NASCAR’s Cup and Xfinity series playoffs head to Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course with William Byron and Chandler Smith atop the standings, respectively, after a wild weekend at Talladega.
The Cup Series will hold the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on Sunday afternoon following the Xfinity Series’ Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BCBS late Saturday afternoon.
On the Cup side, AJ Allmendinger won this race last year, leading twice for 46 of the final 52 laps, including the final 33 after overtaking eventual series champion Ryan Blaney for the victory. Allendinger started sixth and beat William Byron by .666 seconds with Kyle Busch third as Chevy swept the top three spots. Ty Gibbs was fourth in a Toyota and Joey Logano fifth in a Ford.
The series comes off a crazy Sunday at Talladega, as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. became the second consecutive non-playoff driver to win. It ended a 65-race drought dating back to last year’s Daytona 500. Stenhouse won in a three-wide finish between Brad Keselowski and William Byron, who advanced to the third round with his run. It was typical Talladega with a late crash collecting 27 of 40 cars, including Stenhouse’s Chevy, which was missing some safety foam on his driver’s side door. The race was red-flagged for nine minutes, and the chaotic cleanup left some teams livid after the race about NASCAR’s handling of the crash scene. Just four active playoff drivers finished in the top 10.
Charlotte’s 17-turn “roval” course has been reconfigured to provide additional passing opportunities for drivers. Changes include an extended straightaway coming out of Turn 5, a new Turn 6 and a sharper hairpin in Turn 7. There’s also a 35-foot elevation change, among other tweaks.
The Cup playoff field will be cut from 12 to eight drivers after this weekend’s race. William Byron leads Christopher Bell by 17 points and Kyle Larson by 22. Defending series champion Ryan Blaney stands sixth, 49 points back and 25 above the cut line. He’s the only Ford driver in the top eight. Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe are on the bubble below the cutline.
Driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. celebrates in Victory Lane after a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)AP
Here’s a link to both the season and postseason standings.
In last year’s Xfinity race here, Sam Mayer started on the pole in a Chevy and led four times for 50 laps, including the final four after overtaking Cole Custer’s Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to win by .909 seconds. Josh Berry (Chevy) was third, followed by Riley Herbst (Ford) and Kaz Grala (Toyota).
Sammy Smith surged from last in the playoff standings to become the first driver to reach the second round with an overtime win last week in the United Rentals 250 at Talladega. The JR Motorsports driver entered the weekend 12th in points and started 27th but steadily made his way forward in the No. 8 Chevy owned by Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was second when the race restarted with a two-lap sprint and outdueled several drivers before holding off non-playoff driver Ryan Sieg by .177 seconds to break a 56-race drought with his second career win. Herbst was third, Sheldon Creed fourth and Chandler Smith fifth.
JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer (16th) was disqualified after his No. 1 Chevy failed the postrace inspection height requirement for being too low in the rear. The team will appeal the decision.
Smith (2,122 points) leads Custer and Austin Hill by 27 points with Sheldon Creed 32 back and Jesse Love 42 behind. Initial top seed Justin Allgaier and fellow contenders Allmendinger, Shane Van Gisbergen and Parker Kligerman were involved in a late accident and are in danger of elimination.
The forecast looks perfect all weekend, with sunny skies and highs around 80 both days.
Here’s the TV schedule for both series this weekend:
NASCAR SERIES
Bank of America ROVAL 400.
12:30 p.m. Saturday: Practice and qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, USA Network and live-streamed on fubo TV (FREE trial), Sling TV (discount), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) and Peacock.
2:30 p.m. Sunday: Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, NBC, and live-streamed on fubo TV (FREE trial), Sling TV (discount), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) and Peacock.
XFINITY SERIES
Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BCBS
10 a.m. Saturday: Practice and qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, USA Network and live-streamed on fubo TV (FREE trial), Sling TV (discount), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) and Peacock
4 p.m. Saturday: Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BCBS at Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, The CW
