Chaos struck the Charlotte Roval on Sunday in more of an unpredictable way than fans have seen since its inception.
With Christopher Bell winding up on the front row of a must-win race and Kyle Larson eliminated from playoff competition, a lull of the first 100 laps and change turned into a nail-biting end.
In the final 15 laps, Larson slammed the wall and broke a toe link on his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car
When the caution flew for a piece of advertisement on the race track, it reset the entire field and gave Larson’s playoff competitors a shot to punch their tickets to the next round.
However, it also gave Bell the opportunity to do the same, and his front row starting spot before an overtime finish helped give him the win he needed to move to the next round.
That, ultimately, bumped Larson to the outside of the cutoff along with Chase Briscoe picking up a number of spots in the final pair of laps.
“You give up that many spots and you know that you’re going to be close,” Larson said on the NBC broadcast. “I just made way to many mistakes all year long and then, you know, made another one today and ultimately cost us an opportunity to chase another championship. I’ve let the team down a number of times this year and let them down again today.”
The NASCAR Playoffs resume Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the green flag scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT on NBC.
NASCAR Playoff Grid
Prior to semifinal round
Chase Elliott 4046 | +31
Joey Logano 4026 | +11
Ross Chastain 4021 | +6
Christopher Bell 4018 | +3
William Byron 4015 | -3
Ryan Blaney 4015 | -3
Denny Hamlin 4013 | -5
Chase Briscoe 4009 | -9
