NASCAR race at Charlotte Roval live updates: Kyle Larson wins; Byron, Harvick out

NASCAR’s Bank of America Roval 400 is today at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Cup playoff cutoff race is 2 p.m. on NBC.

The race is 252.88 miles (109 laps) with stages ending on laps 25, 50 and 109.

Follow along here for lap-by-lap updates from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Refresh this page for the latest updates and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

Map of the Charlotte Roval NASCAR race

NASCAR Charlotte Roval results

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NASCAR race at Charlotte live updates

Stage 3

5:45 p.m., Lap 109: And that’s it! Kyle Larson, after bumping William Byron out of the way a a dozen laps before, takes the checkers and in turn sends Byron packing for the season. Larson was followed by Reddick, Buescher, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin to round out the Top 5.

5:39 p.m., Lap 105: William Byron doesn’t seem to have the gas to catch up, and Reddick in between he and leader Kyle Larson isn’t helping matters much.

5:36 p.m., Lap 102: With seven to go, William Byron needs a win to get in, and to push Keslowski out. That’s the biggest point to watch now, and Byron is sitting in third, just 1.8 seconds back.

5:29 p.m., Lap 99: Caution is out as the Harvick drama heats up. Kevin Harvick went right-front first into the wall after a puff of smoke from his left rear tire, just as Chase Elliott was closing in behind him. Car caught fire. Harvick out of the car, he’s OK, but now the final eight just got less dramatic (for now).

5:19 p.m., Lap 97: Denny Hamlin leads the laps after the restart. Kurt Busch misses the frontstretch chicane as Tyler Reddick muscles to second place

5:15 p.m., Lap 93: In a matter of laps, chaos has ensued. The caution is out for debris stemming from a different incident that knocked William Byron from the lead. Byron missing the backstretch chicane after he was hit by Tyler Reddick. Brad Keselowski also went spinning through the backstretch chicane and is running in 28th.

5:04 p.m,. Lap 88: With 21 laps to go, William Byron pits from the lead under caution. Kyle Larson stays out, along with Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman. Chase Elliott pits and is in 31st.

4:49 p.m., Lap 84: Chase Elliott is driving with his rear bumper cover blowing in the breeze, but after multiple laps, on Lap 87, the cover comes off and NASCAR throws a caution for debris.

4:44 p.m., Lap 76: William Byron pits from the lead, followed by Tyler Reddick as green flag pit stops cycle through. Chase Elliott is still hoping for a caution that hasn’t come. On lap 79, Elliott pits.

4:41 p.m., Lap 73: Chase Elliott is two points behind Kevin Harvick as the running order stands. If William Byron, in first, loses the lead, then that means Harvick would be the first one just above the cutoff. Kyle Larson pits under green.

4:36 p.m., Lap 70: With 39 laps to go, the running order is William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon in the top three. Chase Elliott is told that he’s losing about a second a lap. He’s running in 34th.

4:29 p.m., Lap 65: Chase Elliott is told that his tires look OK. There are a bunch of playoff drivers sitting mid-pack in the top 20. William Byron is out front.

4:18 p.m., Lap 59: AJ Allmendinger has a mechanical issue and goes to the garage. William Byron continues to lead. He needs a win to advance. Chase Elliott’s team is talking about right rear tire rub as he sits in last. Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman sit below the cutoff.

4:13 p.m,. Lap 54: Huge implications for playoff driver and race favorite Chase Elliott! Elliotts spins around Turn 7, hitting the wall. The back of his No. 9 Chevrolet is totaled. Kevin Harvick hit the back of Elliott, sending Elliott around. Payback from Bristol? Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson tells Elliott that if he wrecks Harvick he’s locked in. Elliott is back on the track and speeding through the field with his car taped up.

4:08 p.m., Lap 53: William Byron leads the pack on the restart as Kyle Larson runs four point below the cutoff along with Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman. Kyle Larson is back on the track after the team tells him “we’re good” in terms of fixing the alternator belt.

