Larson Dominates, Reddick Rallies, and Bowman’s DQ Shakes Up NASCAR Playoffs at Charlotte Roval

Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 was as much about Tyler Reddick’s heroic drive into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as it was about Kyle Larson’s continued domination of elimination races.

As Larson cruised to his second Playoff victory this season-and his second in an elimination race-Reddick charged forward from 26th after a Lap 84 restart and clawed his way to 11th — good enough to provisionally knock two-time series champion Joey Logano out of the playoffs by four points. Logano’s exit was temporary, however.

In post-race inspection, Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet failed NASCAR’s weight requirement and was disqualified, knocking the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet below the elimination line and restoring Logano to the Round of 8.

“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, whose previous win at the Roval came during his 2021 championship season. “I think the first time I’ve been here without crashing, maybe, besides the other time I won.”

Reddick’s charge over the final 26-lap green-flag run provided nail-biting drama. After a pit stop during the stage break mired Reddick in traffic for a Lap 30 restart, calamity struck. In the newly reconfigured Turn 7 hairpin — the new corner of chaos — Austin Dillon turned sideways in a melee that saw Reddick smash into his 23XI Racing team co-owner Denny Hamlin, sending Reddick’s car skyward.

“Yeah, I thought I was going to flip, but I think I was behind the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) — trying to work the move to the inside,” Reddick said of the wreck. “I got clear of him — I saw the 3 (Dillon) spun and everyone on the binders coming to a stop, and of course, me and my boss (Hamlin) get together. It was like I was going to do a front flip. This thing was absolutely destroyed.”

Despite the damage, Reddick and his team persevered. “Huge props to everyone on this Monster Energy Toyota Camry. This thing couldn’t go within four seconds of what the pace was, and we just kept working on it. We were a lot better in Stage 3. This is how this place can be sometimes, but it is really nice to pull this off,” Reddick said.

However, the drama became moot with Bowman’s disqualification. “You just have to stay calm,” Reddick said. “You just have to stay focused. In those moments, it is so easy to lose control. Either way, I was going to drive the car as fast as I could. It just worked out for us that this thing was able to get back through the field and get us to the good side of the cut line.”

The Charlotte Roval race proved to be a thrilling and tumultuous event, with Larson’s domination, Reddick’s remarkable comeback, and Bowman’s disqualification shaking up the NASCAR Playoffs as the series heads into the Round of 8.