobecki were levied a two-race suspension, including the 2024 Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Following the incident, Busch would proceed to finish 28th place, three laps down.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
In the Xfinity Series, Chandler Smith, who finished in third place during last Saturday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, was fined $10,000 for being involved in a post-race altercation with Cole Custer, where the former swung a punch to the latter to express his displeasure over being bumped by Custer, who retaliated from being bumped by Smith earlier, during a late-race restart that knocked Smith out of contention to making the Championship 4 round. Meanwhile, Custer, who finished fourth at Martinsville, was able to claim a Championship 4 berth as he will square off against Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill to defend his series’ title at Phoenix.
In the Craftsman Truck Series, Ty Majeski, who finished in 11th place during last Friday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, was fined $12,500 for not performing a media obligation. The fine did not affect Majeski’s outcome of making the Championship 4 field as he is set to square off against Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Corey Heim for the series’ title at Phoenix.
Next on the schedule is the 2024 season-finale events for NASCAR’s top three national touring series at Phoenix Raceway, where a champion in each series will be crowned. The Craftsman Truck Series finale at Phoenix is scheduled to occur this Friday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 while the Xfinity Series finale will follow suit this Saturday, November 9, at 7 p.m. ET on the CW Network. The Cup Series finale will cap off the weekend on Sunday, November 10, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
Amid a whirlwind of emotions among the remaining playoff contenders battling for the final two Championship 4 spots, Ryan Blaney emerged triumphant with a thrilling late-race victory in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, November 3. This hard-fought win not only brought him a sense of elation and redemption but also secured his place in the championship fight for the final race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The reigning Cup Series champion from High Point, North Carolina, led three times for 32 of the 500-scheduled laps after starting in 14th place and methodically marching up the leaderboard. He then racked up six crucial stage points by finishing fifth following the first stage period. Blaney would then lead his first 16 laps and accumulate an additional nine stage points during the second stage period where he finished second behind Brad Keselowski. He also survived the stage’s four caution periods and executing a pit strategy for track position towards the front in the closing stages of the second stage.
Blaney restarted in the top 10 for the start of the final stage period with 230 laps remaining and spent the majority of the period racing toward the front. He endured back-to-back restarts amid back-to-back cautions within the final 100 laps and used the final restart period with 87 laps remaining to march his way to the front.
After outdueling Playoff contender Chase Elliott for the lead with 14 laps remaining, Blaney stormed away and cruised to his third checkered flag of the 2024 Cup Series season. The victory all but punched Blaney’s ticket back to the Championship 4 round and awarded him an opportunity to defend his series title against teammate Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron. Byron was awarded the final Playoff berth after Christopher Bell’s Playoff berth was revoked due to “wall-riding” the final corner that initially enabled him to gain the final upper hand to the finale.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, November 2, Martin Truex Jr., the fastest competitor during the event’s practice session on Saturday, notched his first Cup pole position of the 2024 season in his penultimate start as a full-time competitor with a pole-winning lap at 96.190 mph in 19.686 seconds. Joining Truex on the front row was Playoff contender Chase Elliott, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 95.840 mph in 19.758 seconds.
Before the event, the following names that included Austin Cindric, Corey LaJoie and Playoff contender Denny Hamlin dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. By then, Hamlin was already scheduled to start in 37th place, dead last, after he opted not to qualify due to repairs made to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry after he crashed due to a stuck throttle during Saturday’s practice session.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Martin Truex Jr. rocketed his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE ahead from the inside lane through the frontstretch as he led the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field behind jostled for early spots through two stacked lanes, Truex cycled back to the frontstretch and led the first lap while Chase Elliott maintained the runner-up spot ahead of Playoff teammate William Byron, Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe.
Over the next four laps, Truex maintained a steady advantage over Elliott despite getting bumped by the latter through every corner. Behind, Byron retained third place ahead of Gibbs and Briscoe while Ryan Preece, Harrison Burton, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Playoff contender Kyle Larson followed suit in the top 10.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Truex was leading by four-tenths of a second over Elliott while Byron, Gibbs, Briscoe, Preece, Burton, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Larson continued to follow suit in the top 10. With three of eight Playoff contenders racing in the top 10 on the track in the event’s early stages, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney was mired in 11th place while his Playoff teammate Joey Logano was in 13th place ahead of Playoff contender Christopher Bell. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin was mired in 34th place as he was racing behind Playoff contender and his 23XI Racing competitor Tyler Reddick.
Fifteen laps later, Truex stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Elliott while third-place Byron trailed by more than a second. With Briscoe and Preece racing in the top five, Larson retained 10th place ahead of Blaney while Logano and Bell retained 13th and 14th, respectively. Towards the rear of the field, Hamlin was up to 31st place while Reddick was back in 34th place.
Another 10 laps later, Truex, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over runner-up Elliott and by more than a second over third-place Byron. Behind, Blaney and Larson swapped spots as Blaney was in 10th place while Logano and Bell remained in 13th and 14th, respectively. Meanwhile, Hamlin cracked the top-30 mark as he was in 30th place while Reddick was strapped in 34th place.
Then on Lap 41, Elliott and Truex dueled for the lead, starting from the first two turns, as Elliott made his move beneath Truex. After dueling with him through the backstretch, Elliott then muscled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 past Truex for the lead through Turns 3 and 4 as he assumed the lead for the following lap. With Elliott leading, Truex retained second over Byron as Briscoe and Preece started to close in.
At the Lap 50 mark, Elliott slightly grew his lead by four-tenths of a second over Truex while teammate Byron trailed in third place by more than a second. As Briscoe and Preece followed suit in the top five, Blaney made his way up to eighth place while Larson was in 11th place. With Logano and Bell remaining in the top 15, Hamlin was up to 28th place while Reddick, who was lapped, retained 34th place.
Ten laps later, Byron, who overtook Truex for the runner-up spot three laps earlier, was racing in second place in his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as he trailed teammate Elliott by one-and-a-half seconds. As both Briscoe and Preece overtook Truex to move up to third and fourth, respectively, Hamlin, who was still racing in the top five, was up to 27th place and he would proceed to overtake Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for 26th place during the following lap.
On Lap 65, Truex pitted his No. 19 Toyota under green from fifth place. By then, Reddick had also pitted despite losing two laps as Elliott stretched his lead to more than three seconds over teammate Byron. Not long after, Truex was assessed a drive-through penalty for driving too fast while entering pit road prior to his pit service. As Hamlin marched his way up to 23rd place behind Erik Jones on the track, Elliott stabilized his lead to two seconds over Byron at the Lap 75 mark as both Kyle Busch and Chris Buescher pitted under green.
Shortly after, the event’s first caution period flew when Playoff contender Christopher Bell made contact with Corey LaJoie in between Turns 1 and 2 as both spun through the turns, though both managed to continue without sustaining any significant damage to their respective cars. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Eliott pitted for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Elliott exited pit road first ahead of teammate Byron as Briscoe, Preece, Todd Gilliland, Blaney, Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Larson and Joey Logano followed suit in the top 10.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 85, teammates Elliott and Byron dueled for the lead for a full lap as Byron led the next lap by a fender from the outside lane. Elliott would continue to duel with Byron during the next lap until he used the inside lane to motor ahead of Byron through the frontstretch and have both lanes under his control. With Elliott leading Byron, Briscoe followed suit ahead of Preece and Gilliland while Blaney and Larson were in sixth and eighth by the Lap 90 mark. Behind, Hamlin was up to 16th place, where he was four spots ahead of teammate Bell, while Logano was in 11th place.
At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Byron while Briscoe, Preece and Gilliland continued to race in the top five ahead of Blaney, Larson, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Logano. By then, Hamlin cracked the top 15 as he was in 15th place behind Daniel Hemric and teammate Bell was back in 21st place behind Bubba Wallace while Reddick, who was still a lap down, was strapped in 34th place.
Ten laps later, Elliott stretched his advantage to more than a second over Byron as Briscoe and Preece continued to follow suit in third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Blaney cracked the top five as he was in fifth place while Larson was also up to sixth place. Over the next 10 laps, Bell was locked in a heated battle with Noah Gragson for 20th place as both raced in front of Michael McDowell and Hamlin retained 15th place while Logano was up to ninth place. By then, Elliott retained the lead by more than a second over Byron.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 130, Elliott, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic and came into Martinsville 43 points below the top-four cutline in his efforts to make the Championship 4 round, captured his second Cup stage victory of the 2024 season after fending off a last-lap bump from teammate Byron. Byron followed suit in second ahead of Briscoe, Preece and Blaney while Larson, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Logano and Brad Keselowski were scored in the top 10. With five of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Hamlin, Bell and Reddick were mired in 15th, 21st and 35th, respectively, with Reddick falling two laps behind.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Elliott returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Elliott retained the lead as he exited pit road first ahead of Byron while Briscoe, Blaney, Preece, Bowman, Larson, Logano, Keselowski and Austin Dillon followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Austin Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road.
The second stage period started on Lap 141 as teammates Elliott and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, the two Hendrick Motorsports teammates dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Byron used the outside lane to assume the lead from Elliott through the backstretch. With Byron proceeding to clear Elliott entering Turn 3 and lead the following lap, Blaney dueled with Briscoe for third place, but the latter retained the spot as Preece, Larson and Bowman followed suit. The caution would then return on Lap 144 when Daniel Suarez, who was racing towards the top-15 mark, got clipped by Hemric, who got bumped and boxed in between rookie Josh Berry and Austin Cindric, as Suarez spun his No. 99 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through Turn 2. The incident occurred just behind Hamlin, who was up to 12th place, while Bell barely squeezed his way through the incident.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 151, Byron retained the lead from teammate Byron and proceeded to lead the following lap while having both lanes under his control. Behind, Larson, who attempted to make a bold move beneath Preece for additional spots, was in sixth place ahead of Logano and Blaney retained fourth place behind Briscoe while Hamlin continued to race in 12th place. With Bell mired in 16th place, Byron stabilized his lead to six-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott by Lap 155.
The caution would then return on Lap 156 when Harrison Burton, who was in the top 20, got bumped by rookie Carson Hocevar entering Turn 3 as Burton spun the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse in Turn 4 as he barely made contact with Austin Dillon in the process. During the caution period, some led by Hemric pitted while the rest led by Byron, including the Playoff contenders, remained on the track.
With the race restarting under green on Lap 164, teammates Elliott and Byron dueled for the lead for a third consecutive restart period and they remained dead even for the lead for a full lap while Larson got sideways and nearly turned by Preece exiting the frontstretch as Larson cracked the top five. Byron would proceed to muscle ahead of Elliott to lead under authority as Briscoe followed suit while Blaney, Larson, Preece, Logano, Bowman, Ross Chastain and Hamlin were in the top 10.
By Lap 175, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Elliott while Briscoe, Blaney and Larson followed suit in the top five. Behind, Preece was back in sixth place ahead of Bowman, Chastain, Logano and Hamlin while Keselowski, Cindric, Berry, Bell and Gilliland were in the top 15 ahead of Gilliland, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Hocevar and Ty Gibbs. Meanwhile, Reddick was strapped two laps down in 35th place as Byron stabilized his lead to six-tenths of a second over Elliott by Lap 180. By then, Blaney dueled and overtook Briscoe for third place as he trailed the lead by two seconds while Larson also trailed the lead by two seconds in fifth place.
On Lap 183, the caution flew when the pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr., who was racing towards the rear of the field, got bumped and spun in front of Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek in Turn 4 as he would lose a lap to Byron. The incident occurred as Larson had overtaken Briscoe for fourth place. During the caution period, mixed strategies ensued as some led by Byron and including Larson, Elliott and Logano pitted while the rest led by Blaney and including Hamlin and Bell remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Elliott endured a slow pit service as the rear tire changer was slow to tighten the right-rear tire.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 191 featured Blaney muscling his No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse ahead with the lead from the inside lane while Hamlin dueled with Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Blaney would proceed to lead the next lap ahead of Keselowski, Hamin, Austin Dillon and Bell while Larson was making bold moves entering the corners to charge back to the front on his four fresh tires. With Byron also trying to march back to the front, Blaney retained the lead over Keselowski and Hamlin before the caution returned on Lap 195 as Hocevar, who was trying to race back into the top 15, bumped Hemric into Gilliland as the latter two spun towards the outside wall in Turn 2 while the field behind scattered to avoid the incident.
