Shane van Gisbergen wins NASCAR Cup race at Charlotte Roval

CONCORD, N.C. — Shane van Gisbergen earned his fifth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series road course win Sunday at the Charlotte Roval.

SVG’s tires held on, despite showing some smoke on the final lap, to allow him to enter elite company. He joins Jeff Gordon as the only drivers in the 77-year history of the series to earn five or more road course wins in a row.

“What an awesome race. Kyle and Christopher drove really awesome,” SVG said. “That was long time waiting, hoping the yellow wouldn’t come out.”

SVG won the first stage and regained control of the race after pit stops during the break for stage two. However, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, the two drivers who won before his streak began, fought hard to end his streak. Larson took the lead on lap 63 and maintained control until lap 94 when SVG bumped him coming back on to the oval. Larson fought back and led lap 95 but SVG was too good and Larson ultimately let him go.

Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, and Bell’s crew chief, Adam Stevens, pitted their drivers — but SVG’s crew chief, Stephen Doran, kept him out to run the final 18 laps on the same set of tires. It held on and SVG beat Larson and Bell.

Larson, who won last year at the Roval, finished second. Bell, who won in March at Circuit of the Americas, finished third.

Non-playoff drivers Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez finished fourth through seventh.

Playoff drivers Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick sandwiched A.J. Allmendinger to close out the top-10, with Elliott, Allmendinger and Reddick in eighth through 10th. Allmendinger earned a top-10 despite spinning on the final lap.

Reddick ultimately missed the Round of 8 by 12 points.

“It’s hard to say exactly [where things went wrong]. There was one restart early on where we lost spots but we just didn’t have the long run pace compared to Shane and really every other driver,” Reddick said. “We were only -12 to the cutline and we could’ve possibly chased points but it’s so hard to say at the start of the day. We went for it at the end of the race, hoping to gain spots but lost some. At the end of the day, it’s no big deal.”

Teammate Bubba Wallace also missed the round after a 15th-place finish Sunday. A week before at Kansas Speedway, Wallace was one corner away from advancing to the Round of 8 before team owner Denny Hamlin made contact that took him out of it.

Wallace remembered that after Sunday’s race at the Roval.

“Last week,” Wallace said, snuffing. “This tire threw me for a loop. It’s funny, you look at me, Denny, when tires degrade, we’re pretty good at saving tires. But him and I suck at road courses and can’t save tires. I just didn’t perform. This one sucks worse than last week. I really had high hopes for this year and it is what it is. I still have a lot of work to do but I gotta push for more.”

None of the 23XI Racing cars came as close to advancing as Ross Chastain did.

On the final lap, Chastain was one point ahead of Joey Logano to advance. Then, after Chastain had issues getting back on to the oval part of the course, Denny Hamlin passed him — giving Logano the final playoff spot.

In turns 16 and 17, Chastain charged in and spun Hamlin. However, he spun himself and ended his playoffs four points below the cutline.

Chastain ended up in that spot after missing the turn off of pit road and getting a speeding penalty — all of which cost him the positions he needed to advance.

“I’d restart the whole day (if I could go back). Trackhouse expects so much more out of me,” Chastain said. “It’s heartbreaking for our almost 200 employees that makes this go round… Justin hired me to carry this 1 car and be a leader and I completely unraveled it.”

While Logano made the Round of 8, teammate Austin Cindric did not. Cindric missed the round by 67 points after contact early in the race with Carson Hocevar broke his toe link.

“Once it’s over, it’s over. When you get the damage, go to the garage, you have to win. It’s the bed we made. I wish we could’ve had a fighting chance. It may be standard to say but I am exceptionally proud of my team for the obstacles we overcame. There was one time I was sitting in my car feeling sorry for myself and they come in, give me a cold bottle of water and replace the warm one and I felt like I was gonna cry. I wanna perform so well for my guys,” Cindric said.

Cindric finished 37th on the day, 22 laps down.

