The Playoffs field narrowed to just eight competitors after the Cup Series race at the Charlotte Roval on October 9th. Out of four drivers eliminated, three belonged to the Nascar Chevy stable.
Entering the race, Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry was below the Playoffs cutoff line, and was essentially in a must-win situation in order to advance. That was exactly what he did, capturing a berth in the Round of 8 and forcing other drivers out. Daniel Suarez, driver of the No. 99 Nascar Chevy Camaro ZL1, found himself below the cut line when the checkered flag flew. Suarez battled a power steering failure in the No. 99 Camaro during Stage 3 and ended up finishing 36th.
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Camaro, was also eliminated. Bowman has not driven the No. 48 Camaro for the last two races thanks to concussion-like symptoms from a wreck at Texas, tapping Noah Gragson as his substitute. Unfortunately, Gragson was not able to retain the No. 48 Nascar Chevy team’s championship run, and Bowman was eliminated.
Perhaps the most shocking elimination is that of Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Camaro. Larson is the 2021 Cup Series champion, but has not had an easy 2022 season. “I just made way too many mistakes all year long,” Larson said. “Made another one today. Ultimately cost us an opportunity to go chase another championship… Just extremely mad at myself. I let the team down a number of times this year, and let them down in a big way today.”
The fourth driver eliminated was the No. 2 Ford Mustang of Austin Cindric. Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Camaro, led the race at the Roval for 30 laps, but a spin through Turn 6 ultimately cost him a shot at the victory.
The eight drivers now eligible for the 2022 Playoffs are as follows:
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevy Camaro ZL1
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford Mustang
- Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevy Camaro ZL1
- William Byron, No. 24 Chevy Camaro ZL1
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford Mustang
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Ford Mustang
Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | DeWalt Toyota | 112 | 2 | Toyota TRD Camry |
2 | 22 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Mobil 1 Ford | 112 | 4 | Ford Mustang |
3 | 20 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's Toyota | 112 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
4 | 7 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Action Industries Chevrolet | 112 | 24 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
5 | 13 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
6 | 21 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 112 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
7 | 14 | 45 | Bubba Wallace (P) | ROOT Insurance Toyota | 112 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
8 | 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | 3Chi Chevrolet | 112 | 21 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
9 | 17 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Ford Performance Racing School Ford | 112 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
10 | 15 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Get Bioethanol Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
11 | 26 | 43 | Erik Jones | FOCUSfactor Chevrolet | 112 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
12 | 30 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Raze Energy Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
13 | 24 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | FedEx Freight Toyota | 112 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
14 | 31 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Ford | 112 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
15 | 37 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Haas Automation Ford | 112 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
16 | 2 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Valvoline Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
17 | 19 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 112 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
18 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 112 | 27 | Ford Mustang |
19 | 25 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Harris Teeter/Scott Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
20 | 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 112 | 30 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
21 | 5 | 2 | Austin Cindric # (P) | Menards/Richmond Ford | 112 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
22 | 16 | 23 | Ty Gibbs(i) | Monster Energy Toyota | 112 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
23 | 29 | 48 | Noah Gragson(i) (P) | Ally Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
24 | 12 | 41 | Cole Custer | Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford | 112 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
25 | 28 | 42 | Ty Dillon | QuickChek Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
26 | 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Discount Tire Ford | 112 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
27 | 11 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 112 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
28 | 23 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | Dex Imaging Ford | 111 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
29 | 34 | 77 | Mike Rockenfeller | Bon Secours/Swamp Rabbits Chevrolet | 111 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
30 | 32 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | First Phase Ford | 111 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
31 | 38 | 78 | Josh Williams(i) | Alloy Employer Services Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
32 | 35 | 51 | JJ Yeley(i) | Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
33 | 36 | 27 | Loris Hezemans(i) | Hezeberg Systems Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
34 | 39 | 50 | Conor Daly | Bitnile.com Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
35 | 18 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 107 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
36 | 3 | 99 | Daniel Suarez (P) | CommScope Chevrolet | 107 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
37 | 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 103 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
38 | 27 | 15 | Joey Hand | Ford BlueOval City Ford | 79 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
39 | 33 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat(i) | Hezeberg Systems Toyota | 17 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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Comment
Between wrecks and parts issues these races are becoming unwatchable.