Tyler Reddick started on pole for the Bank of America Roval as the Round of 12 reached its final, high-pressure checkpoint. The field settled in and the Roval bit hard early: grip was at a premium, drivers pushed the chicanes, and contact showed up quickly. Shane van Gisbergen put himself on the radar right away, running well through the technical sections while others battled for clean exits.
Austin Cindric’s day went downhill almost from the start. He rolled off midpack and made a few early gains, but he was collected in minor contact several times — once when he was squeezed wide and again as traffic tightened on corner exit — and those hits bent suspension pieces. His right-rear control arms took damage that eventually forced repairs in the garage and dropped him deep in the order. It was just a matter of wrong place, wrong time, but the repeated incidents stacked up and ate away at his chance to advance to the Round of 8.
Ross Chastain suffered a costly pit-lane miscue in Stage 1 that pushed him back in the running and left him scrambling. Van Gisbergen and other road-course specialists like Larson and Bell tended to dominate the top of the leaderboard through the early stages while several playoff contenders tried to save tires and points.
As the race moved into the final stage, strategy split the field and tempers flared. Van Gisbergen managed tire wear and track position better than most while Larson and Bell continued to rough him up. Behind them, playoff math made every position matter.
On the final lap the race turned on a single play. Denny Hamlin made an aggressive pass on Ross Chastain that knocked Chastain back a spot and stripped him of a crucial point. Determined to get it back and keep himself above the cut line, Chastain fought to regain it, made contact with Hamlin and caused them both to spin only feet from the finish line. Chastain threw the car into reverse and mashed the gas, but it was too late as Joey Logano picked up the spot and advanced to the Round of 8 by four points. The ripple effect was clear: had Hamlin refrained from passing Chastain (or had his team radioed to let him know of the playoff implication), Chastain would have held the point and advanced instead. It’s significant because, of the two drivers, Chastain represented the lower championship threat compared with Logano, who is especially dangerous at Las Vegas and Phoenix. Hamlin, who is very much in title contention himself, will likely look back and regret forcing that late move.
Van Gisbergen crossed the finish line comfortably in front, with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell rounding out the next spots. Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell also rounded out the top five. Advancing to the Round of 8 were Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano. Eliminated from the playoffs were Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric.
The field now turns west to Las Vegas for the Round of 8, where every mistake will be magnified, and Logano’s presence makes that trip that much more ominous for the drivers still chasing a title.
Photo Credit: Jett White