The Round of 8 begins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, next Sunday, Oct. 5. Here is the playoff standings heading into that race

NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings after Charlotte Roval

1. Denny Hamlin 4036 (+8 to the cutline)
2. Ryan Blaney 4034 (+6)
3. Kyle Larson 4032 (+4)
4. William Byron 4032 (+4)
5. Christopher Bell 4028 (-4)
6. Chase Briscoe 4018 (-14)
7. Chase Elliott 4018 (-14)
8. Joey Logano 4008 (-24)

Here is a live race update archive on the Bank of America Roval 400 NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at the Charlotte Roval.

Who are the NASCAR Cup stage winners at the Charlotte Roval?

Shane van Gisbergen won the first stage on lap 25. Then it’s Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Ty Dillon.

Ryan Blaney won the second stage on lap 50. Next it’s Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Shane Van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, and Cole Custer rounding out the top 10.

FINAL STAGE

FINISH: SVG wins the Roval over Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, and AJ Allmendinger who slide across the finish line in reverse!

Ross Chastain misses out on the round of 8 by 4 points after he sends it into the final corner hard spinning himself and Denny Hamlin. He proceeds the floor it in reverse to try and recover but his fate is sealed as he crosses the line behind Joey Logano!

LAP 108: Larson passes Bell as SVG takes the white flag.

LAP 107: The gap on the racetrack is too large ahead for Joey Logano to make up the spots in the playoff battle. Ross Chastain’s playoff hopes lie in his defensive abilities.

LAP 106: 3 to go. SVG is just cruising along and nursing his tires to the end. He runs now 17 seconds ahead of the battling Bell and Larson for 2nd.

LAP 105: Logano passes John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer to close the gap to 3. Logano holds the positional tie over Chastain in the round.

LAP 104: 5 to go. Shane Van Gisbergen maintains a whopping 20 second gap over 2nd place. Bell, Larson, Buescher, and McDowell run in the top 5.

The gap between Chastain and Logano sits at 5 points. Logano still has a few cars to run down on his newer tires.

LAP 103: Kyle Larson passes Chris Buescher for 3rd. If Shane Van Gisbergen decides to pit, he would come out behind Bell and Larson.

LAP 102. Ross Chastain has been told he has 8 points on Joey Logano. Phil Surgeon told Chastain “not coming down (pit road)”.

LAP 101: SVG reporting that his right rear “feels like its coming apart”. He was told to manage it.

LAP 100. SVG stretches his lead by another half second over Larson. Elliott passes Reddick for 8th as Joey Logano cycles out to 23rd. His playoff life his now in his own hands.

Kyle Larson pits from 2nd. He cycles out to 4th behind Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher.

LAP 99: 10 to go. As they run its Shane Van Gisbergen with at 1.5 second lead over Kyle Larson. Christopher Bell is in third after pitting. Then Buescher, McDowell, Preece, Suarez, Reddick, Elliott, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top 10.

LAP 97: Shane Van Gisbergen retakes the lead heading into the backstretch chicane! Kyle Larson concedes the spot. Meanwhile Chastain passes Logano in turn 7 but he is running out of time to make up the positions. Paul Wolfe tells his driver to pit and Joey Logano brings his car down accordingly.

LAP 96: Message sent by Kyle Larson. He sends SVG into turn one regaining the lead, allowing Bell to reclaim 2nd. Shane gets his 2nd place spot back at the end of the lap due to Christopher Bell pitting.

LAP 95: Shane Van Gisbergen goes for the lead into 7 as both he and Kyle Larson fight hard for the lead. Larson did not like his move into the hairpin and they both have continued contact through the rest of the lap.

LAP 94. 15 to go. The two stories to unfold in the final few laps. As they run, Chastain now sits 5 points back from Joey Logano for the final spot in the round of 8. The three car battle for the win all have one more stop remaining. Larson leads Van Gisbergen by a second and Bell by a further half second in third.

LAP 90: Brad Keselowski’s day gets worse. He pulls into an opening off the track and retires due to loss of power. SVG pulls his car into pit road and comes out behind Bell in third.

LAP 89: 20 to go as the sun starts to set.

LAP 88: Kyle Larson brings his car down pit road. Ross Chastain comes down pit road after he’s hit with a massive speeding penalty on pit road! That might just hand the final transfer spot to Joey Logano,

LAP 87: Christopher Bell told to “go hard” – They are committed to a three stop today. Chastain pits to cover his rival Joey Logano today.

