NASCAR
Alex Bowman Officially Out of the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs After Inspection Failure
CONCORD, N.C. – Hendrick Motorsports has decided against pursuing an appeal for Alex Bowman’s result from the Charlotte Roval.
By virtue of originally finishing 18th on Sunday, Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet did make the cut for the playoff Round of 8. This only lasted a few hours, however, with an issue arising in post-race inspection.
The Ally Chevrolet was found to be too light in minimum weight requirements. As a result Bowman’s result was disqualified, and he was sent to a 38th-place result. With a last-place points tally, Bowman failed to make the elite eight Playoff round, putting Joey Logano back into contention.
“NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight,” a Hendrick statement said. “After a thorough review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement. Although unintentional, the infraction was avoidable. We are extremely disappointed to lose a playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and partners.”
Explained below by NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran, the No. 48 failed this measurement multiple times. The car was at least 17 pounds (0.5% weight tolerance) too light.
Bowman is now the lone Hendrick driver no longer contending for the 2024 title. This result comes despite team 48 having one of the strongest Playoff runs to date, with three top-10s through six races. Bowman also had his Stage 2 win from Sunday erased. This honor now goes to second-place finisher AJ Allmendinger.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano is now the eighth seeded driver in the upcoming round. The No. 22 Ford is 11 points below the cut line heading into this weekend’s South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Logano is a three-time winner in Nevada, most recently this race two years ago in his championship season.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter
Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
