ROVAL rollin': Kyle Larson dominates NASCAR playoffs Round of 12 finale; Byron, Elliott, Bowman advance

CONCORD, N.C. - Between coordinating his daughter, Audrey's baseball games, son, Owen's races and a planned trip to Cabo this week, Kyle Larson was facing a bit of a logistical quandary at the end of Sunday's race at the Charlotte ROVAL. 

But one destination was for certain - the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 8. And the rest of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates will join him. 

More on them in a moment. Sunday belonged to Larson. 

The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevroletled 62 of 109 laps and held runner-up Christopher Bell at arm's length throughout the final stage in picking up his second victory at the ROVAL, his series-leading sixth of the season and further building his cushion atop the playoff standings. 

And he did it all in Hendrick Motorsports' backyard. 

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"I mean, obviously we're at home, right? Hendrick Motorsports is just two minutes away. Hendrick Automotive Group is 20 minutes from here, probably a little more. All the families and mechanics and all that, a lot of them are here today," Larson said. "It just makes it really great when you can win here, and everybody sacrifices so much time away from their families. So, when they get to bring their wives and kids to the racetrack and then you get lucky enough to win that day and get to have those photos and those memories forever, it's great."

In terms of laps led, it wasn't quite as dominant as his win at Bristol Motor Speedway to end the Round of 16 three races ago. Much of that can be attributed short-pitting stage breaks to be better positioned for the final dash to the checkers. 

That strategy proved to be the correct one and again, Larson's speed was unmatched. However, despite the performance, Larson said that he didn't think his team had made a statement. It just reiterated what the rest of the NASCAR world already knows. 

"I think our team, it's no statements that we're trying to send to the field. I think the field knows that we're strong. I think the field knows that we could win at any track," Larson explained. "It is nice to win and really more than anything just gain five more points that rolls into the next round. We've won stages. We've won a couple of races since the playoffs have started, and that really helps."

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Prior to Sunday's race, Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron had already locked into the Round of 8 based on points earned at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Speedway. Byron added a solid, third-place run on Sunday for good measure and will start the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next week four points above the cutline. 

Chase Elliott was the closest to the cutline entering the ROVAL but piled up 15 valuable playoff points and finished off the day with a fifth-place run. He'll have some work to do over the next three races and will begin the Round of 8 with nine points to make up to the elimination point. 

Finally, Alex Bowman came into Sunday having scored more points than any other playoff driver since the postseason started. He added a playoff point to that tally by winning Stage 2 on Sunday and his 18th place finish was more than enough to send him into the next round as well. He'll enter in eighth place, 16 points below the bubble. 

Next Sunday's race is set for a 2:30 p.m. start and will air on NBC. 

NASCAR Final 8 standings

NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings (Round of 12)