This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Kyle Larson left no doubt of his advancement to the final three-race elimination round of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a commanding performance at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. The Hendrick Motorsports driver did enough through stage points to clinch a spot in the final eight, but then dominated the final miles of the race, leading the last 33 laps to finish more than a second ahead of his closest competitor. All told, he led 62 of the 109 laps raced, and now claims twice as many wins on the season as his closest rival. Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman wasn't so lucky. The driver of the No. 48 had done enough on track to ensure he joined Larson in the final eight, including winning a stage, only to be disqualified during post-race inspection. Former series champion Joey Logano was the beneficiary, moving up to eighth in the standings with Bowman's exclusion from Sunday's race. Joining Bowman in exiting the championship hunt were Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, and Austin Cindric.
With the final eight championship contenders confirmed, the last three-race round of eliminations gets set to kick off at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The spring race was the first of Larson's six victories so far this season, and the championship contenders will have their work cut out to overcome him again in the coming weeks. A win in any of the next three races from one of those remaining playoff contenders will guarantee a shot at this year's title, and the competition for those four spots is now truly among the best this season has to offer.
UPGRADE
Kyle Larson - Points in each of the first two stages Sunday at Charlotte made Larson the second driver to guarantee his spot in the penultimate round of the playoffs. He wasn't done with that, though. After leading his first laps during the second stage, Larson dominated the final stage to pull away from the field, winning by more than a second. The No. 5 led a total of 62 laps to win for the sixth time this season, which is twice as many times as any other driver. The victory was also Larson's second this playoffs after another dominating day in Bristol just a few weeks ago. Looking ahead, Larson won earlier this season at Las Vegas and now has a shot at returning to the championship finale in contention to win his second series title. His ability to win this season continues to keep him at the top of the favorites list to win a second series championship.
Tyler Reddick - Reddick didn't have much room for error entering Sunday's elimination race, but a road course outing put him in good position to take control of his own destiny. He took advantage of positive track position early in the race, opting not to head to pit road and instead capture 10 points for winning the race's opening stage. Those extra points, along with an 11th-place finish, was enough to ensure the No. 45 would continue in the championship battle. It wasn't without some stress, though. After contact, Reddick had to drive through the field in the final stage, picking up places one by one to ensure he had enough points in hand to secure his advancement. He resets to third position in the standings for this penultimate round of eliminations, too. Now having a chance at claiming one of four final spots, Reddick will need to be at his best. Las Vegas is his first shot, where he has five top-10 finishes from nine starts and a best finish of second earlier this season.
Joey Logano - Logano entered the Charlotte race weekend out of the playoff transfer positions but within striking distance of advancing. The Team Penske driver did just that, too. Initially, he qualified on the second row, then went on to run inside the top 10 all afternoon. He scored stage points in both segments and finished the race in the top 10, his 10th of the season and first since his win at Atlanta to start his playoff quest. While his effort Sunday initially appeared short of what he needed, post-race inspection issues for Alex Bowman promoted Logano into the final eight. It was a lucky break for the former champion, and it could still be reversed if successfully appealed, but it looks as though Logano's 2024 championship effort will continue. He won't be able to afford another three-race round like the last one, though. Finishes of 14th, 33rd, and eighth will not get him into the finale. Logano needs to aim for wins, like he has done three prior times at Las Vegas.
Christopher Bell - Bell grabbed his fourth-straight top-10 in the playoffs with a runner-up finish at Charlotte. The Joe Gibbs Racing contender started the race 12th and eschewed stage points in favor of setting up a strategy to go for the race win. His prior playoff finishes in the round afforded him the luxury of the gamble, and it paid off with a runner-up finish despite not having the speed to reel in and challenge Kyle Larson. The second-place result was more than enough to see Bell through to the final playoff round and it was further evidence of his competitiveness on road courses. Fans will be more interested in his success at Phoenix now that he is focused on claiming a spot in the final four, though. Bell's first step toward that is the coming week's trip to Las Vegas. He finished 33rd there in March after spinning in the second stage but qualified on pole last fall and finished second.