Stage 2

4 p.m., Lap 50: Kyle Busch wins the second stage followed by Chase Elliott, who takes the spot from Kevin Harvick, who finishes third. Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, William Byron finish in the top 10. Kyle Larson pits to change the battery and the alternator belt at the same stop and then will pit for tires separately.

3:53 p.m., Lap 48: Green flag pit stops have started. William Byron, AJ Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin all pit. Kyle Larson

3:49 p.m., Lap 43: Alex Bowman continues to race with certain parts of the car shut off. Cole Custer spins after contact with Aric Almirola. Custer hits the outside wall, but the race stays green. Kyle Busch continues to lead followed by Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and William Byron.

3:44 p.m., Lap 40: Kyle Busch leads as Kevin Harvick chases him down with one second between them. William Byron is in third followed by Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott in the top five. Bubba Wallace had a stop-and-go penalty for missing the backstretch chicane. Kyle Larson is below the cutoff as he runs in 20th.

3:35 p.m., Lap 34: Big issues for two Hendrick Motorsports teams. They pit as the caution comes out for Chase Briscoe. Kyle Larson’s team pits during the caution and removes an alternator belt that came off. Crew chief Cliff Daniels has the team change the battery, and says that they’ll try to put the belt back on at the end of the stage. Larson is running in 27th. Alex Bowman is also having mechanical issues. His team predicts they’ll have to make a battery change after the long pit stop.

3:29 p.m,. Lap 31: Alex Bowman is having an alternator issue in seventh. He’s in a must-win situation, so this would effectively kill his chances of winning if the problem persists.

3:25 p.m., Lap 28: AJ Allmendinger restarts in the inside lane and is racing side-by-side with Kyle Busch through the infield but he loses the spot to Busch. William Byron comes out of the infield in second. Allmendinger’s radio mentions that he “doesn’t need to be pissing nobody off.” He’s had a chance to be a factor at multiple times this race when battling playoff drivers.

Stage 1

3:12 p.m., Lap 25: Chase Elliott makes the move driving the inside line on AJ Allmendinger to get side-by-side, then edges in front of him on the backstretch chicane. He wins the stage followed by Allmendinger in second. Ryan Blaney finishes in third. Allmendinger stays out, but it’s a big gamble. He says he’s wheel-hopping already. Elliott pits, but he now sits one point below the cutoff based on the finishing order from the first stage.

3:06 p.m., Lap 21: Denny Hamlin pits, but he gets a speeding penalty on pit road. He’ll drop to the rear for the final laps in the stage.

2:59 p.m., Lap 19: Ryan Blaney runs in first followed by Penske teammate Joey Logano. The caution is out for Ryan Newman spinning through the infield. “I just feel really swinging in the back,” Kyle Larson says of his car and tells crew chief Cliff Daniels that his car is also lacking grip. Newman takes his car to the garage. His day is done.

2:49 p.m., Lap 12: Playoff driver Brad Keselowski goes for a big spin through the backstretch chicane. Alex Bowman swerves around him, and has some slight contact. The race stays green, but Keselowski drops to 38th. He entered the race 20 points above the cutoff.

2:45 p.m. Lap 10: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson are the leaders at the competition caution. At the flag, the next round of pit stops are underway. The top-running drivers stay out as others pit. Aric Almirola makes a second pit stop after the earlier issues.

2:43 p.m., Lap 9: Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch and Matt DiBenedetto pit before the competition caution. Bell gets a speeding penalty running in the top 10 and will have to serve a pass-through since the race is still green. He’s in 28th.

2:38 p.m., Lap 6: Aric Almirola goes for a spin running in 20th off contact by Chris Buescher, neither of whom are in the playoffs. His car has minimal damage, potentially some on the rear quarter panel. He’s back in 35th after the spin, but no caution comes out. He rejoins the pack.

