CONCORD, N.C.: Joey Logano did everything he could to advance out of the Round of 12 in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Road Course, but an unreal comeback from his NASCAR Cup Series Playoff rival Tyler Reddick in Stage 3 knocked the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion from advancing to the penultimate round.
That was until post-race inspection was complete.
A couple hours after the checkered flag flew, NASCAR disqualified Playoff contender Alex Bowman for failing post-race weight requirements, relinquishing Bowman of his initial 18th place finish and knocking the Hendrick Motorsports driver to a 38th and last among the Playoff eligible drivers.
The infraction also cost Bowman one of the coveted top-eight spots in the Playoffs and lifted Logano, who initially was the first driver out, into the final spot of the semifinal Playoff round.
Before the post-race drama, Logano had an exceptional day at the newly configured Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, earning 17 stage points in the opening two stages. However, a long green flag run in Stage 3 proved too much to keep competitors Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, and Shane van Gisbergen at bay, dropping Logano out of the top five and settling for eighth at the checkered flag.
Initially, Logano had been battling Tyler Reddick who was fighting his own Playoff spectacle on Sunday.
Reddick damaged his car early in the final road course race of the season and appeared to be exiting his 23XI Racing team from the Playoffs, but over the final stint to the finish, Reddick was able to pass 15 cars over the final 26 laps of the race to make not only his deficit but clear Logano for the eighth and final seed heading into next weekend’s Round of 8.
“We fought hard for sure,” said Logano before the post-race inspection failure. “Paul (Wolfe, crew chief) and the guys did a good job executing the strategy of what we needed to do today. We just didn’t get quite enough at the end there. We fell off a little too much that last run.
“Honestly, the 45, Tyler (Reddick), and those guys did a good job driving up through the field and scored more points. It is hard not to think about Richmond a little bit right now.”
Given his restart position over the final 25 laps of the race, Logano said he was impressed with Reddick’s ability to come through the field, but he also felt helpless at the same time knowing having fresher tires would prove to be an advantage, having lost two positions in the race to Allmendinger and van Gisbergen.
“Tires were coming behind you with two of the best with AJ (Allmendinger) and SVG coming at me,” continued Logano. “I was just trying to maintain the best I could and honestly was praying for a caution because that was the only thing that could stir it up enough to where a lot of what-ifs can happen. Congrats to them.
“They fought hard, changing toe links and all that and were still able to make it. It just wasn’t meant to be. You can start looking back at different points in the season to gather four points pretty easily. One race in particular. Talladega, we didn’t do a good enough job scoring Stage points, and that is where a lot of it lies.”
With Bowman’s post-race penalty, Logano’s streak of advancing to the Championship 4 in an even calendar year since the 2014 season remains possible. The 34-time Cup Series winner won his first championship in 2018 and captured his second Bill France Cup Trophy at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway in 2022.
In 2014, he finished fourth, second in 2016 and third in 2020.
Logano’s Playoff journey will begin at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway on Oct. 20, a race that Logano won in 2022 and propelled him to the Championship 4 finale and, ultimately, the Cup title.
In addition to Las Vegas, the penultimate round of 8 includes visits to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 27 and the elimination race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on November 3, 2024.
Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) @Knighter01 or email at [email protected].
