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Bubble Watch, presented by Xfinity: Where drivers stand before Charlotte Roval
By Staff Report | Published: October 6, 2022 9
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
With one more race before the Round of 8 is set, the playoff elimination line is even between a pair of drivers while two Cup champions have yet to lock themselves in. See where drivers closest to the playoff elimination line stand prior to Sunday's Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with stats and ratings provided by Racing Insights.
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Joey Logano
Points above elimination line: 18 | Full standings
Trending -- Hit or Miss: After being involved in an early wreck at Talladega, Logano stayed toward the back of the pack and settled for the 27th-place finish.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Red Hot: Like Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, Logano has scored top 10s in all four races at the Roval with a best finish of second in 2020. He's had a mixed bag of road-course results this season but scored top 10s at both the Indianapolis road course and Watkins Glen.
Points above elimination line: 18 | Full standings
Trending -- Hit or Miss: After being involved in an early wreck at Talladega, Logano stayed toward the back of the pack and settled for the 27th-place finish.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Red Hot: Like Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, Logano has scored top 10s in all four races at the Roval with a best finish of second in 2020. He's had a mixed bag of road-course results this season but scored top 10s at both the Indianapolis road course and Watkins Glen.
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Kyle Larson
Points above elimination line: 18 | Full standings
Trending -- Talladega snapped Warm Streak: Larson picked up 10 stage points at Talladega to balance out a forgettable 18th-place run at the superspeedway ending a three-race, top-10 streak.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Hot: Larson is the defending winner at the Roval and is the most recent Cup victor on a road course after taking the checkered flag at Watkins Glen.
Points above elimination line: 18 | Full standings
Trending -- Talladega snapped Warm Streak: Larson picked up 10 stage points at Talladega to balance out a forgettable 18th-place run at the superspeedway ending a three-race, top-10 streak.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Hot: Larson is the defending winner at the Roval and is the most recent Cup victor on a road course after taking the checkered flag at Watkins Glen.
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William Byron (note: This has been updated to reflect Byron's amended penalty, giving him 25 points back)
Points above elimination line: 14 | Full standings
Trending -- Talladega Snapped Hot Streak: Talladega ended Byron's run of four straight top-10 finishes, but now sits 14 points above the elimination line after having his post-Texas penalty amended where he received a $100,000 fine and no loss of points.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Hit or Miss: Byron owns a pair of sixth-place finishes at the Roval (2019, 2020) and is usually in contention for wins on road courses but that hasn't been the case for him this season. His best path to staying above the elimination line will be to maximize stage points, which he has scored in six consecutive Roval stages.
Points above elimination line: 14 | Full standings
Trending -- Talladega Snapped Hot Streak: Talladega ended Byron's run of four straight top-10 finishes, but now sits 14 points above the elimination line after having his post-Texas penalty amended where he received a $100,000 fine and no loss of points.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Hit or Miss: Byron owns a pair of sixth-place finishes at the Roval (2019, 2020) and is usually in contention for wins on road courses but that hasn't been the case for him this season. His best path to staying above the elimination line will be to maximize stage points, which he has scored in six consecutive Roval stages.
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Daniel Suárez
Points above elimination line: 12 | Full standings
Trending -- Hit or Miss: Suárez's Round of 12 has gone mistake-free, with a 12th-place finish at Texas and an eighth-place run at Talladega.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Cold: Suárez has a best finish of 13th in four career Roval starts but 2022 has been a great year for the driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet on road courses with three top fives, including a win at Sonoma Raceway in June.
Points above elimination line: 12 | Full standings
Trending -- Hit or Miss: Suárez's Round of 12 has gone mistake-free, with a 12th-place finish at Texas and an eighth-place run at Talladega.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Cold: Suárez has a best finish of 13th in four career Roval starts but 2022 has been a great year for the driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet on road courses with three top fives, including a win at Sonoma Raceway in June.
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Chase Briscoe
Points below elimination line: 12 | Full standings
Trending -- Warming Up: Two consecutive top-10 runs have put Briscoe closer to the playoff elimination line but he's still down double-digit points to Suárez.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Cold: Briscoe finished 22nd in his first Cup Roval start last year and hasn't improved much in his Cup racing on road courses with seven straight finishes of 13th or worse.
Points below elimination line: 12 | Full standings
Trending -- Warming Up: Two consecutive top-10 runs have put Briscoe closer to the playoff elimination line but he's still down double-digit points to Suárez.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Cold: Briscoe finished 22nd in his first Cup Roval start last year and hasn't improved much in his Cup racing on road courses with seven straight finishes of 13th or worse.
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Logan Riely | Getty Images
Austin Cindric
Points below elimination line: 12 | Full standings
Trending -- Talladega Snapped Cold Streak: A ninth-place finish at Talladega snapped a streak of four straight finishes of 12th or worse.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- No Cup experience: No Cup starts at the Roval for the rookie but Cindric had great runs at the Roval in the Xfinity Series with four results of no worse than sixth. He'll need a similar result Sunday to get above the elimination line.
Points below elimination line: 12 | Full standings
Trending -- Talladega Snapped Cold Streak: A ninth-place finish at Talladega snapped a streak of four straight finishes of 12th or worse.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- No Cup experience: No Cup starts at the Roval for the rookie but Cindric had great runs at the Roval in the Xfinity Series with four results of no worse than sixth. He'll need a similar result Sunday to get above the elimination line.
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Christopher Bell
Points below elimination line: 45 | Full standings
Trending -- Cooling Off: No one could have seen the falloff Bell would endure through the first two races in the Round of 12 but that is where the driver of the No. 20 stands with one more race to determine who advances to the Round of 8. Bell has finishes of 34th and 17th in this round.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Down 45 points heading into Sunday, Bell will need to throw a dime of a 'Hail Mary' to advance. It's not impossible though as Bell has a road course win on his Cup resume (Daytona RC, 2021) and ran inside the top 10 in last year's race on the Roval.
Points below elimination line: 45 | Full standings
Trending -- Cooling Off: No one could have seen the falloff Bell would endure through the first two races in the Round of 12 but that is where the driver of the No. 20 stands with one more race to determine who advances to the Round of 8. Bell has finishes of 34th and 17th in this round.
Charlotte Roval outlook -- Down 45 points heading into Sunday, Bell will need to throw a dime of a 'Hail Mary' to advance. It's not impossible though as Bell has a road course win on his Cup resume (Daytona RC, 2021) and ran inside the top 10 in last year's race on the Roval.
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Alex Bowman
Points below elimination line: 66 | Full standings
NOTE: Bowman will miss this Sunday's race due to injury and Noah Gragson will fill in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, eliminating Bowman from the playoffs.
Points below elimination line: 66 | Full standings
NOTE: Bowman will miss this Sunday's race due to injury and Noah Gragson will fill in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, eliminating Bowman from the playoffs.