LAP 86: Shane Van Gisbergen dives on Kyle Larson into turn 7 for the lead. Both still have yet to pit again. Joey Logano undercuts Chastain and pits.

LAP 84: 25 to go. Ross Chastain is currently running 9th, 6 spots ahead of Logano. Good for +2 on the playoff cutline as they run.

Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe start the next green flag pit cycle. Brad Keselowski’s stop was slow due to dropping the jack to early on the left side.

LAP 82: Some of the alternate pit strategy drivers are making their way to the pits as Tyler Reddick pits from the top 10 for his service.

LAP 81: Shane Van Gisbergen has found his way around Bell for 2nd again. Shane is around half a second faster than the leader Kyle Larson who is 2 seconds up the road.

LAP 79: 30 to go and the dust has settled from the previous pit cycle. Kyle Larson retains his lead, now over Christopher Bell by 3.7 seconds.

LAP 73: Shane Van Gisbergen now pits to cover Larson and Bell. He blends behind the both of them.

Ross Chastain and Joey Logano pit as well. Logano has an issue with the right front and loses some valuable time to Chastain in turn.

LAP 72: Larson pits from the lead giving way to SVG.

LAP 71: Shane Van Gisbergen retakes 2nd place from Christopher Bell from a late lunge into turn 7. He now chases Kyle Larson who is 2 seconds up the road.

LAP 69: The pit cycle picks up from a few cars sprinkled throughout the field.

LAP 66: 34 cars on the lead lap still. Kyle Busch, who is 8 laps down, is back out on the track and has sustained contact with Riley Herbst on the exit of the backstretch chicane which boils over on the frontstretch chicane with Busch sending Herbst into a spin.

LAP 63: Kyle Larson makes a daring move into turn 7 and completes the pass for the lead out of the backstretch chicane. Van Gisbergen falls to third after Christopher Bell capitalizes on the two battling in front of him.

SVG radio – “These tires have no grip early in the run”

LAP 62: After a swift repair to the tire barrier outside of turn 5 the field takes the green flag. 47 to go.

LAP 59: Bubba Wallace and William Byron pit with 50 to go. The top 10 prior to restart is SVG, Bell, Larson, Allmendinger, Buescher, McDowell, Suarez, Preece, Haley, and Briscoe

LAP 58: Caution – Austin Dillon gets punted in turn 5 and completely jumbles the tire barrier!

Riley Herbst and Ty Dillon come together in turn 7 right after the yellow flag. Herbst shows his displeasure down the backstretch by slamming into Dillon’s left door. Riley then cut his own left front tire in the process…

LAP 56: The final stage gets underway. SVG and the pack get through the infield without trouble as Christopher Bell clears Kyle Larson for 2nd.

Barring a new winner, Ross Chastain needs to finish 4 spots ahead of Joey Logano in order to clinch the 8th and final spot in the next round.

LAP 52: Blaney, Reddick, Elliott, Chastain and others pit to cycle the top 10 to be: Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, A.J. Allmendinger, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, Justin Haley and William Byron.

Points after stage two

1. Chase Elliott WIN
2. Ryan Blaney WIN
3. Kyle Larson IN
4. Christopher Bell IN
5. Denny Hamlin 3118 (+45)
6. William Byron 3112 (+29)
7. Chase Briscoe 3095 (+12)
8. Joey Logano 3086 (+3)
9. Ross Chastain 3083 (-3)
10. Tyler Reddick 3063 (-23)
11. Bubba Wallace 3057 (-29)
12. Austin Cindric 3035 (-53)

The final stage is 59 laps, ending on lap 109 — the final lap of the race.

STAGE TWO Winner: Ryan Blaney

STAGE TWO TOP 10 (LAP 50): Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Shane Van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, and Cole Custer

LAP 47: Planned stops to flip the stage are underway.

LAP 46: 5 to go in the stage. Van Gisbergen increases his lead over Kyle Larson to over 6 seconds. The top 10 is SVG, Larson, Bell, Suarez, Buescher, Blaney, McDowell, Preece, Allmendinger, and Reddick.

LAP 41: After leading 13 laps, AJ Allmendinger pits. Shane Van Gisbergen retakes the lead.