During the next restart period on Lap 202, Blaney and Keselowski dueled for the lead in front of Hamlin and Ausitn Dillon until Keselowski led the next lap by a hair at the next lap period. Keselowski would continue to fight with Blaney for the lead amid a heated duel through every corner and straightaway before he cleared Blaney through the backstretch on Lap 204. Behind, Hamlin was in third place while Bell motored his No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE into fourth place. Behind Ausitn Dillon and Gragson, Byron powered his way into seventh place as teammate Larson followed suit. As the field continued to jostle for on-track spots, Keselowski retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Blaney by Lap 210.
Then on Lap 220, the battle for the lead ignited as Blaney bumped and was trying to navigate his way past Keselowski for the top spot through every corner and straightaway. Keselowski, however, would retain the top spot in his No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang Dark Horse while Hamlin, Bell and Larson followed suit in the top five. Behind, Byron battled Austin Dillon for sixth place while Elliott motored his way back up to 13th place in front of Logano. Keselowski would stabilize his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Blaney, who was beginning to become aggravated, by Lap 230 while Blaney’s Playoff rivals Hamlin, Bell, Larson and Byron followed suit in the top six as Hamlin trailed Blaney by a second. By then, Elliott was battling Briscoe for 12th place while Logano continued to follow suit in 14th place.
Towards the Lap 240 mark, Keselowski retained the lead by within two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Blaney while third-place Hamlin followed suit by more than a second. Behind, Bell, Larson and Byron retained fourth through sixth, respectively, on the track as both Elliott and Logano retained 12th and 14th, respectively, on the track. Meanwhile, Reddick was strapped two laps down in 35th place as Keselowski proceeded to lead the event’s halfway mark on Lap 250.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 260, Keselowski, who had not pitted in 126 laps, fended off Blaney to capture his first Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Blaney followed suit in second along with Hamlin while Larson, Byron, Bell, Austin Dillon, Bowman, Gragson and Preece were scored in the top 10. With five of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s second round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Elliott, Logano and Reddick were scored in 12th, 13th and 35th, respectively. By then, Bell and Byron occupied the two vacant spots to the Championship 4 round while Larson, Hamlin, Blaney and Elliott trailed below the cutline.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Keselowski pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Keselowski exited pit road first as he was followed by Larson, Byron, Hamlin, Bowman, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Preece, Logano and Elliott. Amid the pit stops, Bell endured a slow pit service and he would pit a second time to have a loose lug nut addressed. In addition, Blaney nearly clipped one of Hocevar’s pit crew members while trying to exit his pit stall while both Larson and Hamlin nearly made contact with one another.
With 230 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Keselowski and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Keselowski motored ahead from the inside lane as teammates Larson and Byron battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Hamlin battled Bowman for fourth place in front of Blaney and Austin Dillon as Blaney would then use the outside lane to duel with Bowman for fifth place. As Hamlin challenged Larson for third place, Keselowski retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Byron with 225 laps remaining.
Down to the final 220 laps of the event, Keselowski maintained the lead by within three-tenths of a second over Byron as Larson, Hamlin and Blaney all followed suit in the top five. With Elliott and Logano racing in 10th and 12th, respectively, Bell was mired in 28th place and trying to navigate through tight traffic following his slow pit service during the previous caution period.
Ten laps later, Keselowski’s lead stabilized to three-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Larson followed suit by six-tenths of a second. Behind, Blaney and Hamlin battled fiercely for fourth place while Elliott and Logano continued to race in 10th and 12th, respectively. Meanwhile, Bell carved his way up to 25th place, which currently placed him in a tie with Larson for the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round in the Playoff standings.
Another 10 laps later, Bell moved back above the top-four cutline over Larson by a single point as the former assumed 24th place on the track. Bell would then pick up 23rd place during the following lap as Keselowski continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Byron while Larson, Blaney and Hamlin all trailed by within less than three seconds. Not long after, Elliott, who ran into the rear of Buescher through the backstretch as Buescher pitted under green, was scored in the top 10 as he continued without sustaining any significant front-nose damage.
With 175 laps remaining, Keselowski slightly stretched his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Byron as Larson, Blaney and Hamlin continued to trail in the top five. Meanwhile, Bell, who was racing within the Playoff cutline, was up in 21st place while Elliott and Logano were mired in 10th and 13th, respectively. Keselowski’s lead would decrease to six-tenths of a second over Byron as Blaney started to close in on Byron with 160 laps remaining.
Then with 155 laps remaining, Blaney bumped the lapped competitor of Shane van Gisbergen, who then slid up and made contact with Byron through the first two turns. This allowed Blaney to move into the runner-up spot over Byron while Keselowski retained the lead by above half a second. Meanwhile, Bell was in 20th place after he rubbed fenders with Austin Cindric while Larson and Hamlin remained in the top five.
Six laps later, Elliott strategically pitted his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from the top 10, which resulted in him losing a lap as Blaney started to close in on Keselowski for the lead. Over the following 14 laps, Keselowski, who navigated his way through lapped traffic, fended off Blaney to retain the lead as Bell, who was in 19th place, was scored the final competitor on the lead lap. Blaney then tried to use the lapped competitor of Zane Smith to overtake Keselowski for the lead with 133 laps remaining, but the move did not work as Keselowski retained the top spot. Keselowski then lapped Bell with 130 laps remaining as Hamlin pitted from fourth place.
With 128 laps remaining and as more competitors started to peel off the track to pit under green, teammates Byron and Larson would pit their respective Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets as Blaney then pitted during the following lap. The leader Keselowski would pit one lap after Blaney. Following the pit stops, Byron managed to cycle ahead of Keselowski and Blaney on the track. With 120 laps remaining, Bell pitted under green as Elliott, who was in 10th place prior to the pit stops and had pitted nearly 30 laps ago, strategically cycled into the lead.
Down to the final 110 laps of the event, Elliott, who continued to remain on the track and stretching his fuel tank to the furthest, was leading by more than a second over teammate Byron. Meanwhile, Keselowski trailed in third place by two seconds while Blaney, Larson and Hamlin followed suit in the top six. Meanwhile, Bell, who was scored a lap down, was in 23rd place while Logano was back in 13th place.
Then with 103 laps remaining, the caution flew due to Hocevar, who was racing in 14th place, spinning in Turn 2 after he got hit by Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. During the caution period, some led by Elliott and including Keselowski, Blaney, Hamlin and Logano pitted while the rest led by Byron and including teammate Larson remained on the track. Bell would also pit despite being trapped a lap down.
The start of the ensuing restart period with 94 laps remaining did not last long as a wheel rolled off of the right front of Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 just as the field entered Turns 3 and 4. At the moment of caution, Larson had managed to muscle ahead of teammate Byron and was ruled the leader.
The start of the next restart period with 87 laps remaining was successful as Larson fended off teammate Byron to lead the field for a full cycle. As Larson led the following lap over Byron and Cindric, teammate Elliott dueled with Preece for fourth place while Hamlin was in sixth place in front of Briscoe, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Blaney. Shortly after, Bell moved into the free pass position in 19th place as Larson retained a steady lead over a four-car battle involving Byron, Cindric, Elliott and Hamlin with 80 laps remaining.
Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Larson was leading by nine-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott, who overtook teammate Byron for the runner-up spot a few laps earlier. With Larson leapfrogging up above the cutline by leading the race, Byron currently occupied the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round over Bell, who was still strapped in 19th place while scored a lap down. Elliott, however, would slowly begin to close in on teammate Larson with fresher tires as the latter retained the top spot by seven-tenths of a second with 70 laps remaining.
With 60 laps remaining, Larson stabilized his late advantage to more than a second over Elliott as both were placed in a “must-win” situation to make the Championship 4 field. Behind, teammate Byron trailed by three seconds as he was ahead of Cindric, Blaney and Hamlin while Bell retained 19th place. Despite getting mired in lapped traffic over the next 10 laps, Larson stabilized his lead to eight-tenths of a second over Elliott.
Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Larson, who lapped 18th-place Bubba Wallace, continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott. By then, Bell, who was still in 19th place, was not in the free pass position as he was currently scored three points behind Byron, who lost third place to Blaney two laps earlier. Not long after, Reddick, who is already guaranteed a spot to the Championship 4 despite running towards the rear of the field while multiple laps down, took his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE to the garage due to a mechanical issue.
With 25 laps remaining, Larson maintained the top spot in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Elliott, who was told to commence his charge for the lead several laps earlier. In the process, Blaney, who was placed in a “must-win” situation, closed in as he trailed the lead by six-tenths of a second while Byron lost fourth place to Cindric. This decreased Byron’s points advantage to two to Bell as both Austin Dillon and Hamlin slowly closed in on him for positions.
Then a lap later, Elliott bumped and overtook teammate Larson for the lead. Blaney would then bump and overtake Larson for the runner-up spot through the frontstretch during the following lap before Larson returned the favor with another bump. Amid their bumps, Blaney assumed the runner-up spot, which allowed Elliott to move above the cutline while Larson dropped below the cutline.
Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Blaney while third-place Larson trailed by more than two seconds. With Cindric in fourth place, Byron maintained fifth place over both Hamlin and Austin Dillon while Bell was still strapped in 19th place and a lap down. A lap later, however, Blaney dueled with Elliott for the lead through the frontstretch and he would muscle ahead of Elliott entering the backstretch. This moved Blaney above the cutline and dropped Elliott below the cutline while Byron’s points advantage decreased to one over Bell as Hamlin overtook Byron for fifth place in his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE on the track.
With 10 laps remaining, Blaney grew his advantage to more than a second over Elliott while Byron was trying to fend off Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain, the latter two dueling dead even before Byron, for sixth place. As Blaney proceeded to add another second to his advantage with five laps remaining, Byron was left to fend off Dillon, Chastain and Keselowski for sixth place in his hopes to maintain his Playoff hopes for the finale over Bell.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney remained in the lead by more than two seconds over Elliott. With a clear racetrack in front of him and both Elliott and Larson unable to close back the deficit, Blaney was able to cycle back to the frontstretch victorious for his third checkered flag of the 2024 Cup Series season.
With the victory, Blaney, who came into Martinsville 38 points below the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings, notched his 13th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series division, his second in a row in the fall Martinsville event and his first since winning at Pocono Raceway in July. The Martinsville victory was also the 11th of the 2024 season for the Ford nameplate and the seventh for Team Penske as Blaney redeemed himself following last weekend’s last-lap defeat from Tyler Reddick at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Above all, Blaney, who is in his ninth consecutive season as a full-time competitor in NASCAR’s premier series, punched his ticket into the 2024 Championship 4 round for a second consecutive season as he will strive to defend his series title in next weekend’s finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I don’t know, man,” Blaney, who was emotional, said on the frontstretch on NBC. “I tried to save my rear tires early. I started struggling with my rears when I would get [into] traffic the run before. I think it kind of paid off for us. So proud of the effort by everybody on the No. 12 group for never giving up and to have another shot at a championship is really special. [I’ll] Try to go back-to-back next week. I’m worn out. I got nothing left [today]. Good battle. The car hung on longer than most and [I] could really make some ground. [The No. 12 team] just worked on the car all night, so I really appreciate them. Let’s go.”
