NASCAR post-race decision could change the entire season

Had it not been for NASCAR's decision to disqualify Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman from the round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Team Penske's Joey Logano would have been eliminated before the round of 8 began.

Instead, the No. 48 Chevrolet was found to be underweight, Bowman was disqualified, and the points he lost from the disqualification resulted in him dropping below the round of 8 cut line. Logano advanced after all.

Now the two-time Cup Series champion is through to the Championship 4, having won the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Since the modern playoff format was introduced in 2014, the driver of the No. 22 Ford has never missed the Championship 4 in an even-numbered year.

To add to that, in the last four even-numbered years dating back to 2018, he has punched his Championship 4 ticket by winning the round of 8 opener every single time.

One weekend, he was eliminated. The next weekend, he is Championship 4-bound.

Make no mistake about it; it was a pretty clear-cut decision. Bowman's car didn't meet the minimum weight requirement. It would have been more controversial had NASCAR allowed the violation and let the result stand.

Bowman himself did nothing wrong, but the rulebook is the rulebook and needs to be applied equally to all drivers and teams.

Still, Logano ended up being the driver who benefited, simply by being the top (initially) eliminated driver. He entered the round of 8 as the lowest seeded driver and the biggest longshot to win the championship amid what has been his worst statistical season as a Team Penske driver.

Now he has two weeks to wait and see which three drivers will earn the right to join him in the Championship 4.

As a result, that post-race decision from Charlotte could ultimately allow Logano to become a three-time champion at Phoenix Raceway in a few weekends. No driver has won a third title since Tony Stewart did so in 2011.

It could also theoretically result in another driver not named Alex Bowman being eliminated.

Had Bowman advanced to the round of 8, Logano would have been out. Had Bowman advanced to the round of 8 and then not gotten to the Championship 4, four other drivers would have gotten to the Championship 4.

Now, thanks to Logano's inclusion and subsequent Championship 4-clinching Las Vegas win, whoever that fourth and final driver would have been will be on the outside looking in when the season finale rolls around.

The two remaining round of 8 races are scheduled to take place at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, October 27 and at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, November 3. Both are set to be shown live on NBC, as is the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 10. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!