That’s a wrap on the Round of 12, as NASCAR shelves another section of the playoffs and moves along to the Round of 8 with just four races remaining.
And by the way, no shockers to close out the Round of 12. Kyle Larson wins. Two-time Cup champ Joey Logano is the only “blueblood” eliminated from the playoffs. Not undeserved, to tell the truth.
1. Kyle Larson wins, advances, blah, blah, blah …
Kyle Larson has had plenty of ups this year but enough clankers to realize nothing is given. Sunday at the Charlotte Roval, he looked like the driver to beat, which he probably is.
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Larson won and advanced to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR playoffs, and while that’s big news, it’s not the biggest.
The biggest involves the rest of the playoff survivors.
Here are the eight racers and team still alive with a chance to win the 2024 Cup Series championship:
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Kyle Larson
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William Byron
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Christopher Bell
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Ryan Blaney
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Chase Elliott
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Alex Bowman
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Denny Hamlin
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Tyler Reddick
That’s right, all four Hendrick Motorsports teams move on — Larson, Elliott, Bowman, Byron.
2. Is that Joey Logano in the exit lane?
Joey’s chance at a third Cup championship is over and it’s not a big shock, given his unsteady season.
The three driver/team combos joining him on the way out offer no shockers: Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe.
Of the outsiders, Logano entered Sunday closest to the eighth-place cutoff, but was 13 points down to Chase Elliott and didn’t get it done. He’d advanced to the Round of 12 with a win at the playoff opener at Atlanta, but in the Round of 12 he finished 14th, 33rd and, Sunday at Charlotte, a decent eighth when he needed much more.
3. Up next for NASCAR: Round of 8, starting in Vegas
Up next, the Round of 8 begins with a trip west for next Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Kyle Larson won in early March.
After that it’s Homestead-Miami Speedway, followed by one final attempt this year at a quality short-track race — Martinsville, where William Byron won in April.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR playoffs: 3 takeaways at Charlotte Roval. Kyle Larson wins
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