Meanwhile, drama unfolded on the final lap as Bell overtook Wallace, who had fallen off the pace over the last several laps as he radioed a potential flat tire to his No. 23 Xfinity Toyota Camry XSE, through the backstretch for 18th place. Bell then got loose entering Turn 3 as he made the pass and hit the outside wall, where he would proceed to drive and throttle up his car while scraping the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 to cycle back to the frontstretch and cross the finish line ahead of Wallace while Byron managed to fend off Dillon, Chastain, Keselowski and Logano for sixth place. In the change of events, Bell overtook Byron in the Playoff standings to claim the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round in a tiebreaker over Byron due to achieving a higher result of second place throughout the Round of 8 compared to Byron.
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Following an extensive review of the final-lap actions made between Byron and Bell while also evaluating the radio conversations between Wallace, Chastain and Austin Dillon as all three were racing with both Byron and Bell for positions in the closing laps, NASCAR levied Bell a safety violation for using the outside wall to accelerate and scrape his way into the Championship 4 round. Despite Bell’s move being similar to the move Ross Chastain made, where the latter throttled up against the Turns 3 and 4 outside wall to gain spots and make the Championship 4 round in 2022, NASCAR had banned the wall-ride maneuver from competitors prior to the start of the 2023 season.
As a result, Bell was demoted from 18th to 22nd in the final running order, which left him four points out of the Championship 4 field and not reaching the final Playoff round for a third consecutive season. Bell’s demotion allowed Byron to claim the final Championship 4 berth for a second consecutive season as he will compete for his first Cup Series championship next weekend at Phoenix.
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I’m not happy for anything, but the rule is what it is for the crossover gate over [in Turns 3 and 4] and riding the wall,” Byron said. “It is what it is. I will go race and just proud of my team. We had a really, hard-fought day, overall. Proud of that.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Bell said. “I understand that the rule was made to prevent people from riding the wall, but my move was completely different than what Ross’s [Chastain] was. I got loose getting into the corner and slid right into the fence. I don’t know what else to say.”
With Byron and race winner Blaney joining Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick as the four finalists who will contend for the 2024 Cup Series championship, Bell joins teammate Denny Hamlin and Byron’s Hendrick teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott as the bottom four contenders whose championship hopes came to an end. The outcome also eliminated Joe Gibbs Racing’s hopes of claiming this year’s title with both Bell and Hamlin out of the Playoffs.
There were 15 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 66 laps. In addition, 17 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Ryan Blaney, 32 laps led
2. Chase Elliott, 129 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Kyle Larson, 71 laps led
4. Austin Cindric
5. Denny Hamlin
6. William Byron, 51 laps led
7. Austin Dillon
8. Ross Chastain
9. Brad Keselowski, 170 laps led, Stage 2 winner
10. Joey Logano
11. Noah Gragson
12. Shane van Gisbergen
13. Alex Bowman
14. Ryan Preece
15. Chase Briscoe
16. Josh Berry
17. Daniel Hemric
18. Bubba Wallace, one lap down, six laps led
19. Erik Jones, one lap down
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
21. Zane Smith, one lap down
22. Christopher Bell, one lap down
23. Daniel Suarez, two laps down
24. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down, 41 laps led
25. Carson Hocevar, two laps down
26. Todd Gilliland, two laps down
27. Kaz Grala, three laps down
28. Kyle Busch, three laps down
29. Justin Haley, three laps down
30. Chris Buescher, three laps down
31. John Hunter Nemechek, four laps down
32. Ty Gibbs, five laps down
33. Michael McDowell, 10 laps down
34. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Brakes
35. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Oil Pressure
36. Harrison Burton – OUT, Engine
37. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Brakes
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Ryan Blaney – Advanced
2. Tyler Reddick – Advanced
3. Joey Logano – Advanced
4. William Byron – Advanced
5. Christopher Bell – Eliminated
6. Kyle Larson – Eliminated
7. Denny Hamlin – Eliminated
8. Chase Elliott – Eliminated
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to conclude next Sunday, November 10, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, where a champion will be crowned. The event’s broadcast is slated to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
A week after being drawn back into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, Joey Logano became the first Playoff competitor to clinch a Championship 4 berth after utilizing a late strategic pit call to win the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 20.
The two-time Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led the final six of 267-scheduled laps in an event where he started in 10th place and took advantage of multiple Playoff contenders encountering obstacles both on the track and on pit road to draw himself above the top-four cutline to make the Championship 4 round by recording nine stage points during the event’s two stage periods.
Then, after keeping his car intact and running a consistent event for the majority of the day, Logano, who last pitted during a late-caution period with 74 laps remaining along with the lead lap field, cycled from 11th to second as he remained on the track and on his current fuel load during a late cycle of green flag pit stops that ensued with approximately 40 laps remaining.
With teammate Ryan Blaney, who was multiple laps down, providing on-track assistance to Logano as the latter was both maintaining pace and stretching his fuel tank to the distance, Logano would track down and overtake Daniel Suarez for the lead with five laps remaining. He then managed to maintain a reasonable gap from Playoff contender Christopher Bell, who dominated the race, to snatch the Cup victory at Vegas in dramatic style and race his way into the Championship 4 round.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, October 19, Playoff contender Christopher Bell notched his third Cup Series pole position of the 2024 season after he posted a pole-winning lap at 185.344 mph in 29.135 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Tyler Reddick, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 185.261 mph in 29.148 seconds.
Prior to the event, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car due to a cut left-rear tire during Saturday’s practice session.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Christopher Bell gained the early advantage as he muscled his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE ahead of Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman from the inside lane. Bell would proceed to lead the field for a single cycle around the Vegas circuit and he would return to the frontstretch to lead the first lap.
Over the next four laps, Bell would stretch his advantage to as high as four-tenths of a second over Reddick while Bowman, Ross Chastain and Playoff contender Denny Hamlin followed suit in the top five. Behind, Playoff contender Kyle Larson occupied sixth place ahead of Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., and a trio of Playoff contenders that include Joey Logano, William Byron, and Chase Elliott, while Austin Cindric, rookie Carson Hocevar, Brad Keselowski, and rookie Zane Smith were in the top 15.
Through the first 10-schedueld laps, Bell extended his advantage to a second over Reddick while Bowman, Chastain, Hamlin, Larson, Ty Gibbs, Logano, Truex and Byron were racing in the top 10. With six of the remaining eight Playoff contenders scored in the top 10, Elliott retained 11th place while Ryan Blaney was up to 26th place after starting at the rear of the field.
Fifteen laps later, Bell added another advantage to his early lead as he was leading by more than two seconds over Reddick while third-place Bowman trailed by more than four seconds. Behind, Playoff contenders Larson, Hamlin and Logano were racing from fourth to sixth, respectively, while Chastain, Elliott, Byron and Austin Cindric were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Blaney gained five spots as he was up in 21st place behind Michael McDowell.
Another eight laps later, the event’s first cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Larson led a multitude of contenders, including Playoff contenders Logano, Hamlin, Elliott and Byron, to pit road for service. By then, Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe and Michael McDowell had pitted. With more names pitting over the next two laps, the leader Bell pitted under green on Lap 35 along with Reddick as Blaney cycled into the lead. Blaney, who had carved his way up into the top-20 mark before the pit stops, would pit his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse from the lead on Lap 40, which allowed Bell to cycle back into the lead as he was ahead of Reddick, Bowman, Larson, Logano and Elliott. By the time Blaney returned to the track following his pit stop, he was battling Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for 22nd place.
At the Lap 50 mark, Bell retained the lead by more than two seconds over Reddick while third-place Bowman followed trailed in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by seven seconds. Playoff contenders Larson, Elliott and Logano followed suit from fourth to sixth, respectively, as Cindric, Keselowski, Chastain and Truex were in the top 10 ahead of Byron, Gibbs, Hamlin, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez. By then, Blaney was up to 21st place behind Bubba Wallace while Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson and McDowell were mired in the top 20.
Twelve laps later, the event’s first caution flew when Austin Dillon, who was racing outside the top 25, was sent head-on into the outside wall in Turn 3 after he received a bump from Daniel Hemric entering the turn. The incident left Dillon with a damaged No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and heated with Hemric.
During the caution period, Bell led the lead lap field back to pit road for service. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Truex exited pit road first with two fresh tires while Byron, Keselowski, Buescher, Reddick, Hamlin, Bell, Larson, Bowman and Kyle Busch followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Erik Jones, who had received the free pass, had a right-front wheel come off of his No. 43 Massey Motor Freight Toyota Camry XSE on the track in Turn 1, though he was able to limp back to pit road for a new right-front tire.
The start of the ensuing restart period on Lap 71 featured the field fanning out entering the first two turns as Truex maintained the lead ahead of Keselowski and Byron. With the field still fanning out to multiple lanes through the backstretch and for the following turns, Truex led the following lap while Byron was up to second place ahead of Keselowski, Reddick and Bell. As Playoff contenders Elliott, Hamlin and Blaney were mired outside the top 10, Reddick, who pitted for four fresh tires during the previous caution period, would assume the lead from Truex on Lap 74.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Reddick, who muscled his way into the Playoff’s Round of 8 after overcoming a series of on-track issues during last weekend’s event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, notched his fifth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Bell followed suit in second ahead of Truex, Byron and Keselowski while Ty Gibbs, Buescher, Logano, Cindric and Larson were scored in the top 10. With five of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of Playoff points by finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders including Hamlin, Elliott and Blaney settled in 11th, 12th and 17th, respectively.
Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Reddick returned to pit road for service while Hamlin remained on the track as he inherited the lead. Following the pit stops amid more mixed strategies, Ty Gibbs exited pit road first with two fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Shane van Gisbergen was penalized for driving through too many pit boxes. Soon after, Bubba Wallace made another trip to pit road to have a possible loose wheel addressed. Larson would also pit to have debris removed from the front grille of his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which sent him to the rear of the field.
The second stage period started on Lap 87 as teammates Hamlin and Ty Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, both dueled for the lead through the first two turns as Gibbs used the outside lane and two fresh tires to assume the lead. With Hamlin pinned in a three-wide battle with Logano and Elliott for the runner-up spot through the frontstretch, Gibbs led the following lap as the field fanned out and jostled for spots.
The caution would then return on Lap 89 when Truex, who was in fourth place, went up the track and made slight contact with Elliott entering the frontstretch resulting in Elliott sliding up and making contact with Reddick, who tried to shoot through a gap, against the outside wall as both collected Keselowski when coming back across the track. As Elliott, Keselowski and Reddick all slid through the frontstretch’s grass, Reddick’s No. 45 Jordan Toyota Camry XSE bounced off the grass to the pavement as the car rolled over once before landing back hard on all four wheels. Despite flipping over once, Reddick was able to limp his damaged car back to his pit lane, but the damage to the car’s suspension was enough to knock Reddick out of contention.
“By the time I realized I was in trouble, it was just too late,” Reddick said after being released from the infield care center. “[Truex] started sliding, [Elliott] was coming up and I was pretty much already on their outside. There’s just, at that point, nowhere to really go. I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw them slide and just be a little more conservative. That would have avoided the incident. It’s unfortunate. It took us out of the race.”
During the caution period, Blaney, who hit the outside wall while trying to avoid Keselowski’s sliding car but managed to steer clear of the incident, spun while trying to enter pit road as his No. 12 pit crew proceeded to address a broken right-rear toe link as a result of the wall contact. With Blaney making multiple trips to pit road for repairs, he dropped out of the lead lap category. Blaney’s teammate Austin Cindric would eventually be eliminated from the race as he hit the wall and spun while trying to avoid Keselowski, who was eliminated from further contention.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 96, Gibbs and Logano dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes through the first two turns. With the field fanning out to three lanes through the backstretch, Gibbs managed to muscle ahead and lead the following lap while Bell overtook Logano and carved his way up to second place. Behind, Bowman would battle Truex and Chastain for fourth place in front of Byron and Buescher as Bell closed in on teammate Gibbs for the lead.
