NASCAR: Joey Logano avoids potential disaster with Hendrick decision

Team Penske's Joey Logano found himself eliminated from 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship contention after Sunday afternoon's race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, as he missed out on the eighth and final spot in the round of 8 to 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick.

But hours after the race, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman was disqualified, as his No. 48 Chevrolet did not meet the minimum weight requirements.

Bowman's demotion to last place in the first two stages and the end of the race resulted in a significant loss of points, which dropped him below both Reddick and Logano in the round of 12 standings.

As a result, Logano made it to the semifinal round after all.

Following the announcement, Rick Hendrick's team made clear that they were going to assess the situation and make a decision on whether or not to appeal. But on Monday, they decided against appealing.

Though a decision to appeal probably would not have produced an overturned result, that possibility still existed, meaning that Logano could have gone from out to in to back out within a matter of just a couple of days, thanks to something that had nothing to do with him.

Instead, Logano is now locked in. Despite sitting 15th in total points this season, he is set to advance to the round of 8, joining the seven drivers who all rank inside the top seven in that category, as he aims to make it six for six in terms of advancing to the Championship 4 in even-numbered years.

Logano won the championships in 2018 and 2022, and after his chances of winning a third title this year appeared to be out the window on Sunday, he once again has a chance to become the sport's first three-time champion since Tony Stewart in 2011.

DraftKings Sportsbook lists Logano with the longest odds to win the championship among the eight remaining contenders. He is listed at +1200. Notably, Logano was listed with the longest odds in the 2022 Championship 4 as well, but he prevailed to win his second title.

Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson is the favorite at +370. Full odds can be found here.

Logano is set to start the round of 8 sitting 11 points below the Championship 4 cut line.

The round of 8 is scheduled to get underway this Sunday, October 20 with the South Point 400, which is set to be shown live on NBC from Las Vegas Motor Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!