CONCORD, N.C. — Rick Hendrick rejoiced Sunday night in the aftermath of all four of his drivers advancing to the semifinal round of NASCAR’s Cup Series playoffs. It marked the first time Hendrick Motorsports placed four drivers in the eight-driver bracket, fulfilling a team-wide goal that had been set for the organization prior to the playoffs.
Hendrick even allowed himself to ponder the possibility of seeing multiple of his drivers qualifying for the four-driver championship finale, maybe even as many as three — something Hendrick Motorsports has not done previously.
The euphoria proved to be short-lived.
Not long after Hendrick celebrated Kyle Larson winning Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, and teammates William Byron, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman each also moving on in the playoffs, NASCAR announced that Bowman was disqualified after his car failed post-race inspection.
Bowman’s car did not meet the minimum weight requirement, officials determined. As such, Bowman was stripped of his 18th-place finish and lost the points he accumulated. The deduction meant he failed to advance by 20 points, with Joey Logano moving back into the playoffs.
NASCAR took Bowman’s No. 48 car back to its R&D center for further inspection.
“Unfortunately, the 48 had an issue, did not meet minimum weight,” said Brad Moran, Cup Series managing director. “We give them the opportunity to fuel the car as well as purge the water system and add water. So we give them every opportunity to make minimum weight and we run them back through (inspection). Unfortunately, they were light, again.”
Hendrick can appeal the penalty. A team decision on whether or not to appeal will be made Monday, the team said on social media. Should the team decide to appeal, the hearing would be held later in the week prior to next Sunday’s playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“We are working to understand the issue and will make a decision Monday about whether to submit an appeal,” the statement said.
Bowman’s disqualification sullies Hendrick’s otherwise banner day. Larson won his series-best sixth race of the season, while Byron finished third, Elliott fifth and Bowman won the second stage. This had Hendrick feeling confident heading into the semifinal round featuring three tracks — Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway — where his team is often at its best.
“As the field gets down to eight, you’ve got a good shot at getting someone, hopefully more than one, in the final four,” Hendrick said. “Right now, I think we’re running good enough to get — I won’t say we’re going to be lucky enough (to) get to all four in the final four, that would be an ideal thing if we could do that. But as long as we can show up and be good every week and hopefully have better luck than bad luck, then that’s our job.”
The disqualification ends what had been a promising playoff run for Bowman after an up-and-down regular season. He scored the most points in Round 1 and the fourth-most in Round 2, before the disqualification.
During Larson’s victory news conference, Hendrick was asked about the uptick in Bowman’s performance. The team owner attributed the improvement to Bowman being healthy after breaking his back in a crash last year and better chemistry with crew chief Blake Harris.
“Blake and Alex have gelled. Alex is healthy. He’s confident,” Hendrick said. “You can’t drive one of these cars hurt. I mean, you can, but it takes 100 percent every lap.
“So I think Alex is just having an opportunity to be healed up, feeling good. He and Blake are clicking. I think that’s been the secret there. I mean, I wish he hadn’t gotten hurt, I think we would be way ahead. Now they’re in a stride, and he’s doing a heck of a job. Every racetrack he’s doing a good job.”
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(Photo: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
