By Seth Eggert, Associate Editor
CONCORD, N.C. – When the checkered flag waved at the end of the Bank of America ROVAL 400, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers had made the Round of 8 for the first time, until post-race technical inspection. Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 did not meet the NASCAR Cup Series minimum weight requirement and was disqualified.
Bowman had initially finished the race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 18th. The Stage points he earned, along with the Stage 2 win were taken away from the Tucson, AZ native. Bowman had an eventful day, launching off the ‘turtles’ in the frontstretch chicane, shredding parts and pieces. Despite that, he initially crossed the line in 18th, sixth before the points reset and disqualification.
“It’s hard to be pumped after running 18th at, what I would say, is one of my better or best racetracks,” Bowman said post-race, prior to the disqualification. “But at the same time, it feels really good to have all four Hendrick Motorsports Chevy’s make the Round of Eight. It’s really cool for Ally to get them this far. We’re going to keep on digging.”
All cars post-race were run over the scales with the top-five finishers and final car into the Playoffs getting more scrutiny. When Bowman’s car was moved onto the scales, officials noted that it did not meet the minimum weight.
NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran explained the process that officials and the No. 48 team went through to determine that it had indeed failed post-race inspection.
“As we were running through (post-race inspection), we had an issue and the [No.] 48 did not meet minimum weight,” Moran explained to reporters post-race. “We put the car to the side and carried on. We gave (Hendrick Motorsports) the opportunity to fuel the car as well as purge the water system and add water. We gave them every opportunity to make minimum weight. We ran them back through and unfortunately, they were light again.
“They are allowed a (.5%) weight break for usage of fluids and so on. That’s about 17 lbs. We backed the car off the scales, ran it back on, and unfortunately it was the same weight.”
With Bowman’s disqualification, Joey Logano moves back into the Round of 8 in the driver’s championship. The 23XI Racing No. 45 moves back into the Owners’ Playoffs. Bowman’s disqualification is the first for a Cup Series Playoff driver since Erik Jones at Richmond Raceway in 2019.