NASCAR: Alex Bowman decision could end his teammate's season

Alex Bowman might not be the only Hendrick Motorsports driver knocked out of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs due to the penalty issued to the No. 48 team after the round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval a few weekends ago.

Bowman lost his round of 8 spot to Team Penske's Joey Logano after the No. 48 Chevrolet was found to have been underweight following the Charlotte race.

The round of 8 berth would have been Bowman's first since 2020. Instead, a seemingly eliminated Logano kept his championship hopes alive.

Logano has only ever qualified for the Championship 4 in even-numbered years, yet he has done so in every even year since the modern format was implemented back in 2014.

The driver of the No. 22 Ford locked himself in by winning the round of 8 opener in 2018, 2020, and 2022. So of course he did so again in 2024, winning the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to go from "eliminated" to Championship 4-bound in a matter of seven days.

Bowman penalty could cost his teammate

Had Bowman's round of 8 spot not been revoked and given to Logano, he would have started the semifinal round with 4,007 points, thanks to the seven playoff points he earned with his regular season Chicago Street Course victory (five) and two playoff stage victories (one each).

He then scored 37 points at Las Vegas and another 32 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, so he would be sitting at 4,076 points heading into the round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway.

Had Logano not advanced, his Las Vegas victory would not have impacted the playoff picture. 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, who won at Homestead-Miami this past Sunday afternoon, would be the only driver locked into the Championship 4.

As for the points situation, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell leads with 4,132, and Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson are behind him with 4,110 and 4,103, respectively.

The other championship eligible drivers are Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin with 4,092 points, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney with 4,072, and Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott with 4,067. So even if Bowman had advanced, he'd be below the cut line, likely in a must-win situation at Martinsville.

But far more significantly, at least based on how things stand at the moment, had Bowman actually advanced, both Byron and Larson would be above the Championship 4 cut line, along with Bell, as just one spot would be occupied by a round of 8 winner in Reddick.

Instead, because Bowman didn't advance and Logano did, there are just two spots occupied by drivers on points at the moment, and the cut line is between Byron and Larson. Larson trials Byron by seven points for the fourth spot.

But with Bowman in and Logano out, Byron would be 18 points ahead of the cut line, with Larson 11 points ahead. Bell would be 40 points ahead instead of 29, and Hamlin would be the first driver out instead of Larson.

So it is very possible that, in a roundabout way, Bowman's penalty will end up eliminating one of his teammates, simply because of the fact that Logano has clinched a Championship 4 spot he otherwise would not have clinched – a Championship 4 spot that would not be going Bowman's way anyway, even if the No. 48 team had not been penalized.

Tune in to NBC this Sunday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Xfinity 500 from Martinsville Speedway. Blaney is the reigning race winner, though Byron won at the track in April. If you have not yet had a chance to start a free trial of FuboTV, do so now and don't miss it!