Bank of America Roval 400: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Concord, N.C. – October 13, 2024
Following post-race inspection at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the No. 48 has been disqualified for failing to meet the minimum weight requirement. By virtue of a 38th-place finish, the No. 48 team does not advance to the Round of 8 and the No. 22 team now advances.
Stage finishes, race finishes and points positions reflect results following post-race inspection.
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/SYLVANIA FORD MUSTANG
START: 5TH STAGE ONE: 10TH STAGE TWO: 6TH FINISH: 4TH POINTS: 10TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric finished a solid fourth in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course but came up short of advancing to the semi-final round of the NASCAR Playoffs. Cindric rolled off the grid from the fifth position after a strong qualifying effort on Saturday and reported early on in the race that the car felt disconnected as he struggled with rear grip. With five laps remaining in the opening segment, Cindric made his first trek to pit road for four tires, fuel, wedge and air pressure adjustments. After crossing the stripe 10th to end Stage 1, the skilled road course racer stayed out at the break and restarted fifth. When debris brought out the yellow flag on Lap 36, Cindric informed his team that the car had improved slightly, but turn and drive remained pain points. He returned to the attention of the Menards/Sylvania pit crew for fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The Team Penske driver climbed back inside the top 10 as the laps clicked away, finishing Stage 2 in the sixth position and accumulating a handful of stage points. The No. 2 team opted to stay out and lined up fourth for the restart on Lap 55. With small improvements to the car, he continued to push forward, making his final pit stop of the day with just under 40 laps remaining. Cindric remained focused on the task at hand as the laps winded down, but ultimately finished fourth, shy of advancing to the Round of 8.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “We had the speed and that is the encouraging thing and the exciting thing but today we needed it all. We had a great car. We had a great finish. My guys called a great strategy and we got points in both Stages, all the things that are hard to do in a Cup race, but we did those things and were capable of doing those things in the two prior races. That is what this format is. It is difficult. I think for us, having a better regular season, having a bit better of a buffer would definitely help. I am proud of everyone. I feel like we are getting into a rhythm here. I am proud of the team and looking forward to trying to spoil some races and support our teammates the rest of the way.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG
START: 14TH STAGE ONE: 4TH STAGE TWO: 5TH FINISH: 10TH POINTS: 5TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney advanced to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a 10th-place finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval Sunday, marking his sixth-career trip to the semifinal round and fourth in as many seasons. Blaney enters the first race of the round fifth in the points standings and four points below the cut line as he continues on in his quest for back-to-back championships. The No. 12 Discount Tire Ford took the green flag from 14th before settling into 12th in the running order for the opening run of the 109-lap event. With pit strategies varying throughout the field in the closing laps of the stage, Blaney cycled to fourth on the leaderboard with three to go where he ultimately took the green and white checkered flag from in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments during under caution, Blaney lined up to restart Stage 2 from 30th before making his way back through the field to settle into the top-10 with 11 laps remaining in the segment. After a handful of the leaders hit pit road prior to the stage end, the 12 team opted to run the stage out again to come away with a fifth-place result in the second segment. Blaney was one of three cars to make the trip down pit road prior to the restart, miring him back in 30th to take the green flag for the final run of the afternoon. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler’s strategy call allowed Blaney to run longer than a majority of the field as he made his way up to sixth with 35 laps to go with green flag stops beginning to cycle. Blaney was eventually called to pit road with 33 laps to go while running fourth and rejoined the field just outside of the top-10. Blaney worked his way back into the top-10 with a formidable points cushion with 20 laps to go before crossing the start-finish line 10th to secure his spot in the Round of 8.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “I thought our car was fast, we just were in the stage points game all day and we had to restart 30th every run to get back up to where we finished in 10th. To be honest, I wasn’t as aggressive on some of the restarts there in the back to weave our way through because we knew our objective today. I am proud of the effort of all the 12 boys to come out here and forget last week and focus on this week which really mattered.”
“I feel like we are in a pretty decent spot. I was really happy with our speed at Kansas and I thought that was huge at a place we have struggled at. We hadn’t been the best there the last few years but to go there and have race-winning pace was really impressive for our group. Hopefully we can carry that over to Vegas and Homestead and learn from the spring at Martinsville. I think we are in a good spot. We just have to go perform. It is a new week next week and I am looking forward to getting started.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 4TH STAGE ONE: 2ND STAGE TWO: 2ND FINISH: 8TH POINTS: 8TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano’s eighth-place finish in Sunday’s Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval came up just short of clinching a spot in the semifinal round at the time of the checkered flag, but a disqualification levied to the No. 48 team following post-race inspection advanced the No. 22 team to the Round of 8. NASCAR’s ruling is subject to appeal and a decision on whether an appeal will be submitted is expected on Monday, October 14.
After starting fourth for Sunday’s 109-lap event, Logano settled into fifth for the opening run of the afternoon despite battling issues with rear grip in the early going. Crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call to run the opening stage to the end with every point making a difference on the playoff battle, allowing Logano to come away with a second-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments under caution, Logano lined up 27th to take the green flag for the second segment and quickly gained 11 spots while leading all other cars on his same strategy. The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford charged back into the top-10 with 10 laps remaining in the stage as Wolfe kept Logano on track through the end of Stage 2 to come away with another second-place effort. Logano was kept on track during the stage break in an effort to maintain track position for the final run of the afternoon, taking the restart from the inside of row one with 55 laps to go. Wolfe called him to pit road from sixth with 39 laps to go for a four tire stop and enough fuel to make it to the end, allowing Logano to race back into the top-10 with 30 to go while scored five points above the cut line. Logano was locked into a tight battle with the No. 45 for the final transfer spot and worked his way up to fifth with 26 to go. The points lead began to shrink in the closing laps as the two were tied for the eighth and final spot with 12 laps remaining. Logano ultimately came away with an eighth-place finish and was scored four points below the cut line when the checkered flag waved.
The NASCAR Cup Series opens the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 20. Coverage of the South Point 400 begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
