In a roundabout way, one of Alex Bowman’s teammates could have his season cut short owing to Bowman’s penalty at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Alex Bowman may not be the only Hendrick Motorsports driver that has been eliminated from the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as a result of the penalty imposed on the No. 48 squad following the round of 12 finale at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval a few weekends ago.
Bowman lost his round-of-eight place to Team Penske’s Joey Logano after the No. 48 Chevrolet was discovered to be underweight following the Charlotte race.
Bowman would have received his first round of eight berth since 2020. Instead, a supposedly defeated Logano maintained his title chances.
Logano has only ever qualified for the Championship 4 in even-numbered years, but he has done so every even year since the contemporary format was introduced in 2014.
The driver of the No. 22 Ford secured his spot by winning the round of 8 opening in 2018, 2020, and 2022. So, of course, he did it again in 2024, winning the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to move from “eliminated” to Championship 4-bound in just seven days.
Bowman’s penalty might cost his teammates
If Bowman’s round of 8 berth had not been forfeited and awarded to Logano, he would have entered the semifinal round with 4,007 points, courtesy to his five regular-season Chicago Street Course victories and two playoff stage victories (one each).
He subsequently scored 37 points in Las Vegas and 32 more at Homestead-Miami Speedway, bringing his total to 4,076 points before the round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway.
Logano’s victory in Las Vegas would have had little impact on the playoff scenario if he hadn’t advanced. Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, who won at Homestead-Miami on Sunday afternoon, would be the only driver guaranteed a spot in Championship 4.
In terms of points, Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing leads with 4,132, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson, who have 4,110 and 4,103, respectively.
Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing has 4,092 points; Ryan Blaney of Team Penske has 4,072 points; and Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports has 4,067 points. So, even if Bowman had advanced, he’d be below the cut line and presumably facing a must-win position at Martinsville.
But, far more importantly, based on the current situation, if Bowman had advanced, both Byron and Larson, along with Bell, would be over the Championship 4 cut line, with only one position held by a round of eight winner in Reddick.
Instead, because Bowman did not progress and Logano did, there are only two slots occupied by drivers on points at the time, with the cut line between Byron and Larson. Larson trails Byron by seven points for fourth place.
However, with Bowman in and Logano out, Byron would be 18 points ahead of the cut line and Larson 11 points ahead. Bell would be 40 points ahead, not 29, and Hamlin would be first. Driver out instead of Larson. So, in a roundabout way, Bowman’s penalty may end up eliminating one of his teammates, simply because Logano has clinched a Championship 4 spot that he would not have clinched otherwise – a Championship 4 spot that would not have gone Bowman’s way anyway, even if the No. 48 team had not been penalized.
Leave a Reply