ROVAL Ringer - Larson Wins Sixth Race of 2024

Bank of America ROVAL 400:

Kyle Larson took home his sixth win of the 2024 campaign on Sunday afternoon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. The win adds five more playoff points to the bank for Larson headed into the Round of 8, and puts his stamp on being the favorite to punch their ticket to the Championship 4. Larson was also able to complete the family of celebrations as daughter Aubrey joined her dad on the track to celebrate on top of the car and capture the checkered flag for the ride back to victory lane.

Larson dominated the day by leading 62 of 109 laps and was a top 5 car all day. I'm not sure why this was shocking to me as he was not on my radar to win the race. Silly me. Anyway, aside from the clinic that Larson put on Sunday afternoon, I thought the race was a solid one. I would give it an 8/10 and voted "Yes" on Jeff Gluck's "Good Race Poll." Sure, it was as chaotic as we may have expected with the configuration changes, and turn 7 did not live up to the hype of calamity corner as I had initially expected. But it was still compelling with the playoff bubble and drivers on different strategies moving up and down the running order as their strategy dictated. And we did have enough on track issues and collisions to keep the race tense with a few crucial restarts throughout the day. But thankfully it did not result in anything wild, stupid, or clustery with drivers and teams doing too much with too little. It was a good ole fashioned road course race that provided enough entertainment and storylines throughout the day to put on a decent show for the fans in the stands and those of us at home on TV.

The last run was especially compelling with the differing strategies and late-ish caution of the #3 car's wheel falling off in the infield portion of the track. I was pretty on edge anyway at that point, especially with Logano and Reddick hovering the cutline and this doesn't include Hamlin or others who one little issue could have taken them out of the round of 8, too. But this last sprint to the finish set up to be perfect run to the flag and didn't divulge into the madness we have seen in the past at the ROVAL or like earlier this year at Nashville. The differing strategies with some good cars buried, with Reddick on fresh Goodyear tires to make a charge to the front to get back in the top 8, and with Kyle Larson driving away the last run was, to me, perfection in the end of a race. Any mistake, any mishap, or even any late caution was sure to throw another wrench in the end of the race. But alas, nothing else happened and we were gifted with a thrilling battle to the checkered flag with playoff and championship hopes at stake for 2024.

At this point in the race I was not at all shocked to see Larson pull away and cruise to the win. What I was shocked by was Reddick's charge to the front and just enough to make up the points needed to advance to the next round. And I was more shocked by Hamlin hanging on to his spot in the playoffs, too. I think Kyle Busch saved him a bit by not pushing the envelope and putting the #11 car in a tight spot. But what shocked me the most was the #48 car failing post-race inspection thus eliminating him from the playoffs and adding Logano back into the Round of 8. Of course, I expect Hendrick to appeal (and maybe even win), so more to come on that later in the week. All in all, I think we got the best of what NASCAR has to offer. Which was needed after some chaotic weeks from the NASCAR officials and front office (aside from the cluster that was the end of the Xfinity race). Onto Vegas!

Next up is the start of the round of 8 for the Xfinity and Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Craftsman Truck Series has the weekend off. The Xfinity Series gets the weekend started on Saturday afternoon on The CW at 7 p.m. EST with the Ambetter Health 302. The Cup Series headlines the Vegas show on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. EST on NBC with the South Point 400!

Las Vegas Picks:

Cup = Truex Jr

Xfinity = Creed

Trucks = Off

Header Photo: Tyson Gifford, Racing America