Just past the Lap 100 mark, Gibbs retained the lead over teammate Bell by four-tenths of a second while third-place Logano followed suit by within a second. Gibbs would manage to slightly stretch his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Bell by Lap 105 before the advantage shrunk to one-tenth of a second at the Lap 110 mark. By then, Elliott, who was able to maintain minimum speed to continue following his multi-car wreck, took his damaged No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the garage for additional repairs.
On Lap 111, Bell overtook teammate Gibbs to reassume the lead entering Turns 3 and 4. With Bell leading, Logano retained third place ahead of Truex and Chastain while Byron, Buescher, Larson, Kyle Busch and Bowman were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Hamlin had fallen to 26th place.
Five laps later, Hamlin, who was racing within the top-30 mark, would pit his No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE for four fresh tires and an adjustment under green as he lost a lap in the process. Bowman would then pit under green on Lap 119 before Kyle Busch pitted during the following lap. Logano, Truex, Buescher and Stenhouse would all pit on Lap 121 before Gibbs, Chastain, Byron, Justin Haley, Hocevar, Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Jimmie Johnson and rookie Josh Berry pitted during the next lap. During the pit stops, both Chastain and Gibbs were penalized for speeding on pit road.
As more names including Bubba Wallace, Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek and rookie Zane Smith pitted by Lap 124, the leader Bell would also pit before Larson pitted during the following lap. During the pit stops, Larson endured a slow pit service due to the jackman dropping the right side of the car too early when the right-rear tire was not completely installed slowing the servicing process of the left-side tires. Larson would then pit for a second time to have a left-rear tire changed, which left him two laps behind the lead.
Back on the track, Suarez, who was among many who have yet to pit, was leading ahead of McDowell, Corey LaJoie, Chase Briscoe, van Gisbergen, Cody Ware and Todd Gilliland while Bell, the first competitor who pitted, was mired in eighth place. Suarez would proceed to lead the event’s halfway mark between Laps 133 and 134 while Bell trailed the lead by 15 seconds in seventh place. Meanwhile, the next two highest-running Playoff contenders on the track were Byron and Logano in 10th and 12th, respectively, while Hamlin, Larson and Blaney were strapped in 25th, 31st and 32nd, respectively. In addition, Elliott returned to the track following his repairs and despite being 27 laps off of the lead lap category.
By Lap 145, Suarez continued to lead in his No. 99 Tootsies Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by four seconds over Bell while Truex followed suit in third place by five seconds. Meanwhile, Byron, who struggled with the handling of his No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 earlier in the event, was up to fourth place ahead of Cody Ware while Logano was scored in eighth place. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who un-lapped himself, was in 23rd place while Larson was still pinned two laps behind in 31st place.
Six laps later, Bell overtook Suarez through the frontstretch to reassume the lead. Teammate Truex, who overtook Bell on the track earlier before being overtaken, would follow suit in second place as Suarez, Byron and Buescher followed suit in the top five.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 165, Bell, who managed to lap 23rd-place Berry but was unable to lap 22nd-place Chastain, notched his 11th Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Truex followed suit in second place by four-tenths of a second while Byron, Buescher, Logano, Bowman, Haley, Suarez, Wallace and Ryan Preece were scored in the top 10. With three of the remaining seven Playoff contenders on the track racking up the event’s second round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Hamlin, Larson, Blaney and Elliott were mired in 19th, 30th, 32nd and 33rd, respectively. By then, Larson was the eighth competitor in line scored a lap down, Blaney was scored six laps down and Elliott was off the lead lap category by 26 points.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Bell retained the lead after he exited pit road first ahead of Truex, Byron, Buescher, Logano, Haley, Bowman, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Zane Smith. Amid the pit stops, Hamlin endured a slow pit service to tighten a left-rear tire on his No. 11 Toyota.
With 95 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as teammates Bell and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, both dueled for the lead in front of the field for nearly a lap before Bell muscled ahead and led the following lap. As the field continued to fan out to multiple laps over the proceeding laps, Larson was battling Ty Gibbs for 24th place and to be the first competitor scored a lap down. With Hamlin dealing with a potential vibration issue in 20th place, teammate Bell led by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Truex with 90 laps remaining.
With 80 laps remaining, Bell was leading by more than a second over teammate Truex while Buescher, Byron and Wallace were scored in the top five ahead of Bowman, Haley, Logano, Preece and Chastain. Meanwhile, Hamlin was in 17th place while Larson was overtaken by Ty Gibbs for 24th place and to be the first competitor scored a lap down. Larson would proceed to overtake Gibbs for the spot a lap later while Hamlin, who was on the lead lap, started to close in on both.
Five laps later, the caution flew due to Ty Gibbs slipping sideways and spinning his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE from the top to the bottom of the backstretch. The incident served as a big break for Larson, who received the free pass after being scored the first competitor a lap down in 24th place and was intensely battling Gibbs for the spot over the last several laps. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Bell retained the lead after he exited pit road first ahead of teammate Truex, Byron, Bowman and Buescher.
As the event restarted under green with 69 laps remaining, Bell received a small bump from Byron to muscle ahead from the inside lane and away from teammate Truex through the first two turns. As Byron battled Truex for the runner-up spot through the backstretch, Haley battled Bowman and Buescher for fourth place while Bell led the next lap. Byron would then slide up in front of Truex to claim the runner-up spot while Buescher and Haley battled fiercely for fifth place in front of Chastain and Kyle Busch. With Hamlin and Larson, both scored on the lead lap, trying to muscle their way up the leaderboard from within the top-20 mark, Bell led by three-tenths of a second over Byron with 65 laps remaining.
Down to the final 60 laps of the event, Bell stabilized his advantage to nearly three-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Truex trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Logano was mired in 11th place behind Wallace and Larson was up to 16th place while Hamlin was mired in 18th place.
Ten laps later, Bell continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Byron as Bowman occupied third place and trailed the lead by two seconds. Behind, Hamlin moved up to 15th place in front of Larson while Logano remained in 11th place as Truex and Buescher rounded out the top five on the track.
Another nine laps later, pit stops under green slowly commenced as Buescher pitted from the top five. Shortly after, more names including Truex, Larson, Blaney and Bowman pitted over the next two laps before Bell pitted from the lead with 38 laps remaining. Byron pitted during the next lap but was unable to blend back on the track in front of Bell. As the pit stops ensued, Suarez, who has yet to pit, cycled into the lead. Suarez would proceed to lead by two seconds over Logano with 30 laps remaining while Hamlin was up to third place and trailing the lead by four seconds. Meanwhile, Bell was mired in ninth place and racing two spots ahead of Byron while Larson was in 15th place.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Suarez continued to lead by two seconds over runner-up Logano and by nearly six seconds over third-place Hamlin while Bell trailed the lead by 15 seconds in sixth place. Behind, Byron trailed by 16 seconds in eighth place while Larson trailed by 26 seconds in 15th place.
With 10 laps remaining, Suarez stabilized his lead to more than a second over Logano and to six seconds over Hamlin while Bell, who continued to gain more ground and overtook John Hunter Nemechek for position, was up to fourth place and trailing the lead by less than seven seconds. Bell would proceed to overtake teammate Hamlin for third place and he trailed the lead by six seconds during the following lap while Logano, who received a draft from teammate Blaney through the straightaways for momentum amid his low fuel tank, was only trailing the leader Suarez by eight-tenths of a second.
Five laps later, Logano overtook Suarez for the lead through the frontstretch. By then, Bell trailed in third place by three seconds and continued to chip away at Logano’s advantage despite the laps dwindling.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano remained in the lead by eight-tenths of a second over Suarez while Bell followed suit. Bell would overtake Suarez for the runner-up spot entering the first two turns and he would trim Logano’s lead to as close to half a second through the backstretch. With Bell’s late charge not enough to get close to Logano’s rear bumper, Logano, who continued to have teammate Blaney following right behind him, was able to cycle his way through the final set of turns and return to the frontstretch victorious as he streaked his No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse across the finish line for the checkered flag by six-tenths of a second over Bell.
With the victory, Logano notched his 35th career win in the Cup Series, which places him in sole possession in 25th place on the all-time series wins list. He also recorded his third Cup victory of the 2024 season, his first since winning this year’s Playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway in early September and his fourth at Las Vegas. The victory was also the 10th of the season for the Ford nameplate and the sixth for Team Penske, and Logano clinches the Championship 4 berth.
Above all, Logano became the first of the remaining eight Playoff contenders to clinch a spot into this year’s Championship 4 field, where he will contend for his third Cup Series championship in the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway three weeks from now. Ironically, the 2024 season marks the fourth season where Logano has won the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener, with his previous three victories all occurring in even years (2018, 2020 & 2022). This season also marks the sixth time where Logano has made the Championship 4 round, all of which have also occurred in even years (including the 2014 & 2016 seasons).
“What [an] incredible turn of events here the last week,” Logano, who led the final six laps, said on NBC. “What a very fast Pennzoil Mustang. We’re going to the Championship 4 again! I don’t know what the deal’s [winning here at Vegas] with the even-year thing, but maybe it’s real. Thanks to the fans out here. Thanks to Roush Yates Engines for making great fuel mileage. Great calls by [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure [the car]’s full, giving me the good info I need to save fuel and keep the lead that we needed to. Boy, we’re going racing again. What an incredible situation. I’m blessed.”
“Everybody does a good job at just feeding the info that I needed,” Logano added. “You got to go the right pace to make sure you get in front of [Suarez], but get to where [Bell] was going to catch me. Just an incredible day. It takes the whole team to do the fuel mileage stuff. It’s not just the engine or the engineers or the driver, spotter. It takes all of us together to do it. Total team win. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were [a] solid top-five car and being able to maximize it at the end.”
As Logano celebrated both on the frontstretch and in Victory Lane, Bell, who led a race-high 155 laps and won the second stage period, was left dejected on pit road as he came up one spot short of winning the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener at Vegas for a second consecutive season. Amid the disappointment, Bell is scored in second place in the Playoff standings and is 42 points above the top-four cutline with two Round of 8 events remaining on the schedule.
“I don’t think I’ve come to terms yet [on the result],” Bell said. “I don’t know. It’s just a bummer. I think everyone on this No. 20 team did everything perfect today. This [car] was obviously on rails. Pit crew did an amazing job. [Crew chief] Adam [Stevens] called a great race. [We] Did everything we needed to put this Rheem Camry in Victory Lane and unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be today…I think the points look pretty good, which is a positive, but you’re never safe in this [Playoff] deal. We needed to win today and unfortunately, we didn’t. We’ll go on to the next [race].”
Daniel Suarez, who led 57 laps, had enough fuel to record a strong third-place effort while Playoff contender William Byron and Alex Bowman finished in the top five. Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, John Hunter Nemechek and Chris Buescher complete the top 10 in the final running order.
With half of eight Playoff contenders finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders include Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick ended up 11th, 32nd, 33rd and 35th, respectively. As a result, Larson and Byron leave Vegas above the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings along with Logano and Bell, while Hamlin, Reddick, Blaney, and Elliott trail below the cutline.
