Christopher Bell passes Kevin Harvick at Charlotte Roval to advance in NASCAR Cup playoffs

Christopher Bell was in a must-win situation entering Sunday. And thanks to some Roval chaos, he did just that.

Chase Elliott was in cruise control for much of Stage 3, maintaining a four-second lead as the race stayed under green for the most it ever has in the history of the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

But a sponsorship sign on the inside wall on Turn 7 that blew onto the track prompted a caution and a restart with six laps to go, and flung the race into chaos. Elliott, contending for the lead, got nudged by Tyler Reddick and spun out — paving the way for Kevin Harvick to move into the lead and Christopher Bell to move into P2.

Then came a six-minute red flag — reparations needed to be made to the racetrack — and a final restart. Bell then pushed ahead on that final restart and pulled away from the rest of the field and then readied for a trip to Victory Lane.

“Man, you just got to be there at the end of these things,” Bell said, a few moments after celebrating at the start-finish line, something not many expected him to do Sunday. “I keep watching all these races where the fastest car doesn’t always win. No secret that road courses have not been our strength year. We were just there at the right time. We obviously weren’t in position to win, we rolled the dice, gambled, it paid off for us.

Kevin Harvick hung on for second place on Sunday, and Kyle Busch placed third.

Who advanced to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs?

With the win, Christopher Bell automatically advanced to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR playoffs. But who else made it through? With the chaotic finish, it was tough to tell.

Here’s what the scoring tells us:

Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe and Bell have advanced to the Round of 8.

Chase Briscoe, battling Austin Cindric for playoff points down the stretch, said those last five laps were “a roller coaster.’ He was solidly in the playoffs before that first late-race caution, and then fell out of it after spinning out. But a Cindric wreck late kept him in the hunt.

“What a wild day,” Briscoe said, adding, “It took every bit of it there at the end. To be easily in, then that debris caution comes out. Still, I thought we had a really good shot of making it in. Get wrecked on the backstretch. Crazy at the end of these races, especially the road course race, how much can change so quickly.

“I had no idea we were even going to have a shot. Truthfully I knew we were probably out. I saw the 2 wreck, I thought maybe there’s still a chance.”

And there was.

NASCAR said in a statement post-race that it is reviewing data, video and radio transmissions from the 41 car (Cole Custer) following its incident on the backstretch during the final lap — an incident where Custer substantially slowed and saw Briscoe (Custer’s teammate) and others pass him. Any potential penalties would not affect the Round of 8 field.

Kyle Larson, the reigning Cup champion, was eliminated on Sunday, finishing just behind Briscoe in points. In Stage 3, the No. 5 driver knocked into the wall in Turn 7, jarring loose that aforementioned wall sign and breaking a rear toe link. That doomed the rest of his day.

Larson was only upset at himself.

“There’s definitely no other person to blame but myself for today,” Larson said post-race. “I feel like our team put ourselves in position as well as we could on points. Got as many stage points as we could. I think it was plus 27 or 28 at the time when I screwed up. Just for no reason either. I wasn’t even pushing that hard at that moment.”

Another driver with a heartbreaking Sunday was Daniel Suarez. The No. 99 car lost power steering late in Stage 3, and he fell and fell in the field. Suarez ended five laps down and eliminated from the championship chase.

His TrackHouse Racing teammate, Chastain, also had a rough day. The No. 1 car team pushed the car into the garage in Stage 3 thanks to mechanical issues, but Chastain’s points were enough to allow him to remain in the playoff field, even after Bell won.

Official results from Charlotte Motor Speedway

Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage is complete, per NASCAR. All clear. No issues. The Nos. 2 and 48 will go back to the NASCAR R&D Center for teardown.

This story was originally published October 9, 2022 at 6:05 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription