NASCAR
Kyle Larson Takes Sixth Win of 2024, Second on the Charlotte Roval
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated since post-race inspection to reflect Alex Bowman’s disqualification.
CONCORD, N.C. – Elimination Sunday on the Charlotte Roval saw a season’s worth of drama play out over the closing laps. Up front, Kyle Larson remained unchallenged in a seemingly easy march to a series-topping sixth win of 2024. Behind him however, the Playoff cut line gap nearly changed lap-by-lap. A past champion is left on the Round of 8 sidelines, following a Herculean charge through the pack.
The first two Stages flew by largely clean and green, with only one caution for an on-track incident. A flat tire from Chase Briscoe put the Stewart-Haas Racing driver outside of the elite eight, ending the underdog run for the lame duck team. The Stage wins were split between Tyler Reddick and AJ Allmendinger.
Reddick’s day was far from an easy Sunday drive, however. While coming back through the field, the No. 45 Toyota wheel hopped into turn seven and made significant contact with team owner Denny Hamlin. Following multiple pit stops, the 23XI Racing driver was able to continue but lost all track position.
Kyle Larson sniffed the lead for the first time early in Stage 2, only to short pit that segment. The No. 5 eventually cycled back to the point by AJ Allmendinger in turn seven with 43 laps left.
The 5 was truly in a class of their own around the Roval, quickly building up a large lead. Even the final green flag pit rotation only saw Larson’s lead grow. A late caution erased Larson’s huge lead, but he retained control on the restart. Larson would ultimately be over a second clear of Christopher Bell at the checkered flag. Both of these drivers were locked into the Round of 8 on points, but Larson now has a trophy six-pack along with peak Playoff momentum.
“Really it’s the first time in my Playoff career I’ve not been close to the cut line,” Larson said. “So it was good to have a little bit stress-free of a weekend. I think this is the first time I’ve been here without crashing too, maybe besides the other time we won. Good weekend, thanks to HendrickCars.Com, Hendrick Automotive Group. You know obviously we’re here at Hendrick’s home, and got so many of the people here from there. It’s going to be fun to celebrate with them. Thanks to (crew chief) Cliff Daniels, Chevrolet, GM too.”
“Normally I don’t really use the sim much, and I was in it this week. Huge thank you to you guys there, it really helped me get in a rhythm early on, and helped us fine-tune our car too. Hats off to everyone there and Jinya Ramen Bar and Prime. It’s awesome to have (daughter) Audrey here, we got an 8:40 p.m. flight that I think we’re probably going to miss. But we’ll catch Owen and Katelyn in Cabo. We’re going there this week, and hopefully we make it there.”
“Owen was off racing this weekend in Oklahoma with Katelyn and Cooper, and Audrey had a baseball game yesterday. We had to stay here for that, but it’s always fun getting to hang out with your kids and have these special moments. I know she was jealous of Owen at Bristol, and glad to have this moment with her.”
Behind Larson and Bell, Playoff contenders William Byron, Austin Cindric, and Chase Elliott were the top-five. AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-10. Hear from a few of these drivers below.
The four drivers eliminated after the Charlotte Roval were: Cindric, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Briscoe. The Round of 8 points reset sees Roval winner Kyle Larson retake the top spot with a large lead. Take a look at the new Playoff standings below. Alex Bowman initially made the cut until his car was found too light in post-race inspection. As a result, Logano is retroactively inserted into the Round of 8 resulting from Bowman’s disqualification.
The Round of 8 kicks off from the desert diamond of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The South Point 400 goes green Sunday at 230 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Larson is the most recent winner at Las Vegas as well, gunning for a season sweep in the Silver State.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
