HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Three Hendrick Motorsports cars will enter Martinsville Speedway next week with two NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 spots available and just one race to get there.
That's the scenario after a thriller at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, which served as the second race in the Round of 8.
The organization placed three in the top 10 in South Florida with Chase Elliott coming home fifth, William Byron sixth and Alex Bowman seventh. Kyle Larson rounded out the group with a 13th-place showing.
For Larson, Byron and Elliott, the result leaves varying scenarios when it comes to advancing past next week in the postseason.
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Byron leaves Miami in the best shape, seven points above the cutline after a fifth-straight, top-six showing. He was solid all day, scoring eight stage points. Byron won the spring race at Martinsville earlier this year.
Larson and Elliott each contended for the win on Sunday.
Elliott led 81 laps and scored a race-best 17 stage points. On a late restart with less than 10 laps to go, he entered the second corner three-wide for the lead but lost grip on the bottom. He'll likely need a win at Martinsville and will enter 43 points below the elimination line in eighth place in the standings.
Larson had good speed early and was among the leaders when he blew a tire and hit the wall just in the first stage. That put the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team to work and the majority of the event from there was a slow and steady rally in yet another show of resilience.
As the closing laps approached, Larson pulled back to the front and challenged for the lead. Larson worked to the right-rear of then-leader Ryan Blaney with 13 laps to go with lapped-car Austin Dillon on the outside. After slight contact, Larson spun sideways down the race track, bringing out a late caution. He saved the car, but needed a slightly longer pit stop.
The finish puts Larson in fifth place in the standings, needing to make up seven points at Martinsville.
Bowman earned his 17th top-10 of the season, a new career high, and notched his career-best finish at Homestead-Miami.
Next Sunday's race is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will air on NBC.
NASCAR playoff standings after today
| Driver | Wins this round | To the elimination line |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tyler Reddick | 1 | ADV |
| 1. Joey Logano | 1 | ADV |
| 3. Christopher Bell | 0 | +29 |
| 4. William Byron | 0 | +7 |
| ------------- | -- | --- |
| 5. Kyle Larson | 0 | -7 |
| 6. Denny Hamlin | 0 | -18 |
| 7. Ryan Blaney | 0 | -38 |
| 8. Chase Elliott | 0 | -43 |
NASCAR Homestead results
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Ryan Preece, No. 41
- Josh Berry, No. 4
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Michael McDowell, No. 34
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Noah Gragson, No. 10
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
- Harrison Burton, No. 21
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Daniel Hemric, No. 31
- Zane Smith, No. 71
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Kaz Grala, No. 15
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Corey LaJoie, No. 51
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Chad Finchum, No. 66
- JJ Yeley, No. 44
How many more NASCAR races are there?
Only two races remain in the Cup Series season. Next week, the Championship 4 will be set at the conclusion of the race at Martinsville Speedway. The following week, a champion will be crowned at Phoenix Raceway.