A yellow flag for oil on the race track on the final lap of Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval led to some confusion regarding who exactly finished where.
Given the fact that the Blue Cross NC 250 was the round of 12 finale, it also led to some confusion regarding who advanced to the round of 8 and who didn't, especially since the field was so closely packed together following the restart one lap prior.
The big question, of course, surrounded the eighth and final transfer spot and the battle between JR Motorsports' Sammy Smith and Joe Gibbs Racing's Taylor Gray.
NASCAR needs post-race review to determine playoff elimination
With Smith third, NASCAR determined that Gray finished 13th. Smith also scored 16 stage points earlier in the race while Gray didn't score any, so this determination meant that Smith had advanced and Gray didn't.
Joining Gray on the outside looking in were Big Machine Racing's Nick Sanchez, Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill, and AM Racing's Harrison Burton, who finished the 68-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.32-mile (3.734-kilometer) Concord, North Carolina track in ninth, 28th, and 34th place, respectively.
Smith is in. Gray Hill Sanchez Burton are out. https://t.co/OsbZVbl34i
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 4, 2025
Smith officially ended up one point ahead of Gray. Had they tied, Smith still would have advanced over Gray due to the tiebreaker, since his best round of 12 finish of third was better than Gray's top effort of sixth at Kansas Speedway, so Gray needed to finish 11th or better to advance. He came up two spots short.
Gray had started the race siting fifth in the playoff standings, 16 points above the round of 8 cut line, while Smith was 12th (last) and overcame a 14-point deficit to move on.
Sanchez, Hill, and Burton all started the race below the cut line and remained there.
Hill would have advanced instead of Smith had he not gotten himself suspended for hooking Aric Almirola in the right rear at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, as NASCAR stripped him of the 27 playoff points he had earned during the regular season after he missed the following weekend's race at Iowa Speedway. He finished the round of 12 just 21 points below the cut line.
Live coverage of the Focused Health 302 is set to be provided by the CW Network from Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 11. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the action from the round of 8 opener!