NASCAR: Alex Bowman's penalty eliminated a second driver

Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell was eliminated from the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs after Sunday's round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway when it was determined that his move on 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace into turn four on the final lap was a "safety violation".

Though not exactly alike, the move resembled the "Hail Melon" move made by Ross Chastain at the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Ridgeway, Virginia oval two years ago, a move that was quickly outlawed from all future NASCAR events.

There were doubts about whether or not they'd enforce the rule, primarily because nobody thought we'd ever see anything like it again. But NASCAR made the decision, the correct decision, to stick to the new rule.

Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 20 Toyota, it cost him a spot in the Championship 4 for the third consecutive season, ending his series-high streak of 107 straight races as a championship eligible driver.

Bell only needed to make up one position to advance over Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, since he owned the tiebreaker over the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet. His best finish of the round of 8 was second place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Byron's was fourth at the same track.

Bell's controversial move moved him from 19th to 18th place. But the penalty dropped him back to 22nd, meaning he was officially scored four points behind Byron in the final round of 8 standings.

But had it not been for an earlier penalty, from three weeks prior, Bell would have advanced whether he made the move or not.

Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman initially qualified for the round of 8, but after the round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, it was determined that his car was underweight and he was disqualified.

The points he lost from the disqualification kept him from advancing, and Team Penske's Joey Logano instead took his spot in the round of 8. Logano went on to qualify for the Championship 4 by winning the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Had Bowman not been disqualified, Logano's win would not have locked anybody into the Championship 4.

23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick and Team Penske's Ryan Blaney still would have qualified for the Championship 4 by winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, respectively, and there would have been two spots awarded on points instead of just one.

Both Byron and Bell would have advanced instead of just Byron. Based on Bowman's point totals from the three round of 8 races, he would not have advanced.

Teammate Kyle Larson would have been the top driver below the Championship 4 cut line instead of Bell. Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin and Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott also still would have missed out.

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 is set to be broadcast live on NBC from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, November 10. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!