There were 13 lead changes for ten different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 32 laps. In addition, 21 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Joey Logano, six laps led
2. Christopher Bell, 155 laps led, Stage 2 winner
3. Daniel Suarez, 57 laps led
4. William Byron, one lap led
5. Alex Bowman
6. Martin Truex Jr., seven laps led
7. Ross Chastain
8. Denny Hamlin, four laps led
9. John Hunter Nemechek
10. Chris Buescher
11. Kyle Larson, one lap led
12. Bubba Wallace
13. Kyle Busch
14. Corey LaJoie
15. Harrison Burton
16. Zane Smith
17. Justin Haley
18. Noah Gragson
19. Daniel Hemric
20. Michael McDowell
21. Cody Ware
22. Ryan Preece, one lap down
23. Carson Hocevar, one lap down
24. Josh Berry, one lap down
25. Erik Jones, one lap down
26. Chase Briscoe, one lap down
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
28. Jimmie Johnson, two laps down
29. Shane van Gisbergen, two laps down
30. Ty Gibbs, three laps down, 23 laps led
31. Todd Gilliland, four laps down
32. Ryan Blaney, eight laps down, four laps led
33. Chase Elliott – OUT, Suspension
34. Austin Cindric – OUT, DVP
35. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, nine laps led, Stage 1 winner
36. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident
37. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Joey Logano – Advanced
2. Christopher Bell +42
3. Kyle Larson +35
4. William Byron +27
5. Denny Hamlin -27
6. Tyler Reddick -30
7. Ryan Blaney -47
8. Chase Elliott -53
The second Round of 8 event in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to occur at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, for the Straight Talk Wireless 400. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, October 27, and air at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
NASCAR released the penalty report following this past weekend’s Xfinity-Cup Series events at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course that occurred between October 12-13, 2024.
In the Cup Series, Joshua Thomas (front-tire changer) and Nick Covey (jackman), both of whom work in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team piloted by Austin Dillon, have been issued a two-race suspension due to a left-front wheel that detached from Dillon’s car on Lap 80 of 109 during Sunday’s event. The incident occurred after Dillon had made a green-flag pit stop and left his pit box despite the tire changer unable to tighten the left-front tire’s single lug nut before the car departed. Dillon would proceed to finish in 32nd place at Charlotte in an event that determined the Playoff’s Round of 8 field and was won by Playoff contender Kyle Larson.
With the suspensions, Thomas and Covey will not be present for the upcoming Cup Series Playoff events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively.
In the Xfinity Series, four crew chiefs were each fined $5,000 apiece due to their respective entries having a single lug nut unsecured during the post-race inspection process following Saturday’s event that also determined the series’ Round of 8 field and was won by Playoff contender Sam Mayer.
The crew chiefs that were penalized include Philip Bell, crew chief for Sammy Smith and the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team; Jeff Meendering, crew chief for Chandler Smith and the No. 81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team; James Pohlman, crew chief for Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team; and Andy Street, crew chief for Austin Hill and the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team.
Ironically, each of the crew chiefs’ respective competitors represent half of the current eight Playoff contenders who remain in championship contention as the series transitions to the Round of 8 that begins this upcoming weekend at Las Vegas.
Tuesday’s penalty report comes a day after Hendrick Motorsports opted to not appeal the disqualification of Alex Bowman from the Round of 8 due to Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet entry not meeting the minimum weight requirements following Sunday’s event, where Bowman had initially transferred after finishing in 18th place and winning the event’s second stage period.
Bowman’s disqualification allowed Joey Logano, who initially missed the Round of 8 cutline by four points, to claim the round’s final transfer berth.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series’ teams return to action this upcoming weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the Playoff’s Round of 8 also commences for both series. The Xfinity’s Round of 8 event at Vegas will occur on Saturday, October 19, and air at 7 p.m. ET on the CW Network. The Cup’s Round of 8 event will follow suit on Sunday, October 20, and air at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
With no points pressure mounted up his sleeves, Kyle Larson cruised to a dominant victory in the seventh annual running of the Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course on Sunday, October 13.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led a race-high 62 of 109-scheduled laps in an event where he started in sixth place and ran a consistent event while executing his pit strategy to perfection that kept him racing towards the front and also keeping his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet intact through every turn, straightaway, chicane and curbs.
After clinching his way into the Playoff’s Round of 8 by accumulating seven stage points between the event’s first two stage periods, Larson, who led twice earlier in the event, assumed the lead for the third and final time with 33 laps remaining during a late cycle of green flag pit stops. Then after muscling away from the field during a late-race restart with 26 laps remaining, the Californian maintained a reasonable advantage over the field and fellow Playoff rivals for the remainder of the event as he raced his way to his sixth Cup victory of the 2024 season.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, October 12, Shane van Gisbergen notched his first Cup Series career pole position with a pole-winning lap at 99.246 mph in 82.704 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Tyler Reddick, who posted his best qualifying lap at 99.177 mph in 82.761 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Shane van Gisbergen muscled his No. 13 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead with the lead from the outside lane and he led the field through the infield turns, starting from Turn 1 to the newly configured Turns 5 and 6 zones that led to the new sharp left-hand turn to Turn 7 and back on Charlotte’s oval course. With the field navigating cleanly through the infield turns, van Gisbergen retained the lead through the oval turns and the chicane areas, from the backstretch to the frontstretch, as he led the first lap ahead of Playoff contenders Joey Logano and Kyle Larson while AJ Allmendinger and Playoff contender Tyler Reddick followed suit.
During the second lap, Logano was overtaken by Larson, Reddick and Allmendinger on the track, which dropped Logano to fifth place on the course. Behind Logano, Playoff teammate Austin Cindric followed suit in sixth place as he was ahead of Brad Keselowski, Playoff contender Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace while William Byron, who is already guaranteed a spot in the Round of 8, was in 10th place ahead of Playoff rivals Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney. As Playoff contenders Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe were trying to navigate their way up the leaderboard while being mired outside the top-20 mark on the track, van Gisbergen stretched his advantage to over one second on Larson by the fifth lap mark. Meanwhile, Playoff contender Alex Bowman, whose No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 briefly came off the ground after he ran over the frontstretch’s chicane curbs earlier, was mired in 19th place ahead of rookie Carson Hocevar.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, van Gisbergen stabilized his advantage to more than one second ahead of Larson while Reddick, Allmendinger and Logano followed suit in the top five. Behind, Cindric and Elliott battled fiercely for sixth place ahead of Keselowski, Wallace and Byron while Bell, Blaney, Suarez, Kyle Busch and Todd Gilliland trailed in the top 15 ahead of Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman and Carson Hocevar. Meanwhile, Hamlin was mired in 24th place behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. while Briscoe was back in 26th place in between Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher.
Another lap later, Ryan Preece spun his No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the backstretch chicane while running in the top-30 mark, which dropped him below the leaderboard. Then during the following lap, Wallace was penalized for cutting the course while navigating his No. 23 Leidos Toyota Camry XSE through the frontstretch chicane. This resulted in Wallace serving a “stop-and-go” penalty through the backstretch chicane, which dropped Wallace from eighth to 12th on the course. Martin Truex Jr., who was running within the top-25 mark, would also be penalized for cutting the frontstretch chicane by Lap 13, which dropped him towards the top-30 mark. With the race remaining under green flag conditions, van Gisbergen stretched his advantage to nearly two seconds over Larson while Reddick, Allmendinger and Logano continued to trail in the top five.
On Lap 18, the event’s first cycle of green flag pit stops slowly started to commence as Allmendinger pitted his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from the top five. By then, Austin Dillon had pitted a lap earlier. Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher would all pit by the Lap 19 mark before Cindric, Keselowski, Byron, Bell, Wallace, Hamlin, Briscoe and Truex pitted during the following lap. Larson would then pit his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from the runner-up spot on Lap 21 along with Todd Gilliland, Hocevar, Bowman, rookie Zane Smith, Stenhouse, Daniel Hemric, Noah Gragson, Harrison Burton before the leader van Gisbergen pitted during the next lap along with Daniel Suarez. With pit road closed on Lap 23 as the first stage period was coming to a conclusion, Reddick, who remained on the course, cycled his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE into the lead.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 25, Reddick, who came into the event 14 points above the top-eight cutline in his hopes to advance into the Playoff’s Round of 8, recorded his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Playoff contenders Logano, Elliott, Blaney and Larson followed suit in the top five while van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Allmendinger, Keselowski and Playoff contender Cindric were scored in the top 10. With half of the 12 Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Bell, Byron, Suarez, Bowman, Briscoe and Hamlin were scored in 11th, 13th, 19th, 22nd, 23rd and 27, respectively.
Under the stage break, some led by Reddick and including Logano, Elliott and Blaney pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.
The second stage period started on Lap 29 as Larson and van Gisbergen occupied the front row. At the start, Larson muscled ahead of Kaulig Racing’s van Gisbergen and Allmendinger through the frontstretch and he retained the lead through the infield turns while van Gisbergen fended off Allmendinger for the runner-up spot. As the field navigated through the infield road course turns and the sharp left-hand turn from Turn 7 back on the oval turns, Larson retained the lead for the remaining turns and led the following lap while Playoff contenders Briscoe, Hamlin, Reddick, Logano, Elliott and Blaney were mired within a series of on-track bumps and contacts while stuck in the middle of the field.
Shortly after and during the Lap 30 mark, Reddick was collected in a jam-up and came to a full stop to avoid hitting Austin Dillon, who was sent for a spin in Turn 7 after he got bumped by Bowman. Despite sustaining little cosmetic damage to his car, Reddick, whose car briefly came off the ground after he hit both the Turn 7 curb and into team owner Denny Hamlin prior to avoiding Dillon, pitted under green to address a potential broken toe link to his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE. With Hamlin remaining on the track despite getting hit in the left-side area and having a bent toe link to the rear end of his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE, Larson retained the lead by nearly a second over van Gisbergen while Allmendinger, Bell and Keselowski were scored in the top five.
At the Lap 35 mark, Larson stretched his advantage to more than a second over van Gisbergen as both were followed by Allmendinger, Bell and Keselowski. With Cindric, Byron, Chastain, Suarez and Wallace following suit in the top 10, Bowman, Hocevar, Buescher, Stenhouse and Kyle Busch were mired in the top 15 ahead of Logano, Zane Smith, Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs and Elliott while Hamlin, Blaney, Truex, Gilliland and Harrison Burton were scored in the top 25.
Then while still on the Lap 35 mark, the caution returned due to Playoff contender Briscoe losing a right-rear tire as the tire came off of Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Mustang Dark Horse in Turn 14 just as Briscoe was pitting. During the caution period, Reddick and Gragson pitted, with the former having his bent right-rear toe link addressed. Soon after, more names led by Allmendinger and including Hamlin and Cindric pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 38 featured Larson and van Gisbergen dueling for the lead through the first four turns until Larson muscled ahead. With Bell overtaking van Gisbergen for the runner-up spot entering Turn 5, a traffic jam ensued as Keselowski was bumped and sent for a spin by Suarez in Turn 7 while the field fanned out. With the race remaining under green flag conditions, Larson retained the lead for the following lap ahead of Bell, van Gisbergen, Byron and Bowman as Austin Dillon, who was running in 28th place, was penalized for cutting the frontstretch chicane despite getting hit by Briscoe before driving off the course.
Just past the Lap 40 mark, eight of 12 Playoff contenders were racing inside the top 10 on the track as Larson retained the lead ahead of Bell while Byron, Bowman, Suarez, Logano and Elliott followed suit from fourth to eighth, respectively, as Blaney was in 10th place. Meanwhile, Cindric and Hamlin were back in 17th and 19th, respectively, while Briscoe and Reddick were mired in 36th and 37th, respectively, with the former pitting multiple times for repairs following an on-track contact. As Erik Jones bumped Kaz Grala off the course through the frontstretch chicane as payback from an earlier contact that occurred in the backstretch chicane, Chastain was sent for a spin in Turn 7 after he got hit by Truex. Through both incidents, the race remained under green flag conditions.
By Lap 45, Larson retained the lead by more than a second over Bell as van Gisbergen, Byron, Bowman, Suarez, Logano, Allmendinger, Elliott and Blaney followed suit in the top 10 ahead of Wallace, McDowell, Cindric, Kyle Busch and Hamlin. With Reddick mired in 36th place, Briscoe’s Playoff run in 2024 came to an end as he took his car to the garage and retired in 37th place. Briscoe’s DNF also ended the final Cup Series Playoff run for Stewart-Haas Racing.