2:33 p.m., Lap 2: Denny Hamlin remains 2.6 seconds up on Joey Logano in second place through the second lap. Chase Elliott is up to fifth place but is talking about a “lag” he’s feeling in his car. He’s told that his “pace is good here” and that it’s “slightly better than the leader.”

2:29 p.m., Lap 1: Green flag at Charlotte. Denny Hamlin leads the first lap as Chase Elliott peeks to the inside through the infield, and falls in behind Martin Truex Jr. in seventh but gets the spot later in the lap. Brad Keselowski loses the second place spot to Joey Logano.

Pre-race

2:19 p.m.: Engines are fired for 109 laps of road course racing. Cup cars are all outfitted with pink window netting thanks to the efforts of driver Kurt Busch, who was inspired by a fan letter to find a way to honor breast cancer survivors and those battling the disease. Drivers will sign the netting to be auctioned off to benefit breast cancer research.

2:17 p.m.: The invocation, anthem and flyover are complete. There will be a competition caution on Lap 10. All playoff drivers have cleared technical inspection. Only Garrett Smithley will drop to the rear for the start of the race due to multiple inspection failures.

NASCAR at Charlotte pre-race schedule

Driver Introductions: 1:40 p.m.

Invocation: 2:10 p.m.

National Anthem: 2:11 p.m.

Command: 2:18 p.m.

Green Flag: 2:30 p.m.

James Bond actor Daniel Craig among race dignitaries

Daniel Craig, the actor known for his role as James Bond, is here at Charlotte before the release of his latest Bond film, “No Time to Die.” Craig is the honorary starter for the race and will wave the green flag to start the race. In addition to Craig, Nicole Gee, one of 13 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan during a bombing at the Kabul International Airport on Aug. 26, will be honored before race. Clive Standen, from NBC’s ‘Taken’ and the History Channel’s hit drama series ‘Vikings,’ will serve as Honorary Pace Car Driver.

Two Hendrick drivers are favorites, two are in points jeopardy

Defending Roval winner Chase Elliott has been named the favorite to win across sports betting sites. He’s also not safe from elimination since he sits just nine points above the cutoff, tied in points with Kyle Busch. Busch said he’s racing against Harvick for the spot. No playoff driver without a win in this round, including Kyle Larson, who’s up 22 points, said he feels “safe” from elimination.

Denny Hamlin is so far the only driver in the postseason to advance to the next round with a win at Las Vegas. He’s starting on the pole for today’s race.

Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and William Byron said that they’re both shooting for the win today based on where they sit in points. Byron is 44 points below the cutoff, while Bowman is 52 points in jeopardy. They’ll start 11th and 12th, respectively.

Ty Dillon will make Cup return with GMS, RWR partners with SHR

Ty Dillon will drive for GMS Racing next season in the Cup Series. Dillon, a former full-time Cup driver with Germain Racing in 2020, has been running a part-time NASCAR schedule across the Cup and Xfinity Series this year. The team will run the No. 94 Chevrolet in Cup while GMS fields three teams in the Truck Series next season. GMS general manager Mike Beam clarified that his team will run the 2022 Cup schedule without a charter.

Dillon will drive the No. 94 Chevrolet, a number formerly driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott. He acknowledged the opportunity to return to full-time Cup racing and the chance to return the car number to the same relevance “as when Awesome Bill drove it.”

Today, Rick Ware Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing also announced an alliance in the Cup Series between teams next season. RWR will use Rough Yates Engines.

RWR team owner Ware said that he’s looking to eventually streamline his organization to two competitive Cup cars. Ware currently has three Cup charters and leases one from Petty-Ware.

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings

NASCAR race at Charlotte startling grid

How to watch the NASCAR race at Charlotte Roval

• Race: Bank of America Roval 400
• Distance: 252.88 miles (109 Laps) with stages ending on laps 25, 50 and 109
• Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway road course
• When: 2 p.m. EST
• TV: NBC
• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 12:59 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription