Hendrick Motorsports has made the decision to accept the disqualification of Alex Bowman and the No. 48 team from the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400, following a failure to meet post-race weight requirements.
Prior to the disqualification, all four Hendrick Motorsport cars were safely positioned in the Round of 8 in the playoffs. However, this situation has altered Bowman’s and his team’s standings dramatically. Originally finishing 18th in Sunday’s race, the disqualification pushed Bowman to finish last in the 38-car field. This not only led to Bowman’s elimination from the playoffs but also allowed Joey Logano to secure the final transfer spot into the Round of 8.
The No. 48 car was part of the standard post-race inspections conducted by NASCAR. Eleven cars, including all Playoff contenders, were examined after the race. The No. 48 car was found to be too light, missing the permissible weight margins set by NASCAR. Despite efforts to rectify the situation by refilling the car’s fuel and topping up the cooling system, the results remained unchanged.
Hendrick Motorsports released a statement on Monday, confirming their decision and expressing regret over the incident. The statement reads:
Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, walks the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 06, 2024 in Talladega, Alabama. Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal Alex Bowman’s disqualification.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
“Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 48 car following Sunday’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL.
“NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight. After a thorough review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement. Although unintentional, the infraction was avoidable. We are extremely disappointed to lose a Playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and partners.”
Hendrick won’t appeal the Bowman disqualification. They said they didn’t give themselves enough of a margin to meet the postrace standards (no explanation on how the car lost the weight). Team statement: pic.twitter.com/pPtbeKVloZ
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 14, 2024
The remaining drivers in the playoffs are Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano.
The Round of 8 kicks off with the South Point 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, scheduled for Sunday, October 20.
NASCAR Cup Series: Current Standings
- Kyle Larson – 4052 points
- Christopher Bell – 4032 points
- Tyler Reddick – 4029 points
- William Byron – 4023 points
- Ryan Blaney – 4019 points
- Denny Hamlin – 4015 points
- Chase Elliott – 4014 points
- Joey Logano – 4012 points
- Alex Bowman – 2195 points
- Austin Cindric – 2174 points
- Ty Gibbs – 2150 points
- Martin Truex Jr – 2146 points
- Daniel Suárez – 2127 points
- Brad Keselowski – 2120 points
- Chase Briscoe – 2110 points
- Harrison Burton – 2065 points
- Chris Buescher – 830 points
- Bubba Wallace – 824 points
- Ross Chastain – 821 points
- Kyle Busch – 711 points
- Carson Hocevar – 604 points
- Todd Gilliland – 579 points
- Michael McDowell – 574 points
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr – 543 points
- Noah Gragson – 522 points
- Ryan Preece – 507 points
- Josh Berry – 506 points
- Austin Dillon – 483 points
- Zane Smith – 460 points
- Justin Haley – 459 points
- Corey LaJoie – 457 points
- Erik Jones – 456 points
- Daniel Hemric – 455 points
- John H. Nemechek – 395 points
- Kaz Grala – 188 points
- Cody Ware – 130 points
- Joey Hand – 43 points
- Jimmie Johnson – 40 points
- Derek Kraus – 32 points
- David Ragan – 17 points
- Kamui Kobayashi – 8 points
- Will Brown – 6 points
- Juan Pablo Montoya – 5 points
- Cam Waters – 2 points
