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Charlotte Roval delivered once again. Talk about Hail Mary attempts from the drivers in the bottom four or beating and banging up front for the lead, this race had it all. While there was despair and elation for two sets of drivers, perhaps Denny Hamlin was the one who fumbled big time. Let us unpack the drama and the action from the Bank of America Roval 400.

Stage 1: The chaos started on the very first lap, with Kyle Busch forced to make repairs. But once everyone settled into their spots, SVG made a pass for the lead on Tyler Reddick and went on to win the first stage.

Stage 2: Bump and run became more of a theme in the second stage, and Austin Cindric found himself on the receiving end. With different teams trying different tire strategies, Ryan Blaney was able to capitalize with a stage win.

Stage 3: Although it looked like Kyle Larson would repeat history, the Kiwi speedster once again mounted a late charge and cruised to yet another road course victory.

This was SVG’s fifth win in a row on a road course, and it is fair to say that he is in a league of his own at such tracks. While this was a big boost for the entire Trackhouse Racing team, this win was just a small part of the story. The race wasn’t over with the #88 crossing the start-finish line, as the playoff grid for the Round of 8 was yet to be decided.

A single point separated Ross Chastain and Joey Logano, and they were running two different battles to reach the same goal. Chastain was trying his best to gain one position with an overtake, while Logano was throwing blocks, desperately defending his position. In the case of a tiebreaker, the Penske driver had the advantage, so the onus was on Chastain to make a move. And he did.

Coming off the final corner, Chastain had to clear Denny Hamlin. The Trackhouse Racing driver didn’t lift his foot off the gas and just rammed straight into the #11 Toyota Camry. It wasn’t the outcome Chastain was looking for, but what he did next reminded everyone of his Hail-Melon moment. He didn’t give up, and seeing the start-finish line, he put his race car in reverse. Despite the heroics, he lost four spots and even saw Logano go past him.

It was a rare sight to see two drivers come oh so close to their objective, but only one of them crossed the finish line in time. Here, have a look at the dramatic end to the race in case you missed it. Call it luck, a gamble, or the playoffs working in favor of Team Penske — Logano once again pulled through and was able to survive the scare.

Alongside Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, and Tyler Reddick also saw their championship dreams derail after the checkered flag waved at Roval. With the points reset, there’s not a lot separating the drivers; one bad or one good race could overturn their fortunes.

Just three more races, and the four best drivers of the 2025 season will be within touching distance of the Bill France Trophy. Eight drivers and three races, and there is a possibility of a non-playoff driver winning these races. So once again, points will be part of the conversation, and we now have a better picture after frantic action at Roval.

A 23rd-place finish at Roval isn’t the best result for a playoff driver, but despite this mid-pack run, Hamlin is the driver with some buffer. He sits at the top with +8, whereas Ryan Blaney is +2 right behind him. The HMS pair of Kyle Larson and William Byron make up the top four with +4 to their names.

Larson had a shot to perhaps open a bigger points gap with a win. Things got pretty intense in his battle against SVG with 14 laps to go. The Kiwi driver was done playing nice, and he used his bumper to squeeze Larson off the lead while coming off the final corner. This battle was the deciding factor, and credit to both drivers as, despite the constant bumps and shoves, they didn’t wreck each other out. Here, watch the two best road course racers in action, going all out for a win.

It’s worth noting that last year Larson missed out on those 15 bonus points after conceding the regular-season title to Reddick. So this could be something that comes back to haunt him deep in the Round of 8. Christopher Bell finished third, but he still finds himself in the drop zone with a deficit of 4 points.

Things get pretty dicey from here on out, as Chase Elliott is basically playing catch-up, placed 6th in the standings. Covering a 14-point gap against his rival is going to be an uphill climb, and the same can be said for Chase Briscoe. Gone are the days of the regular season; nothing but stage wins and race wins will do the job for him.

In the very last spot, we have Joey Logano, who has the biggest uphill climb of all the top 8 drivers. He got lucky twice at Roval, but the defending champion will need more than that to overcome a 24-point deficit.

Continue Reading: Justin Marks Defends Hamlin After Roval Finish Ends Chastain’s Championship Bid

Denny Hamlin might not have been in a position to win last Sunday, but he sure had the power to decide the fate of two playoff drivers. At this stage of the season, it is understood that teams relay all the necessary information to their drivers. But in Hamlin’s case, he had no clue about the tiebreaker situation between Ross Chastain and Joey Logano.

“I wasn’t aware (of the playoff situation). I definitely wish I was aware, but nobody told me. I never saw (Joey Logano) that last run, and I saw (Ross Chastain) fading, but I assumed if it was close, someone would have let me know. Obviously, I was the guy in the way,” Hamlin said after the race.

Believe it or not, Chastain could’ve avoided the last-lap drama had he executed his race well. Not one but two blunders on pit road saw him crash out of the playoffs. He couldn’t steer his car while coming to the exit of pit road and lost a ton of spots. As if things couldn’t get any worse, he had to deal with a pass-through penalty after speeding on pit road.

For Chastain, neither Hamlin nor Logano spoiled his chance of advancing in the playoffs, it was his mistakes. He sounded heartbroken in his post-race interview and also explained his troubles on pit road.

The 2025 season has been tough on Tyler Reddick. From racing for a championship last year, he’s now been knocked out of the playoffs after the Round of 12. He had the pole position to his name to start the weekend, but he couldn’t find himself up front battling for the lead.

“Stage three there, we didn’t make the progress that we needed to, so we kind of went long there, hoping for a caution there, and lost a lot of spots, but at the end of the day, we were trying to set ourselves up for a caution late,” Reddick explained. The caution didn’t come, and while the #45 team showed some spirit, it wasn’t enough to see them through.

Continue Reading: 23XI Racing Driver Disqualified Post Charlotte Inspection

For one reason or another, Denny Hamlin just can’t keep himself out of the headlines. This time it wasn’t for putting his Toyota teammate in the wall but for allowing his title rival to advance to the next round. Let’s be real, it is in Hamlin’s best interest if he doesn’t have to face a Penske Ford in the championship race at Phoenix.

Hamlin had little communication with his team on the radio over the playoff scenario, and let’s just say he expected his team to relay that information. The veteran driver didn’t explicitly tell reporters that he would’ve let Chastain through, knowing that it would knock Logano out of the title race.

Hamlin was visibly frustrated when he got out of his car and talked to his crew chief, Chris Gayle. While he remained tight-lipped in front of the cameras, he confessed he wouldn’t have passed Chastain on the last lap. Take a look at this unfiltered video of Hamlin discussing the last lap with Gayle.

Let’s not forget that Hamlin and Chastain have a little history together, but the JGR driver pulled Chastain aside from the crowd of reporters to explain something. The details of that conversation haven’t been made public yet, but one can assume what the conversation would’ve been like.

Well, Logano couldn’t care less about what happened between his two rivals. He was busy cherishing the moment and even threw jabs at his haters for his support of the playoff format. Watch him smile in elation as the boos ring down from the grandstands.

Only time will tell whether Hamlin’s decision will come back to bite him late in the playoffs. But as things stand, Joey Logano is still alive in the title chase and can be a factor if he wins either at Vegas or Talladega.

Continue Reading: Shane van Gisbergen Inches Closer to Jeff Gordon’s Racing Legacy