NASCAR Barometer: Larson Perseveres to Win in Charlotte

Kyle Larson overcame early issues to claim his spot among the final eight playoff contenders with a win Sunday at the Charlotte ROVAL. The win was his third on a road course this season and seemed unlikely after early trouble put him behind the field. The team's quick action on pit road and Larson's quick lap times saw him carve through the field as he stormed forward and into Victory Lane. He joined Denny Hamlin as the only other playoff driver to advance in the playoff battle through a victory. Kevin Harvick, William Byron, Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell were all eliminated from the championship fight.

The final round of playoff eliminations kicks off this coming week at Texas Motor Speedway. These next three races will determine which four drivers will head to Phoenix with the chance to race for the title. Kyle Busch won at Texas last fall, while Larson won at the track earlier this year in the All Star Race. That was just one victory in his string of four consecutive wins through the summer.

UPGRADE

Kyle Larson – Larson grabbed his seventh victory of the season and became the first driver to win three road-course races in a single season. Sunday's victory at Charlotte also ensured he would enter the final round of championship eliminations in the top spot in the standings with a hefty points advantage to the rest of the championship contenders. The win wasn't easy, though. The team had to replace a battery and alternator belt but managed to stay on the lead lap. That perseverance turned a disastrous day into a triumph for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team. Larson now leads the field to Texas where he has three top-fives and four top-10s from 13 starts. He did not race at the track last season, but won the All Star Race there earlier this year.

Tyler Reddick – Reddick's skills on road courses were on full display Sunday at Charlotte. The Richard Childress Racing driver had already been eliminated from the playoffs at Bristol, but Sunday gave him an opportunity to demonstrate that he still had what it takes to contend. His runner-up finish came with no laps led and a bit of controversy, however. Late in the race while racing for position, he slid into the rear of Byron, which was one of the incidents that ended the Hendrick driver's playoff run. Reddick and RCR have made significant strides back to competitiveness the past two seasons, which means more could be in store for 2022. Up first is Texas, though, where Reddick was the runner-up last spring.

Chase Elliott – Despite getting pushed into the wall early in the race and heavily damaging the rear of his car, Elliott recovered to finish 12th and advance in the championship playoffs. The defending champion's day appeared to be over after getting hit from behind by Harvick, only for the team to make repairs on pit road, taping the rear of the car together and sending Elliott back on track to turn lap times equal to the top 10. That determination paid off, and Elliott avoided elimination from the championship battle. He will need a good start to the next playoff round at Texas, where he has five top-10s from 10 career starts. Elliott hasn't finished better than 12 in the last four races there but was third in this year's All Star Race.

Kyle Busch – After nearly crashing out of the playoffs, Busch now finds himself among the final eight contenders after a fourth-place finish at Charlotte. This was Busch's second top-five in the last five races. With three finishes outside of the top 20 in the last two rounds, his advancement wasn't without stress. Everything resets for the battle to be among the four championship contenders, however. Busch will start this final round of eliminations fifth in the standings, and heading to a track, he has four prior wins. His last Texas win came last fall when he led 90 laps. He also finished ninth in the All Star Race earlier this year. 

Chris Buescher – Despite not being one of the best known names when it comes to road-course races, Buescher showed what he was capable of in Sunday's race. The Roush Fenway Racing driver started 16th, but managed to aggressively claw his way up to the third-place spot to grab his first top-five finish of the season. Buescher even led one lap in what was one of his best performances of the season. To make things even better, he now looks ahead this week to Texas where he also finished third in this year's All Star Open Race. The Roush cars have been relatively quick on 1.5-mile ovals like Texas this season. Buescher's best Texas finish was 15th in 2018. He will head there this week with some momentum behind him, however.

DOWNGRADE

Kevin Harvick – Apparently the feud between Harvick and Elliott wasn't over in Harvick's mind. The veteran driver punted the No. 9 machine into the wall in an attempt to improve his own playoff chances. The move wasn't the end of the story, though. While Elliott persevered and advanced, Harvick overcooked a braking point and slid hard into the wall and out of the championship fight. It was the first time in the current championship format that Harvick failed to advance from the round of 12. There wasn't any remorse from either driver after the race either, and fantasy players should watch the pair the rest of the season. Up next is Texas where Harvick has three prior victories. He only finished 15th in the All Star Race there this year, however.

William Byron – Byron faced a must-win situation Sunday at Charlotte. He had the speed that enabled him to lead 30 laps, the most of any driver in the race, but couldn't recover after multiple off-track incidents late in the race saw him clamoring to regain position. A late spin was the final nail in the coffin of his playoff dreams and left him to finish 11th on a day when only a win mattered. While Sunday was a missed opportunity for Byron, fantasy players will have to remember how quick he has been on road courses this season. Too bad for him that Sunday's race was the last on a road course. At Texas his best finish is a 2019 sixth-place result. He has two top-10s from six career starts at the track.

Alex Bowman – Like his teammate, Bowman also faced a difficult task to advance in the playoffs Sunday. The N0. 48 didn't have the afternoon it needed to even make that a possibility, though. The trouble started early in the running as the car had low voltage. The team replaced a belt hoping to solve the issue, but Bowman spent the rest of the afternoon nursing his car as carefully as he could to the finish. He should be proud of the effort considering they finished 10th, but it wasn't what he needed to keep his championship hopes alive. Aside from helping his two teammates still in the championship battle, Bowman will now focus on wins. He finished sixth in the All Star Race and fifth at Texas last fall after leading 43 laps. 

Christopher Bell – Like those above, Bell also failed to advance in the championship fight after a difficult outing Sunday. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was penalized for speeding early. While working to overcome that penalty, he consistently complained about rear grip and admitted to making a number of mistakes as well. His eighth-place finish was his third top-10 in the last five races despite those problems, but it was not enough to get him through to the next round of playoff races. With the championship pressure off, he'll now return to Texas where he led five laps and finished third last fall. He finished 11th there earlier this season in the All Star Race.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Matt DiBenedetto – Last week's race at Talladega was likely to be DiBenedetto's best chance at a win before exiting Wood Brothers Racing at the end of the season. He continues to search for future employment in the series and did himself a nice favor in that hunt by picking up his ninth top-10 finish of the season with a sixth-place finish Sunday afternoon. DiBenedetto hasn't been known for his skills on road courses, but he made zero mistakes and took advantage of every opportunity ahead to score that impressive result. He will continue exhibiting his wares to potential employers this week, too. His best Texas finish came last fall when he finished eighth. He was 17th there in this year's All Star Race.