CONCORD, N.C. — A look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s Cup race at the Charlotte Roval.
WINNERS
Shane van Gisbergen — He scored his fifth consecutive Cup win on a road course, becoming only the second driver to do that in series history. The first was Jeff Gordon, who won six consecutive Cup road course races between 1997-2000. Said van Gisbergen of the mark: “When I retire, I guess I’ll look at that stuff and be pretty stoked, but at the moment I just want to keep doing the best I can and try and add to that stuff.”
Kyle Larson — His runner-up finish was his best result of the season in any of the six Cup road course races. His previous best finish this season on a road course was 13th at the Chicago Street Race. Larson finished outside the top 30 in the other four road course races this year.
Christopher Bell — His third-place finish was his fourth top-three result on a road course this year. Bell has 11 top-three finishes in 32 races this season, meaning he’s finishing in the top three in more than a third of the races.
Joey Logano — The reigning Cup champion finished 20th and that was good enough to claim the final spot in the Round of 8. Logano still has a chance for a fourth Cup title.
LOSERS
Ross Chastain — He lost the final transfer spot by four points to Joey Logano. The difference was three mistakes — one in Turn 7 on the final lap and two on pit road. A desperate move at the finish led to him turning Hamlin and himself. Said Chastain after the race: “I single-handedly took a car out of the round of 8.”
Kyle Busch — How much worse can it get for the former champion? Damage on the first lap sent him to the garage for repairs and put him 10 laps down before he returned. Busch finished 34th. He has one top 10 in the last 12 races.
Riley Herbst — A miserable day got worse. Herbst crossed the finish line 30th but his car did not meet minimum weight requirement after the race and was disqualified. Herbst was moved to last, 37th place. He has finished 30th or worse in five of the last 10 races.
Austin Cindric — He needed to win to advance. Instead he was spun a couple of times early in the race and had to go to garage for repairs. His playoffs ended with a 36th-place finish.