William Byron - Byron's hot streak continued Sunday at Charlotte. After being the only driver assured of advancing prior to Sunday's race, Byron had no burden other than to continue riding the wave of momentum he started at Kansas. Sunday's third-place finish from the 10th starting spot wound up being his third straight finish of third or better. That is a warning shot for those hoping to be one of the final four championship contenders. Byron has a history of coming alive in the playoffs, and while this surge is starting later than past seasons, it could be coming at the perfect time. Continuing to deliver top finishes like the past few weeks will assuredly put Byron among the contenders at Phoenix, and a victory would do it sooner. At Las Vegas, that could be a real possibility. Byron is a former winner at the track and teammate Larson won there earlier this spring. The No. 24 might be the hottest team in the series right now.
DOWNGRADE
Chase Briscoe - Briscoe's playoff hopes came to an early end Sunday at Charlotte. After a head full of momentum got him into the knockout competition and into the second round, a myriad of issues put him in a must-win situation at Sunday's road course visit. Unfortunately, those issues continued to plague him Sunday afternoon. Winning was always going to be tough to do, and things didn't start well with a 25th-place qualifying effort. His situation only got worse once the racing began. Mired in traffic, Briscoe was the first playoff competitor to exit Sunday's race after contact damaged his car, eventually forcing him to retire, taking his championship hopes along with it. Briscoe now enters his four races with Stewart Haas Racing before joining Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2025 season. While he rewarded SHR with a playoff appearance in the organization's final season, he'll look to give them another win before they close the doors for good.
Austin Cindric - Like Briscoe, Cindric also faced a must-win situation Sunday to keep his playoff hopes alive. Being a road course, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Cindric could pull off the heist. The weekend started well with a fifth-place qualifying effort, and the Team Penske driver went on finish in the top 10 in both stages, too. In the final run, Cindric had done nearly everything within his reach but was running out of positions to gain, finishing the race fourth. It was his best series finish at the track but was still three places short of what he needed to stay among the playoff contenders. While the sting of being eliminated from contention will hurt, Cindric and the No. 2 team can still look back at 2024 as a relative success. They won at Gateway and scooped up five top-10s and competing in the playoffs, and they still have four races to add to those statistics while trying to help out the two Penske teammates still in the championship hunt.
Ty Gibbs - After enduring playoff elimination in the last round, Gibbs has simply been racing for wins. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has shown the pace necessary to be competitive at places like Charlotte, but an engine failure ended his effort prematurely. Gibbs qualified 19th for the race and scored stage points in the first segment as he fought to move forward. The engine failure in the second stage put those hopes to bed, though. While Gibbs made it to the playoffs, he has been eliminated and is approaching his second full season in the series without a victory. For a driver used to finding Victory Lane quickly in every other series, the past two years have been a long drought. Gibbs and the 54 team have plenty of room for improvement, and fans could argue they are underachieving. This is something the team will have to work on these last four races of 2024 and through the winter to live up to those lofty expectations next year.
Daniel Suarez - Sunday had to be a come-from-behind effort from Suarez to remain among the playoff contenders, and it wasn't meant to be. Despite having some speed at road courses, Charlotte is a venue that speed hasn't translated into finishes. The same was true again Sunday. The Trackhouse Racing driver qualified decently in 13th but failed to score stage points and suffered mechanical issues later in the race. The No. 99 was forced to pit road to repair a brake fluid leak and spent the last portion of the race nursing his car to the finish. In the end, he went a lap down to the leader and finished 30th, ending the playoff round with a second finish outside of the top 25. Work to come back stronger next season begins this week at Las Vegas. Suarez has just two top-10 finishes there from 14 series tries, but his last four visits have ended with finishes of 16th or better.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Alex Bowman - Bowman earned his first career stage win on a road course in the second segment of Sunday's race, helping his playoff quest by adding 10 extra points to his total. However, after finishing the race in the 18th position, the No. 48 machine was found to be too light and was disqualified from the event. Bowman had done everything he needed to continue in the playoffs, but Sunday's miscue from the team wiped out all of that work. The points lost from the Sunday's disqualification meant Bowman failed to advance and will not get a chance to race his way into the championship finale. The team still has the ability to appeal Sunday's ruling, but matters of weight tend to be cut and dry. Stay tuned for that outcome, but Bowman and the No. 48 team must now focus their efforts on race wins and helping their teammates if possible. Bowman won at Las Vegas in the spring of 2022 and led three laps there earlier this season before finishing 18th.
