Kyle Larson wins Charlotte Roval. Who else advanced in NASCAR Cup Series playoffs?

CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Larson is a winner at Charlotte.

The star driver for Hendrick Motorsports came out on top in the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course. It marks the sixth victory of the season for the driver who didn’t get to climb into his No. 5 car after running the Indianapolis 500 on the day of the Coca-Cola 600.

Larson advances to the semifinal round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Hendrick cars now hold three of the playoff spots in the Round of 8, continuing to strive toward its longtime owner’s goal of having four teams working together as one.

“There are no ‘statements’ that we’re trying to send to the field,” Larson said in the post-race news conference. “I think the field knows that we’re strong. The field knows we can win at any track. It is nice to win, and really more than anything, gain five more points that roll into the next round.

“I’m just excited to get through (Sunday) and help ourselves to the next round — three great tracks for us — and hopefully we can make that final four.”

Christopher Bell, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver who won the rain-shortened Coke 600, finished second. William Byron came in third, Austin Cindric fourth and Chase Elliott fifth.

The first of Larson’s six victories this year came in the season’s third race, after which his 9-year-old son, Owen, got on top of the race car and celebrated with his father.

This time at Charlotte: Audrey, his 6-year-old daughter, was there to greet him. She handed her father his checkered flag and sat in the window as he drove toward Victory Lane.

“It was just cool to win here at home,” Larson said. “Getting to have everybody there in Victory Lane celebrating, from Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Motorsports, the crew members, their families and kids and all that.

“That’s what makes winning here at Charlotte extra special, whether it be May or October.”

How Kyle Larson won at Charlotte

Shane van Gisbergen, the New Zealand-born road course star who now has three Xfinity Series wins as a NASCAR rookie, won the pole position for Sunday’s race. Cup Series regular-season champion Tyler Reddick started on the front row, ahead of recent Roval winner A.J. Allmendinger and two-time series champion Joey Logano.

The sharpened turns 7 and 16, which made drivers brace for “chaos,” lived up to their billing. Drivers slowed down to about 35 miles per hour to navigate the hairpin Turn 7, where they essentially made a U-turn onto the course’s turn at the end of the frontstretch.

Van Gisbergen, whose Xfinity wins came on the road courses of Portland, Sonoma and Chicago, decided to pit near the end of Stage 1. That allowed Reddick — who was below the cut line — to win the stage and claim the 10 crucial playoff points that come with it.

Chase Briscoe brought out the race’s first natural caution after sustaining a flat right rear tire during Stage 2, ending his day. The driver who will jump into the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota Camry next season was the first of four drivers to be eliminated from playoff contention.

After Alex Bowman won the second stage, Larson, Bell and Byron were all locked into the semifinal round by the start of the final stage. That trio held down the top three positions till the end, and Larson held off A.J. Allmendinger and the rest of the pack to win at the Roval for the second time in four years.

Who made the NASCAR Cup Series playoff cut Sunday?

Larson’s win punched his ticket to the Round of 8 on Sunday. As it stands late Sunday, below is who else has advanced to NASCAR’s semifinal round — a trio of races at Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville — before the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix.

Note: NASCAR announced late Sunday night that Alex Bowman had been disqualified due to the car not meeting weight requirements during post-race inspection. These are the up-to-date standings. NASCAR is expecting an appeal from Bowman’s 48 Hendrick Motorsports team.

— Kyle Larson

— William Byron

— Christopher Bell

— Ryan Blaney

— Chase Elliott

— Denny Hamlin

— Tyler Reddick

— Joey Logano

The following Cup Series drivers were eliminated from playoff contention following Sunday’s race:

— Alex Bowman

— Austin Cindric

— Daniel Suarez

— Chase Briscoe

NASCAR returns to Charlotte

The Cup Series’ fall playoff race was run on the “Roval” — the 17-turn, 2.28-mile road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway — for the seventh straight year. A day after Sam Mayer rallied to win the second straight Xfinity Series race at the Roval, NASCAR’s premier series ran its playoff elimination race on the reconfigured course.

JD Vance, the U.S. senator and Republican vice presidential nominee, was inside the drivers’ meeting and on pit road with Donald Trump Jr. before the race.

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