Rick Hendrick was a happy man when the checkered flag was waved at the Charlotte Roval. Why wouldn’t he be? After all, Kyle Larson had won his sixth race in the Cup Series this season, while his remaining three drivers had escaped elimination. Or so he thought. It was the first time Hendrick Motorsports had all its drivers progress into the Round of 8 together, becoming only the third NASCAR team in history behind Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing to achieve this feat.

However, the celebration was short-lived. In what looks like a dramatic twist in fate, Alex Bowman has been disqualified from the 2024 Bank of America ROVAL 400. The 31-year-old’s No. 48 Chevy failed the post-race inspection, which means Joey Logano will take his place in the playoffs. While Rick Hendrick’s team could appeal NASCAR’s decision, will the sanctioning body overturn its verdict?

Alex Bowman’s loss is Joey Logano’s gain

Alex Bowman will be feeling hard done by. Having finished 18th at the Roval, the Hendrick Motorsports driver thought he had done enough to lock his spot into the Round of 8. The playoff table indicated that he was the final driver to progress into the next round, at the expense of Team Penske’s Joey Logano. However, NASCAR has announced that Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Financial Chevrolet Camaro failed to meet minimum weight requirements in the post-race inspection, which means that the driver has been disqualified and will finish rock bottom at the Roval.

Explaining the reasons behind Bowman’s disqualification, NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran said, “So we give them every opportunity to make minimum weight. We run them back through, and unfortunately, they were light again. They are allowed a (.5 percent) weight break, which is for usage of fluids and so on. That’s about 17 pounds. We backed the car back off the scales, run it back and then unfortunately it was the same weight. So the car had a weight issue. All the other cars cleared inspection, 48 was too light and that ended up in a disqualification.”

According to NASCAR Cup Series rules, the car has to be in the region of 3,400-3,500 pounds, subject to the weight of the driver as well. The sanctioning body gives a leeway of 5% (17 pounds), but in Bowman’s case, his No. 48 Chevy didn’t meet the requirements even by those parameters. Hendrick Motorsports has said, “We are working to understand the issue and will make a decision Monday about whether to submit an appeal.” Given the stakes, it’s likely that the team will appeal NASCAR’s decision, but as things stand, Alex Bowman will feel that it’s the most brutal way he could’ve been eliminated from the playoffs.

What does this mean for his title hopes? As things stand, the Arizona native will not advance into the next round because of a lack of points. Instead, Joey Logano has been given a second opportunity to keep his title hopes alive and will be in title contention for the next three races, hoping to make it to Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. Bowman’s disqualification means that despite winning the second stage at the Charlotte Roval, the points will be awarded to AJ Allmendinger instead, who had finished in second place. Meanwhile, Logano, Elliott, Wallace, and Blaney will make it to the top five of Stage 2.

NASCAR plays spoilsport to Bowman’s playoff resurgence

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In many ways, Alex Bowman felt that this year was his opportunity to shine. Despite a less-than-impressive regular season, no driver had shown the level of consistency that he did in the Round of 16, securing the most points (120) in the opening three playoff races. An impressive sixth-place result at Kansas Speedway also silenced critics and he was firmly in contention for the Round of 8 despite finishing outside the top 15 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Having won the race at the Chicago Street Course earlier this year, expectations were high from Bowman going into the Charlotte Roval. The hybrid road course plays to his strengths, with the HMS driver finishing in the top ten in each of his last five appearances. However, the modifications made to the 2.28-mile track’s layout brought about a whole different set of challenges for the 31-year-old, which meant that he was forced to settle for 18th before being disqualified.

With four races remaining before the season ends, Alex Bowman might have to wait another year to lift the elusive Cup Series trophy. The Hendrick Motorsports driver came so close to competing for the silverware this year, only to fall short because of a technicality. While the driver will hope that through some miracle, the sanctioning body’s verdict is rescinded, the odds aren’t stacked in his favor. Do you think Rick Hendrick’s team will appeal Alex Bowman’s disqualification decision? Will NASCAR overturn the verdict? Let us know in the comments!