Yesterday (11/3) was the final race of the 2024 Round of Eight in the NASCAR Playoffs. The Championship Four was set, but not without some drama and controversy.
The elimination race in the Round of Eight was the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick won the first two races in the Round of Eight to lock themselves into the Championship Four. The remaining six Playoff Drivers had to battle it out on the short track to determine who would get the final two spots.
It was an exciting race for both playoff contenders and non-playoff drivers. There were seven drivers that exchanged the lead 15 times during the race. Playoffs driver Chase Elliott was near the top of the laps led list with 129 laps on point. He was also the winner of Stage One of the race. Chase was only bested in laps led by non-playoff driver Brad Keselowski. Brad has a race high 170 laps as the leader and won stage two.
Throughout the race cars would battle for position all through the field. They were trying to be in the right spot with the right strategy to be able to challenge for the win at the end. The race was not without on track incidents. There were nine caution periods for crashes, spins and equipment issues on track.
I believe that playoff driver Ryan Blaney (who lost the previous week’s race coming out of turn four at Homestead-Miami Speedway) made the decision it was his week to win. Ryan raced forward to take the lead with 14 laps remaining. He then refused to let go of that lead and drove to victory and a spot in the Championship Four. The win is Ryan’s third of the season, first in the 2024 Playoffs, second at Martinsville (he won this race last year) and 13th career NASCAR Cup Series win. Taking a spot in the Championship Four by winning this race again allows him the chance to defend his 2023 Championship next week.
Playoff drivers Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson finished in second and third respectively. Both put on valiant efforts, but did not advance. See the complete race results for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway here.
The drama and controversy came on the last lap of the race and involved playoff drivers William Byron and Christopher Bell. The two drivers were battling for the final spot in the Championship Four. William finished in sixth place and was just one point ahead of Christopher for the final transfer spot. Christopher was a lap down. He made an out-of-control pass on Bubba Wallace to earn a point and tie William in points. Christopher held the tie breaker to advance in the Playoffs. However, Christopher’s kamikaze put him against the wall. He accelerated while still against the wall to finish the race. NASCAR determined that this was considered “riding the wall” which they outlawed after Ross Chastain did this in 2022 to advance in the playoffs. The determination moved Christopher back to a finish of 22nd and put him four points behind William at the end of the race.
All the drivers will head to Phoenix Raceway next week for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race. There will be only four that will be a part of the “winner takes all Championship” element of the race. Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and William Byron all know that whichever one of them that crosses the finish line first will be the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
By: Buck Stevens
