Hendrick Motorsports announced on Monday that it will not appeal the disqualification of Alex Bowman at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which has taken him out of the running for the NASCAR championship.
Bowman finished the race at The Roval in 18th place, which was enough to eliminate Joey Logano from Team Penske from the playoff race by four points.
However, NASCAR stated that Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet did not pass the post-race inspection and was disqualified for being below the minimum weight requirement. This dropped him to 38th place, allowing Logano to take that spot in the playoffs.
Hendrick had the option to appeal but chose not to do so. The team said in a statement, “NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight.
After a thorough review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement. Although unintentional, the infraction was avoidable.
We are extremely disappointed to lose a playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and partners.” All playoff cars go through an inspection after the race.
The news was especially upsetting for Bowman’s sponsor, Ally. The chief marketing officer posted on social media that Bowman had earned a playoff spot, as he was the top points scorer in the first round of the playoffs.
“Woke up this morning — after hardly sleeping — not feeling any better,” wrote Andrea Brimmer, expressing her disappointment for Bowman and the team, who have worked hard for every point this year and deserve to move forward.
The eight drivers now competing in the third round of the playoffs include Hendrick drivers William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson, Team Penske drivers Logano and reigning champion Ryan Blaney, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick from 23XI Racing.
This disqualification was particularly tough for Hendrick Motorsports, which had celebrated on Sunday night after securing half of the playoff spots. Now, as they head to this Sunday’s race in Las Vegas, only three of their cars are still eligible.
