Alex Bowman figured he would advance to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs on Sunday after finishing 18th and winning Stage 2 of the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. About two hours into the race, Bowman had to hit the brakes. NASCAR determined that Bowman’s #48 car did not meet minimum weight requirements during post-race inspection. Officials disqualified Bowman and dropped him to 38th. This meant that Bowman failed to score enough points to qualify for the playoffs and was eliminated in the round of 16. Instead, Joey Logano was relegated to last place on the next lap. Logano joins Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick. Larson won the race for his sixth win of the 2024 season.
Bowman won last summer at the Chicago street circuit, which helped him advance to the NASCAR postseason. He had three top-10 finishes and one top-5 finish in the last five races leading up to Charlotte. However, his season ended with disappointing results. Round 8 consists of three races, starting next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and moving to Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 1st. The race is scheduled for Nov. 27 and concludes at Martinsville Speedway. At the end of the round, four drivers will compete for the championship.
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship is scheduled for November 10.