“It’s tough,” Briscoe said after being released from the infield care center. “To have all that momentum that we had to come to an end and to have it come to an end like it did is definitely unfortunate. [I] Wish we could have kept going for [the title]. Just unfortunate. We still have a lot to race for. We still can go win four more races and that’s what we’re certainly trying to do.”
Two laps later, Byron pitted from inside the top five under green along with Ty Gibbs, Hemric, Chastain, Austin Dillon, Keselowski and Justin Haley. By then, Zane Smith, Truex, Stenhouse, Harrison Burton and John Hunter Nemechek had pitted. The leader Larson along with Bell and van Gisbergen would pit during the following lap as Bowman cycled into the lead.
Amid the pit stops, Suarez, who was engaged in a fierce battle that included bumps with Logano a few laps earlier, was forced off the course in the backstretch chicane after being bumped by Wallace, where Suarez came to a full stop before continuing. In addition, Zane Smith was spared from being penalized for cutting the frontstretch chicane earlier after he got bumped by Buescher.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 50, Bowman, who came into the Roval 26 points above the top-eight cutline, notched his second Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Allmendinger followed suit along with Logano, Elliott and Wallace while Blaney, Cindric, Michael McDowell, Kyle Busch and Larson, who clinched his way into the Round of 8 by points, were scored in the top 10. With half of the remaining 11 Playoff contenders on the track racking up the second round of stage points, the remaining contenders including Hamlin, Bell, Suarez, Byron and Reddick were mired in 11th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 36th, respectively.
During the stage break, some led by Bowman and including teammate Elliott, Blaney and Suarez pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track.
With 55 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as Allmendinger and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, Allmendinger muscled ahead with the lead from the outside lane and led the field through the infield turns while Wallace overtook Logano for the runner-up spot. Cindric would track teammate Logano for third place as the field fanned out while navigating through Turn 7.
With the field navigating cleanly through the backstretch chicane, trouble occurred in the frontstretch chicane as Chastain, who was mired in the top 20, was hit by Keselowski as he spun his No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for a second time and collected Legacy Motor Club’s Nemechek and Erik Jones. Then as Ty Gibbs retired due to a transmission issue to his No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE, the caution returned during the following lap due to debris that came off of Nemechek’s damaged No. 42 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE in Turn 2.
During the caution period, Suarez, who was placed in a “must-win” situation to keep his Playoff hopes alive, pitted and the hood of his No. 99 Choice Privileges Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was lifted as his crew went to work to diagnose a brake issue. By then, Bell was officially ruled to be clinched into the Round of 8 based on points.
As the event restarted under green with 50 laps remaining, Allmendinger rocketed away from Wallace and Logano to retain the lead entering the first turn and through the infield turns. As Larson used the fresh tires to battle Cindric for fourth place, the field fanned out and was able to navigate through Turn 7 cleanly as Allmendinger maintained a reasonable gap between himself and Wallace through the oval turns and the backstretch chicane.
Allmendinger would proceed to lead the following lap while Reddick and Elliott battled for 23rd place and a spot into the Round of 8. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who struggled earlier in the event, was up to seventh place behind Playoff contenders Larson, Logano, Bell and Cindric as Reddick, who was in 23rd place, was tracking Elliott by five points in the current Playoff standings. As both Buescher and van Gisbergen were sent spinning separately in Turn 7 during the next lap, Allmendinger stretched his advantage to more than a second over Wallace before Larson overtook the latter with 47 laps remaining.
With 45 laps remaining, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to a second over Larson as Bell trailed in third place by two seconds. With Wallace leading Playoff contenders Logano, Cindric, Byron and Hamlin on the track, McDowell and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10 ahead of Hocevar, Truex, Keselowski, Gilliland and Stenhouse. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders Bowman, Blaney, Elliott, Reddick and Suarez were mired in 17th, 18th, 19th, 21st and 32nd, respectively, as Larson proceeded to cut Allmendinger’s advantage to four-tenths of a second during the next lap.
Then with 43 laps remaining, Larson used a bold move beneath Allmendinger while nearly getting sideways to move into the lead in Turn 7. Larson would proceed to lead Allmendinger through the ensuing oval turns, the backstretch chicane and the frontstretch chicane while Bell started to close in on Allmendinger from third place. Meanwhile, Reddick, who had regained his racing rhythm and was trying to carve his way back up the leaderboard since having his car repaired in the pits following his second stage incident in Turn 7, continued to trail Elliott in the Playoff standings by five points as he was mired in 19th place in front of Bowman while Elliott was just ahead of Reddick in 18th place.
With 38 laps remaining, Allmendinger pitted from the runner-up spot under green as he was followed by Cindric, Logano, Kyle Busch and Buescher. By then, McDowell had pitted a lap earlier as Larson was leading by more than three seconds over Bell. Wallace and his 23XI Racing teammate Reddick would then pit during the following lap along with Gragson before Byron, Hocevar, Elliott and Bowman pitted with 36 laps remaining. Despite enduring a slow pit service, Elliott managed to blend back on the track in front of Reddick as Reddick was separated from Elliott by four competitors.
As the field reached its final 34-lap mark, the leader Larson pitted under green along with Bell and Blaney. By then, Hamlin had pitted earlier as Larson exited pit road ahead of Bell, who endured a slow service. With nearly every competitor in the field having made a pit stop, Keselowski, who has yet to pit, was leading. Keselowski, however, would pit shortly after, which handed the lead back to Larson.
With 30 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than six seconds over Austin Dillon as Bell, van Gisbergen and Allmendinger trailed in the top five. Meanwhile, Reddick, who was scored in 20th place, trailed the top-eight cutline by five points while Logano, who was in eighth place, occupied the final transfer spot. Meanwhile, Elliott was 12 points above the cutline as he was in 13th place while Hamlin, who was in 17th place, was ahead by nine points.
The following lap, the caution flew due to the left front wheel rolling off of Austin Dillon’s No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 just past Turn 4 and right after Dillon had pitted under green, which resulted in Dillon being assessed a two-lap penalty. By then, Reddick trailed Logano in the standings by four points while Larson was leading by six seconds over Bell. During the caution period, some including Allmendinger, van Gisbergen, Reddick, Haley and Buescher pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.
The start of the following restart period with 26 laps remaining featured Larson rocketing away from Bell, Byron and Cindric entering the first turn as Logano also tried to join the battle. As Larson led the field through the first four turns before navigating his way through the final three sets of infield turns, Larson slightly stretched his advantage over Bell through the oval’s backstretch and the backstretch chicane. As Playoff contenders Blaney and Hamlin were trying to navigate their way back into the top 10 on the track, Larson led the following lap while Reddick, who was mired in 24th place after he pitted, trailed the cutline by 12 points.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by more than a second over Bell as Playoff contenders Byron, Cindric, Elliott and Logano followed suit in the top six. With Logano losing fifth place on the track to Elliott not long ago, Reddick, who overtook Bowman for 19th place, trailed Logano in the standings by six points. Not long after, Reddick nearly got sideways as he bumped and sent Daniel Hemric for a spin in Turn 7. Amid the incident, Reddick continued in 18th place as he now trailed Logano by five points. Reddick would gain another point during the following lap as he overtook Stenhouse for 17th place and was trying to track McDowell for more.
With 15 laps remaining, Larson added an extra second to his advantage as he was leading by two seconds over Bell. Meanwhile, Reddick carved his way up to 15th place on the track, which placed him only two points behind Logano, who was still running in sixth place on the track, in the standings as he was trying to battle Kyle Busch for 14th place. Another lap later, however, Reddick’s deficit was cut to a single point as he overtook Busch’s No. 8 Lenovo Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for 14th place while Logano was being pressured by Allmendinger for sixth place.
Down to the final 11 laps of the event, Logano and Reddick were tied for the final transfer spot to the Round of 8 as Allmendinger overtook Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse for sixth place through the backstretch on the track. Meanwhile, Reddick was trying to track down team owner Hamlin, who is only seven points above the cutline, for 13th place on the track as Logano owned the tie-breaker over Reddick. Logano and Reddick would remain in seventh and 14th, respectively, on the track for the following lap as Larson stabilized his advantage to two seconds over Bell.
Then with nine laps remaining, Reddick overtook Logano in the Playoff standings as he was in the final transfer into the Round of 8 by two points after he overtook Toyota teammates Truex and Hamlin from Turns 5 to 7. Meanwhile, Logano was still mired in seventh place and racing ahead of van Gisbergen, Wallace and Blaney while Reddick was trying to track down Hocevar for 11th place. Despite dropping to 13th place, Hamlin remained seven points above the cutline.
With five laps remaining, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Bell as Byron, Cindric and Elliott followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Logano was scored outside the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings by four points as he was overtaken by van Gisbergen for seventh place on the track a few laps earlier while Reddick was up to 11th place. By then, Blaney and Elliott were also above the cutline by 18 and 14 points, respectively, while Bowman and Hamlin followed suit by eight and four points, respectively.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by more than a second over Bell. As Larson proceeded to lap Suarez through the infield turns while Bell tried to close in, Larson was able to smoothly navigate his way out of the infield turns and through the final set of road course turns on the oval circuit as he then navigated through the frontstretch chicane and streaked across the finish line to claim the checkered flag by one-and-a-half seconds over Bell.
With the victory, Larson, who continues his pursuit for his second Cup Series championship ahead of the Round of 8’s commencement, achieved his sixth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2024 season. He also achieved the 29th Cup victory of his career, his second at the Charlotte Roval after winning his first in 2021 and his first victory since winning the Bristol Night Race three weeks ago.
The victory was also the 15th of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the 11th of the season for Hendrick Motorsports, with the organization notching its 25th Cup victory overall at Charlotte, as Larson racked up his 23rd victory while driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for team owner Rick Hendrick.
“It’s the first time in my Playoff career [that] I’ve not been like close to the [Playoff] cutline,” Larson, who celebrated with his daughter Audrey on the frontstretch, said on NBC. “It was good to kind of have a little bit of a stress-free of a weekend. I think the first time I’ve been here without crashing, maybe besides the other time we won. Good weekend. Obviously, we’re here at [owner Rick] Hendrick’s home and got so many of the people here from there, so [it’s] gonna be fun to celebrate with them. It’s known that I don’t really use the [simulator] much and I was in the Sim this week. Huge thank you, you guys. It really helped me get into a rhythm, I think, early on and help us fine-tune our car, too. Hats off to everybody there.”
As Larson continued his race-winning celebration in Victory Lane, Tyler Reddick, the 2024 Cup Series Regular Season Champion, was left relieved and smiling on pit road with his team owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin as he survived his roller coaster event by claiming the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by four points with an 11th-place result at Charlotte. The result enabled Reddick and the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota team to maintain their championship hopes for another three weeks.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I thought I was going to flip [in Stage 2],” Reddick said. “This [car] was absolutely destroyed. Real hats off to everybody on this Monster Energy Toyota Camry [team]. This thing couldn’t go within four seconds of what the pace was and we just kept working on it, and we made it a lot better for Stage 3. This is how this place can be sometimes, but it’s really nice to pull this off. You just got to stay calm, got to stay focused. In those moments, man, it’s so easy to lose track of what you control. Either way, I was going to drive the car as fast as I could. It just worked out for us. This thing was able to get up back up through the field and get us to the good side of the cutline.”
Meanwhile, Logano, who recorded a race-high 17 stage points and came into Charlotte with a 13-point deficit to the cutline, was left disappointed as he fell four points shy of remaining in contention for a third Cup Series championship in 2024. This season marks the first time where Logano was eliminated from the Playoffs following the Round of 12 and it comes a year after he was eliminated following the Round of 16.
“We fought hard, for sure,” Logano said. “I think [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] and the [No. 22] guys did a good job of executing the strategy and what we needed to do today. Just didn’t quite get enough there at the end. I fell off a little bit too much [on] that last run. Honestly, the No. 45 [team], Tyler [Reddick] and those guys did a good job [of] driving up through the field and scored more points. It’s hard not to think about Richmond a little bit right now. Just wasn’t meant to be. You can start looking back at different points in the season to gather four points pretty easily, but Talladega, we just didn’t do a good enough job there scoring stage points. It’s probably where a lot of it lies.”
