NASCAR Playoffs: Bank of America Roval 400 top moments from CMS

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 concludes Sunday with the Bank of America Roval 400 in Concord, North Carolina.

It is the sixth race of a 10-week stretch of competition that ends in Arizona in November, when just four drivers will compete in the highly anticipated NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway.

The 12 drivers who were part of the playoff field in Sunday’s race included Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Daniel Suárez, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman (out due to injury). The four drivers eliminated after the conclusion of the Round of 16 competition in Bristol were Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.

Related: NASCAR elimination scenarios: What each driver needs to advance at Charlotte

Here are the top moments from Charlotte Motor Speedway:

Setting the stage

A major topic of discussion at Roval was safety. Sunday was the first time in over 20 years that three full-time drivers — Bowman and Kurt Busch (concussion) and Cody Ware (foot) — were out of action due to injury.

Related: NASCAR meets with drivers to address safety concerns changes for 2023

Elimination Day is here

Chastain, who opted to repair his car instead of going to a backup car after his crash in Saturday’s qualifier, started to the rear of the field in Sunday’s race due to unapproved adjustments his team made after qualifying.

On Thursday, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel overturned a 25-point penalty assessed to Byron for spinning out Hamlin under caution at Texas. Heading into Sunday’s race, Byron is 14 points above the cut line, while Briscoe and Cindric are 12 points below the cut line and Bell is in a must-win situation.

Related: William Byron wins NASCAR appeal, regains playoff points

Related: Christopher Bell, in breakout season, facing must-win at Charlotte road course

Green!

UNC men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis gave the command for drivers to start their engines. 

Logano was the pole winner and Sunday’s early leader.

Off to the races

Things got heated early, as drivers tried to find a rhythm on the intricate road course.

Related: Ryan Blaney hoping for smooth sailing at Charlotte after bumpy playoffs

Playing for points

Byron caught Logano with five laps to go in the first stage, but the pole-sitter was able to secure the win in Stage 1 and picked up a playoff point in the process.

Battling early

AJ Allmendinger and Reddick were neck and neck as the second stage got underway, battling for the top spot.

Allmendinger took the lead coming out of the infield, and Justin Haley was quick to pressure Reddick for second. Allmendinger went on to open up a 1.1 second lead on Reddick halfway through Stage 2.

Elsewhere, Logano had fallen back to 22nd and Daniil Kvyat‘s race ended early due to engine failure.

Bumper cars

Corey LaJoie and Noah Gragson ended up running each other into the chicane after getting into it on the backstretch.

Star power

Allmendinger, who held the lead since Lap 31, continued his dominant performance in Stage 2 despite reporting that his car was getting stuck in second gear.

It was the first time he has led over 10 laps in a Cup Series race since he led 20 at Sonoma in 2016.

Chastain went on to pick up the Stage 2 win after Allmendinger pitted from the race lead.

Stay tuned for updates.