The Round of 12 concluded at the Charlotte Roval on October 13th, 2024, and while Kyle Larson’s No. 5 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1 ran away with a solid lead and won the race, the drama didn’t stop after the checkered flag dropped. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) teammate, Alex Bowman, was disqualified after his No. 48 Camaro failed postrace inspection, shaking up the Playoffs picture even more.
Larson took the lead during the Stage 2 restart and never looked back, leading the final 62 laps of the race uncontested. He finished 1.511 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry, in second place. William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Camaro, was 8.965 seconds off the lead in third place.
“Really, it’s the first time in my Playoff career I’ve not been close to the cut line, so it was good to kind of have a little bit stress-free of a weekend,” said Larson after the race. “I think the first time I’ve been here without crashing, maybe, besides the other time I won [in 2021].”
Bowman, meanwhile, crossed the line in 18th, but was subsequently disqualified when his No. 48 NASCAR Chevy failed postrace inspection for being too light. Officials rolled the race car off the scales and back on to make sure it wasn’t an error on their end, but the weight stayed the same. Thus, Bowman was officially credited with a 38th-place finish, dead last.
While Alex Bowman initially cleared Playoff elimination, his disqualification puts the No. 48 NASCAR Chevy out of the Round of 8, meaning he will not continue his championship quest this year. Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, took Bowman’s place in the Round of 8.
HMS indicated that it will make a decision on whether or not to appeal the disqualification early in the week.
While Alex Bowman sits on the sidelines, all three of his HMS teammates will continue their quests for the 2024 title, including Larson, Byron, and Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Camaro. They are the only NASCAR Chevy still in the Playoffs.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 109 | 62 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 12 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | DEWALT Toyota | 109 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 10 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Valvoline Confetti Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 5 | 2 | Austin Cindric (P) | Menards/Sylvania Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 5 | 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | UniFirst Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 3 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Celsius Chevrolet | 109 | 14 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 1 | 13 | * Shane Van Gisbergen(i) | WeatherTech Chevrolet | 109 | 21 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 4 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 9 | 9 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Leidos Toyota | 109 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 14 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Discount Tire Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 11 | 2 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | Monster Energy Toyota | 109 | 6 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 12 | 20 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Delaware Life Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 11 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Lenovo Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 18 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota | 109 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 15 | 21 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 16 | 24 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Harris Teeter/Totino's Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 29 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fifth Third Bank Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 18 | 15 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Boozy Jerky! Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 19 | 23 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Ambetter Health Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 26 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 21 | 30 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 109 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 22 | 36 | 4 | Josh Berry # | Bed Bath & Beyond Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 23 | 8 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Edge Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 24 | 27 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Cirkul Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 34 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 26 | 33 | 7 | Justin Haley | Mattress Warehouse Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 31 | 15 | Kaz Grala # | Meat N' Bone Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 28 | 16 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Busch Light Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 38 | 66 | * Josh Bilicki(i) | NCSHPfoundation.org Ford | 109 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 30 | 13 | 99 | Daniel Suarez (P) | Choice Privileges Chevrolet | 108 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 32 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Beef A Roo Ford | 108 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 32 | 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BetMGM Chevrolet | 107 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 37 | 43 | Erik Jones | Family Dollar Toyota | 56 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 34 | 35 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Mobil 1 Toyota | 55 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 35 | 19 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 54 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 36 | 25 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Ford Performance Racing School Ford | 41 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 37 | 28 | 51 | Corey LaJoie | Schluter Systems Ford | 3 | 0 | Ford Mustang Dark Horse |
| 38 | 17 | 48 | Alex Bowman (P) | Ally Chevrolet | 109 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
Comment
The 5 was certainly the dominant car.