NASCAR team un-eliminated after Charlotte, and it’s not Joey Logano’s

NASCAR team un-eliminated after Charlotte, and it's not Joey Logano's

As a die-hard NASCAR fan who has witnessed countless twists and turns over the years, Sunday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was yet another rollercoaster ride! Joey Logano’s elimination seemed like the final nail in the coffin, but fate had other plans. The disqualification of Alex Bowman shook up the playoffs, giving Logano and Reddick a second chance.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Team Penske’s driver Joey Logano was initially knocked out of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Concurrently, Tyler Reddick from 23XI Racing secured the last spot, number eight, for the upcoming playoff round of 8.

However, following a post-race inspection, it was discovered that Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports was underweight, leading to his disqualification from the race. This resulted in lost points for both the race and stage two win, which were sufficient to push him below Logano in the standings.

As a result, both Reddick and Logano are set to advance.

The decision also affected the owner playoffs.

However, it’s important to note that Logano’s team (No. 22) had qualified for the playoffs prior to Bowman’s disqualification, because a driver’s playoff qualification doesn’t always align with the owner’s playoff qualification.

In May, Kyle Larson from Hendrick Motorsports chose to participate in the postponed Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but due to weather conditions, he couldn’t make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the rain-affected Coca-Cola 600. Consequently, he didn’t earn any points from that particular race.

Despite Justin Allgaier being ineligible for personal points in the Cup Series due to his role as a full-time Xfinity Series driver, the No. 5 team earned 24 points towards the owners’ standings.

As a die-hard fan, I must say, even though Larson missed winning the regular season championship to Reddick by just one point, the impressive 24 points scored by our No. 5 team tipped the scales in our favor against Reddick’s No. 45 team, clinching the regular season owner championship for us!

Although Reddick received 15 bonus playoff points due to his first place in the regular season, and Larson got 10 for finishing second, it turns out that Larson’s team (No. 5) received 15 bonus playoff points for the owner playoffs because they won the regular season championship. On the other hand, Reddick’s team (No. 45) was only awarded 10 bonus playoff points due to its runner-up finish.

In the eighth round, Reddick managed to claim the 8th position with a four-point lead over Logano. However, his team (No. 45) had five fewer points than Reddick himself, which was just one point less than Logano’s team (No. 22). Consequently, they failed to surpass Logano and were removed from the competition.

That is, before Bowman’s disqualification was announced.

Now, Reddick’s team number 45 has progressed further, as Bowman and his team number 48 didn’t make it past the elimination line for drivers and owners following a post-race disqualification before the playoffs round of 8.

Despite some inconsistencies in driver and team rankings caused by the five points discrepancy between Larson and Reddick, it’s worth noting that the eight racers advancing to the semifinals are identical in both categories.

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 14, 2024

As a devoted fan, I can’t help but point out an interesting pattern in the driver and owner playoffs. For instance, in the 2022 season, the No. 5 team driven by Larson managed to reach the Championship 4, while Chase Elliott’s No. 9 team didn’t, even though Elliott himself made it to the Championship 4. Remarkably, Larson hadn’t even qualified for the round of 8. This just goes to show that sometimes, things don’t always play out as expected in these playoffs!

Previously, Elliott hadn’t qualified as a playoff driver at all, but astonishingly, he managed to guide his No. 9 team to the owner playoffs’ Round of 8 last year, marking their seventh straight season-leading appearance.

Kick off your weekend with the South Point 400 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday, October 20th! Tune in to NBC from 2:30 p.m. ET for live coverage. To ensure you don’t miss a single moment of the excitement, sign up now for a free trial of FuboTV and stay connected with all the action!

2024-10-14 15:02