NASCAR: Alex Bowman penalty cost another driver the championship

After the round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman thought he was headed to the round of 8 for the first time since 2020. But a few hours later, he was eliminated.

Bowman's No. 48 Chevrolet was found to have been underweight, and he was disqualified. The points he lost because of the disqualification were enough to drop him out of the round of 8 and move Team Penske's Joey Logano in.

Logano won the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to qualify for the Championship 4, making him six for six in even-numbered years.

Because Bowman's point total during the round of 8 wouldn't have been enough to get him to the Championship 4 had he advanced himself, his disqualification ultimately cost Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell a spot in the Championship 4, since Logano wouldn't have even made it to the round of 8 and therefore occupied a Championship 4 spot that would have gone elsewhere.

But it wasn't Bell who would have won the championship, had Bowman not been disqualified.

Logano held off teammate Ryan Blaney in the closing laps of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway to become a three-time champion, just four weeks after he was thought to have been eliminated. He also won the titles in 2018 and 2022.

Had Bowman not been suspended, however, the battle for the championship would have been between Blaney and Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, and for the second year in a row, Blaney would have won the title with a runner-up finish in the season finale.

The driver of the No. 12 Ford would have become the first driver to win two championships in a row since Jimmie Johnson reeled off five in a row from 2006 to 2010.

Instead, Roger Penske's third straight Cup Series championship went to his teammate in the No. 22 Ford, and it all goes back to Bowman's disqualification.

The 67th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to open up the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season on Sunday, February 16. Fox is set to provide live coverage from Daytona International Speedway.