Overall, Logano joins teammate Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe as the next wave of four Playoff contenders to officially be eliminated from the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.
“We had the speed and that’s the encouraging thing, that’s the exciting thing,” Cindric said. “Today, we needed it all. We had a great car. We had a great finish. All the things that are hard to do in a Cup race, we did all those things and capable of doing all those things in the two races prior [to Charlotte]. That’s what this [Playoff] format is. It’s difficult and for us having a better regular season, having bit better of a buffer can definitely help, but proud of everyone. Looking forward to trying to spoil some races and support our teammates to the rest.”
“We worked very hard for the last two weeks to prepare for this race,” Suarez said. “Honestly, [it was] probably the hardest I ever worked for one specific race and unfortunately, we don’t have anything to show for. Just wasn’t our day, but I can tell you something. I’m very proud of this group because we put in the work. I guarantee you something, nobody works harder to prepare for this race. Unfortunately, we don’t have anything to show for, but we have four more races and we’re going to go out there and give our best.”
On the contrary, Larson and Reddick join Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman as the remaining eight Playoff contenders who will continue the Playoff battle in the Round of 8, beginning next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Bell, Byron, Cindric and Elliott finished in the top five behind Larson at the Charlotte Roval while AJ Allmendinger, pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen, Logano, Bubba Wallace and Blaney completed the top 10 in the final running order. As Reddick finished 11th, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Hamlin, Bowman, Suarez and Briscoe ended up 14th, 18th, 31st and 37th, respectively.
There were seven lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 13 laps. In addition, 30 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Kyle Larson, 62 laps led
2. Christopher Bell, one lap led
3. William Byron
4. Austin Cindric
5. Chase Elliott
6. AJ Allmendinger, 14 laps led
7. Shane van Gisbergen, 21 laps led
8. Joey Logano
9. Bubba Wallace
10. Ryan Blaney
11. Tyler Reddick, six laps led, Stage 1 winner
12. Carson Hocevar
13. Kyle Busch
14. Denny Hamlin
15. Michael McDowell
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17. Chris Buescher
18. Alex Bowman, five laps led, Stage 2 winner
19. Todd Gilliland
20. Zane Smith
21. Harrison Burton
22. Martin Truex Jr.
23. Josh Berry
24. Brad Keselowski
25. Daniel Hemric
26. Ryan Preece
27. Justin Haley
28. Kaz Grala
29. Ross Chastain
30. Josh Bilicki
31. Daniel Suarez, one lap down
32. Noah Gragson, one lap down
33. Austin Dillon, two laps down
34. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident
35. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident
36. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Engine
37. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident
38. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Kyle Larson – Advanced
2. William Byron – Advanced
3. Christopher Bell – Advanced
4. Ryan Blaney – Advanced
5. Chase Elliott – Advanced
6. Alex Bowman – Advanced
7. Denny Hamlin – Advanced
8. Tyler Reddick – Advanced
9. Joey Logano – Eliminated
10. Austin Cindric – Eliminated
11. Daniel Suarez – Eliminated
12. Chase Briscoe – Eliminated
The Round of 8 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to occur next Sunday, October 20, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the South Point 400. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Austin Dillon is primed to achieve a milestone in his 11th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Playoff event at Watkins Glen International, the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make his 400th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Welcome, North Carolina, Dillon made his inaugural start in the Cup Series at Kansas Speedway in October 2011. At the time, he was campaigning in his second full-time season in the Craftsman Truck Series for Richard Childress Racing after clinching the Rookie of the Year title in 2010. Driving the No. 98 Chevrolet Impala for Curb Racing, Dillon finished 26th in his first Cup event.
The following two seasons, Dillon competed full-time in the Xfinity Series for RCR, where he achieved the 2012 Xfinity Series’ Rookie of the Year title before notching the drivers’ championship a year later. During the two-year stint, he made 12 Cup Series starts, his first occurring at Michigan International Speedway in June 2012 as he piloted RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet to a 24th-place finish. The remaining 11 Cup starts occurred in 2013, with his first being the 55th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway as he finished 31st.
In total, Dillon made five Cup starts with RCR, four with Phoenix Racing and two with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) as an interim competitor for the injured three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart. Within the starts, he notched a season-best 11th-place finish at Michigan in June with RCR and a 14th-place run at Michigan in August with SHR. At Talladega Superspeedway in October, Dillon, who was driving the No. 14 SHR Chevrolet SS, was running in third place on the final lap when he slipped sideways off the front nose of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., came back across the track in the backstretch and was sent airborne after being rammed by Casey Mears, with the result dropping Dillon to 26th place in the final running order.
Less than a month after winning the 2013 Xfinity Series title, Dillon was announced as a full-time Cup Series competitor in RCR’s No. 3 Chevrolet SS for the 2014 season, which marked the return of the No. 3 in NASCAR’s premier series for the first time since the 2001 Daytona 500, last piloted by the late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt.
Dillon commenced his rookie Cup season on a strong note by securing the pole position for the 56th running of the Daytona 500, which was his first in the series, and becoming both the fourth competitor to place a No. 3 entry and the fifth rookie candidate on the pole for the Great American Race. During the main event, Dillon, who led the opening lap, rallied after being involved in a late multi-car wreck to record his first top-10 result in the series with a ninth-place finish. He would then finish no higher than 11th three times during his next 16 starts before securing his first top-five result in the form of a fifth-place finish at Daytona in July.
With only an additional top-10 result, being a 10th-place run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, occurring in the final eight regular-season events, Dillon was unable to qualify for the 2014 Cup Series Playoffs. He would proceed to finish no higher than eighth during the final 10 events on the schedule before settling in 20th place in the final standings and the runner-up spot behind Kyle Larson for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Overall, Dillon achieved a single pole, one top-five result, four top-10 results, 10 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.5 during his first full-time Cup Series season.
Dillon’s sophomore Cup season in 2015 was mired with a harrowing final lap accident at Daytona in July, where his car went airborne after colliding with a spinning Denny Hamlin. He flew over four competitors and smashed upside-down into the frontstretch’s catchfence before the car came back on the speedway on the roof and was hit by a spinning Brad Keselowski before coming to a rest on the roof. Amid the wild wreck that ripped the engine out of the No. 3 car, Dillon, who managed to finish seventh before the wreck, emerged uninjured as he only sustained a bruised tailbone and a bruised forearm.
The Daytona result would serve as one of Dillon’s five total top-10 results he earned throughout the 2015 Cup season, with his best on-track result being a fourth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August after leading 19 laps. After missing the Playoffs, Dillon settled in 21st place in the final standings with an average-finishing result of 21.0.
Like his rookie Cup season, Dillon commenced his junior Cup Series season with a ninth-place result during the 58th running of the Daytona 500. Two races later, he recorded a strong fifth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March followed by a ninth-place run at Phoenix Raceway before notching his second Cup career pole at Auto Club Speedway, an event where he would finish 24th. Nabbing three additional top-five results and a total of six top-10 results during the final 21 regular-season events, Dillon was able to race his way into his first career Cup Series Playoffs based on points.
After finishing 14th, 16th and eighth throughout the Round of 16, Dillon transferred into the Round of 12. With respective finishes of 32nd, sixth and ninth throughout the Round of 12, however, he did not transfer to the Round of 8 amid a tie-breaker against Denny Hamlin. Scoring his second pole of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in November, Dillon finished no higher than 12th during the final four events on the schedule before settling in 14th place in the final standings. Overall, Dillon achieved two poles, four top-five results, a career-high 13 top-10 results, 17 laps led and an average finishing result of 15.9. He had also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
Dillon began the 2017 Cup Series season with a 19th-place finish during the 59th running of the Daytona 500. Then after managing only one top-five finish during the first 11 events on the schedule, he scored his first Cup career victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May after overtaking seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson with two laps remaining and having enough fuel to coast his No. 3 Chevrolet across the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
With the victory, Dillon became the 188th different competitor to win a Cup Series event and the seventh to notch a first Cup victory in the Coke 600. It was the first victory for the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt won at Talladega Superspeedway in 2000. Despite finishing in the top 10 only twice during the final 14 regular-season events, the Coke 600 victory enabled Dillon to automatically advance to the Playoffs for a second consecutive season. After having his title hopes come to an early end after finishing no higher than 16th twice and not advancing past the Round of 16, Dillon proceeded to notch five top-15 results within the final seven events on the schedule before settling in a career-best 11th place in the final standings.
Returning for a fifth full-time Cup campaign in 2018, Dillon commenced the season with a thriller after spinning Aric Almirola on the final lap to win the 60th running of the Daytona 500 and notch his second Cup career victory. With the accomplishment, Dillon, who only led the final lap and piloted a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to its first NASCAR victory in its first event, became the 39th competitor to win the Great American Race as he delivered the third Daytona 500 victory for Richard Childress Racing and the first for the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt won his first and only 500 event in 1998.
The victory also occurred 11 years to the day when Kevin Harvick delivered the second and latest 500 victory for RCR. With the 500 victory guaranteeing Dillon and the No. 3 team a spot in the 2018 Cup Series Playoffs, the North Carolina native proceeded to finish in the top 10 three additional times during the remaining 25 regular-season events. Having his title hopes eliminated early after finishing 11th, sixth and 39th throughout the Round of 16, Dillon proceeded to finish in the top 11 five times during the final seven events on the schedule before settling in 13th place in the final standings. Despite achieving one less top-five result from his previous season (two), he doubled his top-10 results (eight) and improved his average-finishing result from 18.6 to 17.5.
After missing the 2019 Cup Series Playoffs and finishing 21st in the final standings, where he notched a total of six top-10 results, a career-high three poles and surpassed 200 Cup career starts throughout the season, Dillon began the 2020 Cup season with a 12th-place finish in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 before notching a fourth-place run during the following event at Las Vegas. Then after recording three additional top-10 results during his next 15 starts, Dillon snapped an 88-race winless drought and returned to the Victory Lane in the Cup Series at Texas for the third time in his career after leading 22 laps and fending off teammate Tyler Reddick during a two-lap shootout.
The Texas victory also enabled Dillon to clinch a spot in the 2020 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked his fourth time making the postseason title battle, as he concluded the regular-season stretch with two additional top-10 results, amid being absent from the Daytona International Speedway Road Course event in August following a positive COVID-19 test. After notching a strong runner-up result during the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway in September followed by a fourth-place finish at Richmond Raceway and a 12th-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway, respectively, Dillon transferred into the Round of 12. After being eliminated from the Playoffs due to finishing no higher than 12th throughout the Round of 12, he secured two 11th-place finishes during the final four-scheduled events before tying his career-best result in the final standings in 11th place. Overall, Dillon still managed to notch a career-high 135 laps led along with a total of four top-five results, nine top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.2.
Throughout the 2021 Cup Series season, where he reached 300 Cup career starts at season’s end, Dillon accumulated a total of eight top-10 results and a season-best third-place finish in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500. Despite winning the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona in February following a final lap where he overtook Bubba Wallace, Dillon did not make the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs and concluded the season in 17th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, he still secured a career-best average-finishing result of 14.4 on the strength of 27 top-15 results throughout the 36-race schedule.
The 2022 Cup season began with a 25th-place finish during the 64th running of the Daytona 500, Dillon collected two runner-up results and a total of seven top-10 results throughout the following 24 regular-season events. Then during the regular-season finale at Daytona in August, he raced his way into the Playoffs after dodging a wreck that eliminated nearly the entire field with 23 laps remaining and withstanding a lengthy rain delay period to lead 10 laps and overtake Austin Cindric with three laps remaining before leading teammate Tyler Reddick across the finish line as part of a 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing.
