NASCAR: Alex Bowman decision could eliminate another playoff driver
As a seasoned NASCAR fan with decades of racing lore under my belt, I can’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Alex Bowman. The disqualification at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval has sent ripples across the playoffs, and it seems that the No. 48 team’s misfortune might inadvertently keep another driver from reaching the Championship 4.
Two weeks back, as the checkerboard flag waved at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, a total of eight racers qualified for the final eight in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Yet the first driver to advance to the Championship 4 was not among those eight.
In a turn of events, Alex Bowman from Hendrick Motorsports initially made it to the semi-final round of the postseason for the first time since 2020, but later, NASCAR found that his No. 48 Chevrolet was underweight during post-race inspection. This resulted in disqualification, causing him to lose points and slip below the cut line.
Rather than being eliminated, Joe Logano from Team Penske progressed. In the initial contest of the playoff’s final eight races, the driver piloting the No. 22 Ford moved ahead even more, triumphing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, thereby ensuring his place in the Championship 4.
As a result, Bowman’s disqualification could end up eliminating another driver not named Alex Bowman.
Three places are still up for grabs in the Championship 4, and just two races are left during the playoff round of 8. This means that at least one position will be secured by a driver based on their accumulated points. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell managed to take the lead from Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports after scoring more total points than Logano did in Las Vegas.
If Bowman had progressed, it’s clear that Logano wouldn’t have won in Las Vegas. This implies that Logano’s victory in Las Vegas would have meant that no driver secured a spot in the Championship 4 during the opening race of the round of 8.
If the playoffs had started after the race in Las Vegas, Bowman would have begun with 7 extra points, making his total 4,007. This would place him eighth in the rankings. At Las Vegas, he earned an additional 37 points, which means he’d be on par with Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs Racing for the fourth spot that leads to the Championship 4. However, Bowman would have the advantage in this tie because he finished higher (8th) than Hamlin did at Las Vegas.
Hypothetically, if Bowman had progressed to the final round, he still wouldn’t have accumulated enough points or won the necessary races to qualify for the Championship 4.
In simpler terms, this implies that out of the four drivers who aren’t named Bowman, only three will progress to the final round of the championship, as Logano has already qualified for both the Round of 8 and the Championship 4.
Regardless of who ultimately becomes the fourth driver, they’ll find themselves excluded from the Championship 4, since their disqualification wasn’t self-inflicted.
Let’s look at an example.
Suppose Bell triumphs at Homestead-Miami Speedway while Larson clinches victory at Martinsville Speedway. If Hamlin and William Byron from Hendrick Motorsports, who haven’t won yet, occupy the highest positions in the standings besides the winners, then…
If Bowman had progressed, all four contending drivers would have made it to the Championship 4. However, his disqualification meant that Logano advanced in his place. With just three positions left unfilled, the struggle for the fourth spot in the Championship 4 would be between Hamlin and Byron based on points.
In other words, if Bowman is disqualified, it might prevent one of his fellow drivers, possibly even a teammate, from moving on to the Championship 4.
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2024-10-24 15:02