ROVAL Recap

Story posted October 14, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Ethan Ellis

After one of the most controversial and wild finishes of the NASCAR Playoffs, the field for the Round of Eight has been decided and some of the championship favorites are not a part of it. One of the biggest of these names is last year’s champion Kyle Larson who finished a dismal 35th at Charlotte ROVAL on Sunday.

Joey Logano kicked the race off from the pole with William Byron starting second. It took less than a lap for the playoff drivers to find trouble in the form of missing sections of the track, forcing them to come to a complete stop or serve a pass-through penalty, those drivers being Cole Custer and Austin Dillon.

For most of the first stage, pole leader Logano looked dominant as he held a steady lead over Byron. One of the biggest storylines throughout the race were points as many drivers hovered around the cutoff line.

Stage points became of utmost importance for drivers and different strategies started to come into play for the end of Stage One. One strategy employed by many was to stay out at the end of the first stage instead of pitting before the stage break. Drivers like Chase Briscoe used this strategy to get a top-10 finish in Stage One and earn some bonus points.

The battle for the Stage One win came down to Logano and Byron which raged on for almost five laps until in the end, Logano got the stage win.

Tyler Reddick and A.J. Allmendinger led the field to green for Stage Two having pitted before the stage break. Allmendinger would shortly take over as the leader and become a dominant force in the stage. However, toward the end of the second stage, Allmendinger began to have what was believed to be transmission issues.

Allmendinger would go on to pit at the end of Stage Two along with a group of other drivers, handing the lead over to Ross Chastain. Chastain would go on to win the stage after not pitting at the end of the stage.

Daniel Suarez was one of the first of many playoff drivers to experience issues in the third stage as he lost power steering and quickly dropped through the field. Chastain was the next playoff driver to experience issues as he hit the wall toward the midway point of the race, which forced him to pit.

Larson also fell victim to the playoff driver curse in the race as he had to make a lengthy pitstop to repair a toe link. But that was only the beginning of the chaos, because with only a handful of laps left, a caution for debris changed everything.

Allmendinger led the field to green to finish the race with Chase Elliott beside him. This was short-lived, however, as Elliott would quickly spin, ending his chances at a win. The caution came out once again after Ty Dillon spun along with playoff drivers Logano, Byron and Briscoe spin which had huge implications on the cut line.

Christopher Bell was ultimately able to get the win over Kevin Harvick and secure himself a spot in the Round of Eight after making a late-race pit stop and driving up through the field, with the help of cautions. The win completely shook up the playoffs as Bell was below the cutoff line before his win.

After the race, Custer was given a 50 point penalty in both the drivers and owners championship race for brake checking cars on the back stretch going into the chicane, allowing his teammate to pass them and gain valuable points on the cutoff line. Custer and his crew chief were also fined $100,000 and his crew chief was indefinitely suspended.


Ethan Ellis is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ece5133@psu.edu.