The victory was Dillon’s fourth of his Cup career and the fifth time he made the Playoffs. Although his title hopes were eliminated early after finishing no higher than 14th throughout the Round of 16, Dillon notched a fourth-place finish and two 10th-place runs during the final seven-scheduled events before ending up in 11th place in the final standings for the third time in his career. By then, Dillon notched career-high stats in top fives (five) and top 10s (11) while emerging with an average finishing result of 16.5.
This past season, Dillon notched a strong runner-up result in the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Two weeks later, he was in contention and battling for the victory in the Daytona 500 before he was swept up in a multi-car wreck during an overtime shootout and ended up in 33rd place. Dillon proceeded to finish in the top five once and in the top 10 six times during the following 25 regular-season events but missed the Playoffs for the fifth time in his career. Finishing no higher than 10th throughout the 2023 Playoffs, Dillon ended up in 29th place in the final driver’s standings, the lowest of his career as a full-time Cup competitor.
Dillon started the 2024 Cup Series season with only two top-10 results through the first 22 scheduled events, which left him mired outside the top-30 mark in the regular-season standings. Then at Richmond Raceway this past August, he endured a high-turned-low career moment that started when he assumed the lead from Denny Hamlin with 28 laps remaining. Initially poised the seal the victory during the event’s scheduled distance, the event was sent into overtime due to a late multi-car wreck. Despite retaining the lead during the event’s caution period, Dillon would lose the lead to Joey Logano at the start of the overtime shootout. Then on the final lap, Dillon stepped on the gas and bumped into Logano and sent him spinning through the final turn. Dillon then veered dead left and turned Hamlin into the frontstretch’s outside wall to reclaim the lead and streak across the finish line to win for the fifth time in his career.
After initially guaranteeing himself and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, disaster struck three days later after NASCAR revoked his Playoff eligibility due to the North Carolinian’s deliberate actions to win and make the postseason. Following two appeal processes made by Dillon and Richard Childress Racing, both of which were denied, Dillon plummeted back down towards the top-30 mark in the regular-season standings. Despite finishing in 15th place in the regular-season finale at Darlington, Dillon was unable to race his way back into the Playoffs, which he missed for the sixth time in his career.
Through 399 previous Cup starts, Dillon has achieved five victories, six poles, 23 top-five results, 78 top-10 results, 411 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.4. He is currently ranked in 29th place in the 2024 drivers’ standings.
Austin Dillon is scheduled to make his 400th Cup Series career start at Watkins Glen International for the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, September 15, with the event’s broadcast scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing have lost their second and final appeal process in overturning Dillon’s penalty of having his NASCAR Cup Series victory at Richmond Raceway stripped from Playoff eligibility during a ruling made by Bill Mullis, NASCAR’s Final Appeal Officer, on Monday, August 26.
The news comes 12 days after Dillon’s 2024 Cup Series Playoff eligibility was revoked by NASCAR due to actions the Welcome, North Carolina native made four days earlier on August 11 at Richmond. During the event, he wrecked both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap and final turn during an overtime shootout to win the race and leapfrog a majority of the competition in the regular-season standings to clinch a Playoff berth. The actions Dillon made were a last resort to secure a spot in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, with the driver, owner Richard Childress and crew chief Justin Alexander defending Dillon’s actions.
Following the first announcement of his Playoff eligibility being revoked and Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team being docked 25 driver/owner points, Richard Childress Racing released a statement that cited the team’s intentions to appeal the penalties.
The saga then continued this past Wednesday, August 21, when the National Motorsports Appeals Panel denied the team’s first appeal attempt and upheld the points deduction and revoked Playoff berth, but reduced Brandon Benesch’s, Dillon’s spotter who encouraged Dillon to wreck Hamlin approaching the finish line, suspension from three races to one. Richard Childress Racing, however, cited intentions to appeal the penalties to the Final Appeal Officer.
Following the decision to deny Dillon and Richard Childress Racing’s final attempt to overturn the penalties, Mullis released a statement that explained his final ruling and supported the initial ruling made by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel:
“The data presented today from SMT and IDAS systems indicate that more likely than not a rule violation did occur at Richmond Raceway on 8-11-24 by the No. 3 RCR car on the last lap of the race. [Rule 12.3.2.1.B Eligibility, race finishes must be unencumbered by violations of the NASCAR rules or other actions detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.]”
With all appeal processes used and denied, Dillon, who is currently ranked in 29th place in the 2024 regular-season standings and has finished no higher than 17th in the two races following the Richmond victory, faces a “must-win” scenario ahead of this upcoming weekend’s regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway to race his way back into the 2024 Cup Series Playoff picture. Currently, he is 298 points below the top-16 cutline in the Playoffs standings.
Dillon is one of several competitors who are currently below the top-16 cutline ahead of the regular-season finale at Darlington, a list that includes teammate Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland, Carson Hocevar, Michael McDowell, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, John Hunter Nemechek, Corey LaJoie and Zane Smith.
With 13 of 16 Playoff spots filled by regular-season winners, including this past weekend’s winner Harrison Burton, the remaining three vacant spots are currently occupied by Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher on points, with the latter retaining the final transfer spot by 21 points over Bubba Wallace, 27 over Ross Chastain and 106 over Kyle Busch.
Austin Dillon’s final attempt to make the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on the track continues this upcoming Sunday, September 1, at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 and for the 2024 regular-season finale. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Richard Childress Racing lost its appeal process in overturning Austin Dillon’s penalty of having his NASCAR Cup Series victory at Richmond Raceway stripped from Playoff eligibility following a hearing from the National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Wednesday, August 21.
Dillon’s penalty stems from August 11, where he wrecked both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap and final corner to win at Richmond during an overtime shootout, actions Dillon mentioned as last-resort actions to race his way into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Three days after the victory, however, NASCAR stripped Dillon’s Playoff eligibility, citing that he “crossed the line” with the actions he made to wreck both Logano and Hamlin on the final corner. In addition, his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team were docked 25 driver/owner points while Dillon’s spotter, Brandon Benesch, was assessed a three-race suspension for encouraging Dillon to wreck the leaders to win. Amid the penalties, Dillon was still credited as the official Richmond winner.
Following the penalties that were handed down to Dillon and Richard Childress Racing, the organization released a statement, citing their plans to appeal the penalties.
A week since, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel, which overheard and reviewed the appeal process made by Dillon and Richard Childress Racing, ruled that both had violated the Member Code of Conduct Penalty Options and Guidelines from the NASCAR Rule Book. Therefore, the loss of points and the Richmond victory not being credited towards Playoff eligibility for Dillon remained intact. The panel did reduce spotter Brandon Benesch’s suspension from three to one race.
In addition to the decision being made, the panel, which included Tom DeLoach, Kelly Housby and Tommy Wheeler, released the following statement of their decision.
“NASCAR represents elite motorsports and, as such, its drivers are expected to demonstrate exemplary conduct if its series’ championships are to be validated. In this case, the ‘line’ was crossed.”
As a result of the penalties remaining intact, Dillon remains mired within the top-30 mark in the 2024 regular-season stretch and in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs with two regular-season events remaining on the schedule.
Not long after the decision was made, Richard Childress Racing released a statement that expressed the team’s disappointment with the outcome and plans to appeal to the National Motorsports Final Appeal Officer, which is permitted per the NASCAR Rule Book.
In the meantime, Austin Dillon’s on-track quest to race his way back into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues this upcoming Saturday, August 24, at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the penultimate regular-season event on this year’s schedule. The event’s airtime is slated to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
NASCAR released the highly anticipated penalty report following this weekend’s Craftsman Truck & Cup Series actions at Richmond Raceway including the controversial finish during Sunday’s Cup event.
Per the report, Austin Dillon, winner of Sunday’s Cook Out 400, has been stripped of his Playoff eligibility he initially achieved by winning the race. The penalty is a result of how the 2018 Daytona 500 champion from Welcome, North Carolina, claimed the victory, where he bumped and sent the leader Joey Logano for a spin through Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Dillon then veered dead left and sent Denny Hamlin, who was trying to overtake both, into the frontstretch’s outside wall and proceeded to claim the checkered flag for the victory, all during an overtime shootout.
The on-track actions Dillon made were ones he chose to perform as last-resort actions to both win and race his way into the Playoffs, as he evoked while celebrating the victory on the frontstretch despite receiving harsh criticism from his fellow competitors, including Logano and Hamlin, and eventually leading to NASCAR emphasizing that Dillon crossed the line upon a three-day review.
In addition to having his Playoff eligibility revoked, Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team were docked 25 driver/owner points. As a result, Dillon, who jumped from 32nd to a guaranteed top-16 result in the standings, is strapped back in 31st place in the regular-season standings.
“I think in all due respect to the appeal process, we looked at this and the totality of everything that happened as you enter Turn 3 and as the cars got to the start/finish line,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, said. “So, as we look through all of that data, we came to the conclusion that a line had been crossed. Our sport has been based going for many, many years, forever, on good, hard racing. Contact has been acceptable. We felt like, in this case, that the line was crossed.”
While Dillon received no race suspensions amid his actions, Brandon Benesch, Dillon’s spotter, was assessed a three-race suspension, beginning this weekend at Michigan, due to his concise vocalization of encouraging Dillon to “wreck him” in reference to Denny Hamlin approaching the finish line. Despite the phrase “wreck him” being heard through the in-car audio, team owner Richard Childress and Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander denied hearing the audio phrase while defending Dillon’s move.
“If you look at at the crew chief and you look at the spotter, and view them as calming voices in the driver’s ear, in this case, we just felt like we’ve all listened to the audio,” Sawyer added. “We know exactly what was said. We just felt like that that’s not what we need spotters doing. That’s not what we need [from a] crew chief sitting on the box. They’re a calming voice to what the situation is in front of them, and they’re supposed to be spotting for the race, not making comments like were made, as we all know.”
Nonetheless, Dillon is still credited as the official winner of last Sunday’s event at Richmond. He is also eligible to reclaim his 2024 Playoff eligibility status if he were to win any one of the remaining three regular-season events on the schedule, beginning this upcoming Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
In addition, Joey Logano, who ended up in 19th place after getting hit and spun by Dillon, has also been penalized with a $50,000 fine for violating NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct policy. Logano’s penalty is a result of the 2018 Cup Series champion getting his damaged car sideways while nursing it through pit road following the checkered flag and nearly sideswiped several personnel, including officials, Dillon’s crew and family members near Dillon’s pit box while venting his frustration. Immediately after parking his car, a NASCAR official angrily confronted Logano inside of his cockpit for his actions before the confrontation simmered as Logano angrily exited his car and proceeded to call out Dillon for his actions to the media.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Some of this, we’ve got some work to do on our side,” Sawyer said while referencing Logano’s actions that led to the penalty. “There was a lot of people on pit road, and there always is. We have our officials out there. The drivers need to understand that. Totally understand the emotion — I get it, I’ve been there a few years back. But you have to respect the fact that we do have people on pit road. Our officials will be there, security will be there. We’ll do a better job on our side to make sure that families and young children and sponsors and of that nature are not on the hot side.”
Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, who ended up in the runner-up spot despite getting wrecked by Dillon approaching the finish line and was quick to criticize NASCAR for not taking immediate action to penalize competitors for wrecking one another for victories, was not penalized.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
With Dillon currently bumped out of the 2024 Cup Series Playoff field, Chris Buescher, who exited Richmond three points below the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs, is now above the cutline on a tie-breaker against Ross Chastain. In addition, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace have each been elevated one spot up in the Playoff field.
Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event at Richmond, which served as the 2024 regular-season finale and was won by Ty Majeski, did not generate any team penalties.
With the Craftsman Truck Series entering an off-week period, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action following a four-week absence at Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250 this upcoming Saturday, August 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. The Cup Series also returns to action at Michigan for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
