Defending NASCAR Champion Kyle Larson Eliminated From Playoffs

Christopher Bell earned a huge victory at Charlotte Roval, and in the process, knocked out Kyle Larson from the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

The win was Bell’s second of the season, and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver took the victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the final two laps. Chase Briscoe made a late surge on a restart on the final lap to finish ninth to grab the eighth and final berth of the Round of 8. Briscoe beat out Larson, who finished 35th, by two points.

“I just made way too many mistakes all year long,” Larson told reporters after the race, per NASCAR. “Made another one today. Ultimately cost us an opportunity to go chase another championship. Just extremely mad at myself. I let the team down a number of times this year, and let them down in a big way today.”

Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman and Daniel Suárez also suffered eliminations. Joining Bell and Briscoe in the Round of 8 are Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin.

The Cup Series’ next race is the South Point 400 on Oct. 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event opens the three-race Round of 8, which will determine the Championship 4 field for the season-ending title race on Nov. 6 at Phoenix Raceway.