CONCORD, N.C. — In typical elimination race fashion, the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs was not decided until the final lap.
Christopher Bell grabbed the win at the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval configuration to earn his 2nd win of the season. Meanwhile, four drivers, including last year's series champion, Kyle Larson, were eliminated from championship contention.
The race was tame and ran caution-free, other than stage breaks, until there were five laps remaining.
A debris caution for a sign in turn 16 led to a restart with Chase Elliott and A.J. Allmendinger on the front row. Those two drivers led big chunks of the race and looked like the class of the field until they were both bumped out of the way on the restart with just a few laps remaining.
The ensuing lap saw Noah Gragson, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Dillon all get spun around at different parts of the track. Dillon's spin caused a bumper on the track to be dislodged and caused a red flag period as crews repaired the track.
After the red flag, Kevin Harvick started in the lead and looked to hold off Bell, who needed a win to advance into the next round of the playoffs. Bell was able to overtake the lead and make his way into the Round of 8.
"You just gotta be there at the end of these things," said Bell to the NBC Sports crew after the race. "We were just there at the right time."
Bell's walk-off-style win effectively eliminated Larson from the next round of the playoffs. Larson was running around the Top 10 around Lap 100 when he slammed the wall which caused him to spend multiple laps on pit road. Larson finished 35th and missed the cutoff line by just two points.
"I made too many mistakes all year long," said Larson. "Made another one today."
What ended in chaos started as a routine road course with those starting in the front jumping to big leads and strategy shuffling the field the rest of the way. Logano started on the pole and led every lap of Stage 1. William Byron and Suárez followed close behind and looked as if they would compete for the win as well, but varying strategies forced them back in the running order and they finished 16th and --, respectively.
After Stage 1, A.J. Allmendinger became the race favorite as he led a majority of that stage and took a commanding lead over the rest of the field. Once again, though, pit road strategy came into play, and Ross Chastain took the lead and won Stage 2, earning some important points to elevate himself into the next round.
Outside the stage break, Tyler Reddick held the lead with Allmendinger following close behind. Around Lap 65, Suárez suffered power steering problems that forced him to the pits and led to him not getting enough points to make it to the next round.
Reddick hit pit road for a scheduled stop, giving the lead to Elliott, who jumped out to a massive five-second lead over Allmendinger in the waning laps.
It seemed like the race would end without the chaotic sequences that the Roval is known for until a big sign fittingly made its way onto the track with six laps remaining, forcing a restart.
On that restart, Allmendinger and Elliott were set to fight for the win, but fate had other ideas. Elliott was forced up the race track and settled in behind Harvick, who then shoved Allmendinger to the outside and out of the top spot. Moments later, Elliott spun around after contact from Reddick.
With just three laps remaining, several other drivers had problems, including Briscoe, who needed every point he could get to advance to the next round.
Harvick held the lead after this before Dillon's spin and subsequent dismantling of the track surface prompted a red flag.
With the race set to restart with two laps remaining, Larson was seven points ahead of the cutline, Austin Cindric was six points ahead, Suárez was six points under, Briscoe was 11 points under, and Bell was 30 points behind, desperately in need of a win.
When the green flag waved, Briscoe fought hard and miraculously gained the points he needed to make it and finished 9th. Cindric, meanwhile, lost several spots after behind hit and spun by Erik Jones, and finished 21st, 13 points off the mark.
"I knew that we could move on. This team never gives up, I never give up," said Briscoe. "It's crazy at the end of these races, how much can change so quickly."
In the end, eight drivers will be able to continue fighting for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship, while the four who missed the cut-off will have the go the rest of the season wondering what could have been if they had just a few more points here or there.
Following Bell in the running order were Harvick, Kyle Busch, Allmendinger, Justin Haley, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Reddick, Briscoe, and Dillon to wrap up the top 10.
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The points standings heading into the next round of the NASCAR playoffs are:
- Chase Elliott - 4,046 points
- Joey Logano - 4.026 points
- Ross Chastain - 4,021 points
- Christopher Bell - 4,018 points
- William Byron - 4,015 points
- Ryan Blaney - 4,015 points
- Denny Hamlin - 4,013 points
- Chase Briscoe - 4,009 points
Next week, NASCAR heads to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Alsco Uniforms 302 on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET