NASCAR at Charlotte results: Kyle Larson clinches spot in Round of 8 with chaotic Roval 400 win

Dani Mohr

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NASCAR at Charlotte results: Kyle Larson clinches spot in Round of 8 with chaotic Roval 400 win image

Kyle Larson will advance in the NASCAR playoffs after a chaotic Rovel 400 race. 

The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the win by surprise in the chaotic road race in Charlotte after suffering an issue with his alternator belt early in the second stage. Larson was fighting against Kevin Harvick for a spot above the cutline throughout the stage but wasn't secure until after Chase Elliott's crash.

The crash, which was forced by Harvick, caused damage to Elliott's bumper and it eventually flew onto the course. The crash was reportedly payback for a dispute between the two from the Round of 16 race at Bristol. Harvick later suffered a crash that would abruptly end his chance at clinching a playoff spot.

Following the caution, Brad Keselowski spun out onto the grass to lose his position above the cutline as Larson snuck his way to the front of the pack. Hamlin led into the green flag as William Byron and Larson fought for second. Larson took the lead from Hamlin with about four laps remaining and extended a lead over Byron. On the final lap, Byron lost his position to Chris Buescher as he went into the grass and spun out. 

Drivers who will advance to the Round of 8 include Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr.. Kevin Harvick won't advance after the Round of 12 for the first time in his career. 

The Round of 8 will begin with the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500. The race will be held at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth next Sunday. 

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NASCAR at Charlotte results, highlights from ROVAL 400

All times Eastern.

5:45:  Kyle Larson heads past the checkered line to advance further in the playoffs and win his seventh race of the season. 

5:43:  Byron goes onto the grass and into the wall with two laps to go. Buescher takes third and trails Larson by nine seconds going into the final lap. 

5:40 : Truex Jr. spins out in the back of the pack, risking his playoff standings. 

5:37:  Larson stretches away from Reddick and has a two-second lead over Byron with four laps to go. 

5:35:  Byron makes his way up to third as Chris Buescher aggressively presses Hamlin on the corner. 

5:33:  Larson takes the lead from Hamlin as he passes from the inside. Hamlin falls to third as Reddick stretches ahead. 

5:29:  Caution is brought out with 10 laps to go. Keselowski is in the final spot above the cutline.

5:26:  Harvick misses the corner on turn one and crashes into the wall.   Harvick is out of his car as his hood is up in flames. The crash ends his chances at clinching a playoff spot as he falls far below the cutline. 

5:25:  Larson gets inside of Reddick and fights for second. 

5:23:  Kurt Busch is forced onto the grass as he misses the chicane. Reddick passes Larson to put pressure on Hamlin. 

5:20:  Hamlin takes the lead following the green flag with 14 to go. Larson pressures his bumper on turn six. Hamlin gets the advantage following the chicane.  

5:14:  Caution for debris is brought out following the wreck. 

5:11: Byron gets contacted in the rear, forcing him to miss the chicane and push him back to the 11th position with 18 to go. 

5:10:  Keselowski spins out and is stopped on the track after a rear tire rub. He is forced back to ninth in playoff standings following the chicane. 

5:08:  Hamlin leads the pack into the green flag followed by Reddick. Larson is battling Byron for third.

5:04:  Bowman is forced to the rear after speeding on pit road. 

5:00:  Elliott's bumper breaks loose and caution is brought out with 23 to go. Keselowski is five points ahead of the cutline while Harvick is five points below. 

4:56:  Elliott's bumper flails behind him after the repair cover breaks. He reports a left rear tire rub with 26 to go.

4:52:  Hamlin hands the lead to Byron as he heads to pit road. Hamlin falls back to eighth following the pit stop.

4:48:  Denny Hamlin takes the lead after Buescher heads to pit road. DiBenedetto trails by nine seconds, followed by Byron. Harvick is two points above cutline while Elliott is two points below after the pit stop. 

4:45: Byron leads onto pit road. Kurt Busch takes the lead followed by Chris Buescher and Denny Hamlin. 

4:40:  Byron holds a two-second lead ahead of Reddick with 35 laps remaining. 

4:34: Elliott confirms he is losing about a second a lap and is running at the 33rd position, 11 points below the cutline with 39 to go. 

4:30:  Denny Hamlin drops to sixth after missing the backstretch chicane. 

4:25:  Larson gets past Busch at 18th making his way back into the pack. 

4:20:  Elliott reports a tire rub in turns three ad four. He's at 36th on lap 62 of 109. 

4:17:  Allmendinger goes to the side and falls to the rear. He heads to pit road and determines his car has an engine failure, which prohibits him from continuing the race. Elliott is attempting to meet minimum speed. 

4:12:  Elliott falls below the cutline as he heads onto pit road to assess the damage. Harvick appears to have some damage on the front of his car.

4:10:  Chase Elliott suffers severe damage to his track bar following contact from Harvick that sent him into the wall. Cole Custer was caught in the path and spun out onto the grass. Joey Logano escaped unscathed. 

4:09:  William Byron leads to start the third stage followed by Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin. 

3:57:  Elliott creeps up past Harvick at second. Kyle Busch clinches a win in the second stage. 

3:56:  Larson gets back up to seventh, and lands above the cutline on the final lap. Harvick falls below the cutline.

3:54:  Busch leads onto pit road with three laps to go in the second stage. Several cars follow and crowd pit road.

3:38:  Christopher Bell turns too far wide and goes off-track in Turn 6.  

3:36:  Larson falls below the cutline with 13 laps remaining in the second stage. He fighting to keep his position in the middle of the pack while dealing with an alternator belt issue.

3:34:  Kyle Busch takes the lead followed by Harvick and Byron coming off the caution. 

3:32:  Larson and Alex Bowman will head to pit road for a battery change. Bowman gets his tires changed and goes green after his crew chief advises for the battery change at the end of the second stage. Larson had his battery changed, but his crew couldn't fix an issue with the alternator belt.

3:28:  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pushes Chase Briscoe, and causes him to spin out on the front stretch. Caution is brought out as he gets going again. 

3:26: Kyle Larson clears Allmendinger and Harvick at third. 

3:20:  Kyle Busch takes the lead coming off the first stage followed by William Byron. Kevin Harvick battles Allmendinger for third.

3:12:  Elliott clears Allmendinger and takes a victory in the first stage. 

3:11: Blaney and Elliott close in on Allmendinger, who holds the lead going into the final lap. 

3:10:  Ryan Preece spins and goes up against the wall. Following evaluation, he can continue. 

3:08:  Allmendinger and Blaney fight for the lead coming off the caution. 

3:05:  Denny Hamlin gets a penalty for speeding on pit road that forces him to start at the tail end of the field with four laps to go in the first stage. 

2:59:  Ryan Newman suffers a tire issue that causes him to spin and crash into the wall, just missing Keselowski. After returning to pit road, he is confirmed out for the day. 

2:56:  Blaney, Logano, and Elliott extend their lead from the pack with eight laps to go in the first stage. 

2:53:  Keselowski is pushed by Alex Bowman and spins out. He's able to get going again from the back. 

2:49:  Ryan Blaney takes the lead coming off the caution. Joey Logano and Chase Elliott fight for second in the pack.  

2:44:  Joey Logano takes the lead during caution followed by Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. 

2:42:  Bell gets a penalty for speeding on pit road. 

2:41:  Christopher Bell comes into pit road early for tires with no fuel. Hamlin leads the pack into pit road ahead of the competition caution. 

2:38:  Almirola takes a hit and goes for a minor spin, but goes to the back of the pack. 

2:32:  Denny Hamlin takes an early lead. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski battle for second. 

2:30:  The Roval 400 race is underway. 

2:20:  Engines are fired ahead of the green flag.

2:10:  The flyover kicks off the starting procedures at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

1:45:  Drivers are being introduced ahead of this afternoon's race. Here's one of the most popular in Charlotte.

1:30:  NASCAR confirms that Garrett Smithley is headed to the rear after multiple tech failures. 

NASCAR start time today

  • Time:  2 p.m. ET 
  • TV channel:  NBC
  • Live stream:  NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App, fuboTV

The green flag for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is scheduled to drop at 2:30 p.m. ET. 

How to watch NASCAR at Charlotte

  • TV channel: NBC
  • Live stream:  NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App, fuboTV
  • Radio: PRN

NBC's programming will begin at 1 p.m. ET with the network's "Countdown to Green" prerace show, hosted by Marty Snider with analysts Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett. Rick Allen will handle the play-by-play call of the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte will provide analysis.

Snider, Dave Burns and Parker Kligerman will be the pit reporters. Rutledge Wood will provide additional reporting during the race.

NASCAR Cup playoff standings

Denny Hamlin moved into the lead in the standings with a seventh-place finish at Talladega. He passed Kyle Larson, who dropped to second after a 37th-place finish brought on by a wreck. Larson also lost a lot of his cushion between his place and the playoff cut line. He'll enter Sunday 22 points ahead of ninth-place driver Kevin Harvick.

The playoff bubble has a lot of pressure on it after Talladega. The difference between sixth place (Ryan Blaney) and ninth (Harvick) is just 15 points. Between the bunched standings, the fact that 11 of the 12 drivers are still fighting for a Round of 8 spot and the Roval's history of wrecks, Sunday promises more chaos before NASCAR reduces the playoff field by four drivers.  

Pos. Driver Points
1 Denny Hamlin 3116
2 Kyle Larson 3097
3 Joey Logano 3096
4 Brad Keselowski 3095
5 Martin Truex Jr. 3095
6 Ryan Blaney 3090
7 Chase Elliott 3084
8 Kyle Busch 3084
9 Kevin Harvick 3075
10 Christopher Bell 3056
11 William Byron 3040
12 Alex Bowman 3032

NASCAR starting lineup at Charlotte

Here is the complete NASCAR starting lineup for Sunday's playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Bank of America ROVAL 400. Playoff drivers are denoted by a "P" next to their names.

Start pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 P-Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
2 P-Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
3 P-Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
4 P-Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 P-Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
6 P-Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
7 P-Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
8 P-Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
9 P-Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
10 P-Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
11 P-William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
12 P-Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
13 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
14 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
15 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
16 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
17 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
18 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
19 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
20 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
21 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
22 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
23 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
24 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
25 Daniel Suarez 99 Trackhouse Racing
26 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
27 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
28 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
29 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
30 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
31 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
32 Cody Ware 51 Petty Ware Racing
33 AJ Allmendinger 16 Kaulig Racing
34 Garrett Smithley 53 Rick Ware Racing
35 Scott Heckert 78 Live Fast Motorsports
36 Joey Hand 52 Rick Ware Racing
37 Josh Bilicki 15 Rick Ware Racing
38 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
39 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management

Dani Mohr