LAP 38: Ryan Blaney begins this round of green flag pit stops.

LAP 34: Hocevar serves his stop-and-go penalty on the backstretch chicane and brings his 77 machine to pit road with two flat front tires alongside a crabwalking Cindric. Cindric then brings his car behind the wall for repairs. All but killing his chances to advance to the next round.

Chase Briscoe received an icepack on the previous stop and is reporting that he is still feeling sick.

LAP 33: Huge lockup from Carson Hocevar into the final corner which spins out Austin Cindric. Cindric is able to continue, now with two bent control arms. Nothing seems to be going his way so far this afternoon.

LAP 30: Shane Van Gisbergen gain 5 spots in a single lap going from 11th to 6th.

Kyle Larson becomes mathematically locked into the Round of 8 due to his stage 1 finish.

LAP 27: 10 Cars stay out as AJ Allmendinger takes the lead. Ross Chastain locks up after his stop dropping him to 30th on the restart.

The second stage is 25 laps, ending on lap 50.

Points after stage one

1. Chase Elliott WIN
2. Ryan Blaney WIN
3. Kyle Larson 3133 (+57)
4. Christopher Bell 3121 (+45)
5. Denny Hamlin 3118 (+48)
6. William Byron 3112 (+36)
7. Chase Briscoe 3095 (+19)
8. Joey Logano 3083 (+7)
9. Ross Chastain 3076 (-7)
10. Bubba Wallace 3057 (-26)
11. Tyler Reddick 3054 (-29)
12. Austin Cindric 3035 (-48)

STAGE ONE Winner: Shane van Gisbergen

STAGE ONE TOP 10 (LAP 25): Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Ty Dillon.

LAP 22: Another round of pit stops is underway. Chris Buescher pits for the first time while others pit for the second time, including Ryan Blaney and A.J. Allmendinger. Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick also pit for the first time.

LAP 20: Chris Buescher leads after staying out on older tires but Shane van Gisbergen takes it on oval turn one. The top 10 is SVG, Buescher, Larson, Gibbs, Bell, Reddick, Chastain, McDowell, Blaney and Allmendinger.

The teams have 7 sets of fresh tires for the race plus their scuff set from Saturday’s on-track activities. Most leaders’ first pit stop for tires came on around lap 11-13 of the 109-lap race.

LAP 14: SVG, Larson, Allmendinger pit.

LAP 12: Pit stops begin. Doing the math yesterday, the tire falloff was enough that you could pit halfway through the stage and shuffle to be even with someone who may opt to not pit in the stage or even have an advantage on them.

LAP 10: Austin Cindric spins and drops to 36th — last car on the lead lap.

LAP 9: Austin Cindric misses the backstretch chicane and has to stop. Cindric is currently 53 points below the cutline and needs to win.

LAP 8: Tire wear is producing about 1-2 seconds of falloff so far. Top 10 is SVG, Larson, Reddick, Gibbs, Buescher, McDowell, Bell, Briscoe, Allmendinger and Chastain. Larson just took second from Reddick.

LAP 5: Shane van Gisbergen to the lead over Tyler Reddick. That is big for SVG’s teammate Ross Chastain who goes from -24 points to the cutline to -4 to it as they run.

LAP 3: Josh Berry and Cody Ware go off course after John Hunter Nemechek bumped Berry.

LAP 1: Kyle Busch is out of contention after crashing in turn two. What a disastrous season for Busch.

Tyler Reddick makes contact with Shane van Gisbergen as they led the field to the eighth Cup race at the Roval.

RACE START

Tyler Reddick and Shane van Gisbergen will start on the front row. Reddick needs to have a big points day and get some help or win to make the playoffs.

• Tyler Reddick beats SVG for Charlotte Roval pole

Riley Herbst and Erik Jones will start at the rear of the field. Here’s what to know for the race:

• USA, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• 109 laps / 248.52 miles
  • Stages: 25 / 50 / 109
• Average time of race: 3:00:03
• Pit road speed: 40 mph
• Caution vehicle speed: 45 mph
• Fuel Window: 38 laps

MORE:

• What Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin talked about after Kansas finish