Alex Bowman climbed from his car following Sunday’s (Oct. 12) NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL thinking that he was through to the next round of the playoffs, only to have the rug pulled out from under him with a shocking disqualification after his No. 48 Chevrolet failed to meet minimum weight requirements.
His 18th-place finish was wiped off the board, and so were his title hopes. The points penalty from the DQ sunk him below the cut line, and Joey Logano was the lucky driver who took his place.
And after Monday’s (Oct. 14) news that Hendrick Motorsports would not appeal Bowman’s disqualification, the Round of 8 is set.
In the six seasons since NASCAR began disqualifying teams for failing post-race inspection, Bowman’s DQ marked the first time in all three series that a driver who was clear to the next round of the playoffs was eliminated on the spot.
Since 2019, there have been five disqualifications of championship-eligible drivers in the playoffs. Bowman’s DQ marked the first of a playoff Cup driver since Erik Jones at Richmond Raceway in 2019, and it also marked the second playoff driver DQ in as many weeks after Sam Mayer was disqualified from last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The other two DQs were Michael Annett in the 2020 Xfinity race at Talladega and Zane Smith in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
| Year | Series | Track | Driver | Round | Playoff Fate |
| 2019 | Cup | Richmond II | Erik Jones | R16 (Race 2) | Eliminated |
| 2020 | Xfinity | Talladega II | Michael Annett | R12 (Race 2) | Eliminated |
| 2023 | Trucks | Homestead | Zane Smith | R8 (Race 3) | Eliminated |
| 2024 | Xfinity | Talladega II | Sam Mayer | R12 (Race 2) | Advanced |
| 2024 | Cup | Charlotte (Road) | Alex Bowman | R12 (Race 3) | Eliminated |
Of the five drivers who handed a DQ in the middle of a playoff run, Mayer was the only one to advance to the next round thanks to a walk-off win in Saturday’s (Oct. 12) Xfinity race at the ROVAL (albeit under controversial circumstances).
The difference between Bowman’s DQ and the DQs for Jones, Annett and Mayer is that their DQs happened in the middle race of a playoff round. Those three still had a chance (even if it was a slim one) to advance to the next round, and one of them successfully did.
The DQs for Bowman and Smith were in the final race of a playoff round, meaning that the DQ decided their playoff destinies for them.
Ultimately, Smith’s Homestead DQ had zero impact on his…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …