WINNERS
Hendrick Motorsports — Team went 1-2 for the second time this season with Chase Elliott winning Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and Alex Bowman placing second. All four of its cars finished in the top 10. Also, Hendrick had all three of its cars advance to the second round of the playoffs. Not bad after it came into the weekend with one driver below the cutoff line and another driver holding that final transfer spot.
Clint Bowyer — Raced into a playoff spot with a fourth-place finish that included a pair of third-place results in the first two stages worth an additional 16 points. Entered the race 14th, two spots out of a cutoff spot and safely made it to the second round.
Michael McDowell — The Front Row Motorsports driver passed a kidney stone Friday and then went on to finish 12th Sunday, his best result since placing fifth in the Daytona 500.
Fans — The Roval again provided chaos with 10 cautions, multiple twists and turns for the final transfer spot to the second round and a brouhaha between Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman during and after the race.
Mario Andretti — How cool was it to see one of the greatest drivers in racing history pace a NASCAR field?
I actually got tears in my eyes. It was a welcome beyond belief. I won't ever forget it. https://t.co/LMv8AYnEjP
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) September 29, 2019
LOSERS
Erik Jones — A mechanical failure, a disqualification and a DNF from an accident constituted his first round of the playoffs. The result is that for the second year in a row the Joe Gibbs Racing driver fails to advance to the second round. JGR’s other three drivers - Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin — all advanced to the next round.
Bubba Wallace — Not a good look in splashing liquid on a competitor who was being treated by a medic after the race and also spraying that person.
Johnny Klausmeier — Crew chief for Aric Almirola had his pit strategy backfire and it played a role in the team failing to advance in the playoffs. Klausmeier didn’t pit Almirola under caution on Lap 90 while many others did. Almirola struggled on the restart and lost the advantage he had. He pitted for tires on a caution at Lap 94 but was far back in the field and couldn’t gain enough ground, placing 14th and finishing five points out of the final playoff spot.
Ryan Newman — The Roush Fenway Racing team expected the Roval to be challenging since they had struggled on road courses this year but this was worse than expected. Newman fought the car throughout the race. He also stalled it on pit road and then missed a chicane in the final laps that assured that Newman would not advance in the second round of the playoffs. He entered the cutoff race 14 points ahead of the first driver outside a transfer spot. Newman ended the day 16 points out of the final transfer spot.
