NASCAR Cup Series Race Report - Charlotte ROVAL

October 5, 2025

Bank of America ROVAL 400 - Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, N.C. - October 5, 2025

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/RICHMOND FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE

START: 19TH  
STAGE 1: 36TH  
STAGE 2: 37TH  
FINISH: 36TH  
PLAYOFF POINTS: 14TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang Dark Horse saw their run in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs come to an end Sunday afternoon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL after a series of setbacks derailed what began as a promising opportunity. Rolling off 19th in the Bank of America ROVAL 400, Cindric showed early speed, climbing to 17th by Lap 5 before being spun by the No. 7 car just a few laps later. The incident resulted in a significant loss of track position, and the No. 2 team pitted under green for scuffed tires before making another stop for four fresh tires with three laps remaining in the opening segment. Cindric went on to finish Stage 1 in 36th. Opting to stay out at the Stage break, Cindric restarted inside the top 10 and looked to gain valuable track position through strategy. However, contact from the No. 77 of Carson Hocevar on Lap 33 sent the Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang Dark Horse for a spin, causing damage to the right-rear control arms and forcing the team to the garage for extensive repairs. After returning to the race more than 20 laps down following Stage 2, Cindric and the No. 2 crew remained focused on making it to the end, where he ultimately finished 36th. While the result ended Cindric's bid to advance to the Round of 8, the No. 2 team once again demonstrated resilience and fight throughout the Round of 12. With four races remaining, the No. 2 team will look to carry that determination into the closing stretch of the season, including a return to Talladega Superspeedway, where Cindric captured a dramatic victory earlier this year.

CINDRIC'S THOUGHTS: "I'm bummed out, it definitely wasn't the day we needed, and it wasn't even really close. I just found myself involved in a lot of stuff, and we got spun out a few times and racked up a lot of damage. So you're not going to win when that happens."

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE

START: 11TH  
STAGE 1: 19TH  
STAGE 2: 1ST  
FINISH: 13TH  
PLAYOFF POINTS: 2ND (+6)

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse team picked up their ninth stage win of the season en route to a 13th-place finish Sunday at the Charlotte ROVAL to close out the Round of 12. After starting 11th, crew chief Jonathan Hassler made the call to pit twice during the opening stage - once at the start of the green flag cycle on lap 11 and with three to go in the segment in order to flip Blaney's track position in Stage 2. Following a 19th-place finish in Stage 1, Blaney took the ensuing restart from row two and settled into second in the running order at the start of the run, chasing the No. 16 for the race lead. Hassler eventually called Blaney to pit road on lap 38 for a four-tire stop, allowing him to charge through the field and back into the top-10 with under 10 laps remaining in the stage. Blaney climbed to third on the leaderboard with three to go before taking over the top spot a lap later, culminating in his ninth stage win of the season and another playoff point to take into the Round of 8. Hassler brought Blaney to pit road under caution to put on the team's scuff set of tires with two pit stops remaining the rest of the way as the Discount Tire Ford went on to work back inside the top-20. The 12 team made its final green flag stop of the afternoon with 19 laps remaining to set up one of its longer runs of the race as Blaney reached as high as 10th with six laps to go, but tire falloff in the closing laps ultimately resulted in a 13th-place finish. Blaney and the No. 12 team enter the first race of the Round of 8 second in the playoff standings, six points above the elimination line.

BLANEY'S THOUGHTS: "That was not a bad day. We had a pretty solid day. It was nice to get a stage win out of it with our Ford Mustang and we finished fairly decent. I'm proud of the effort today and I'm looking forward to getting to Vegas to see what we've got when we unload. We'll see where practice goes and then the race. I don't really know until we get there, but I'm looking forward to it."

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE

START: 17TH  
STAGE 1: 12TH  
STAGE 2: 8TH  
FINISH: 20TH  
PLAYOFF POINTS: 8TH (-24)

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse team's fate in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs came down to the final lap of Sunday's Bank of America ROVAL 400, as a 20th-place finish was just enough to advance to the Round of 8. Logano advances to make his 10th-career Round of 8 appearance, tying him with Denny Hamlin for the most in Cup Series history since the current playoffs format began in 2014. Logano raced to a 12th-place finish in Stage 1 and posted an eighth-place effort in Stage 2 to pick up three valuable stage points to begin the afternoon as the No. 22 team lined up to begin the final run to the finish two points above the elimination line. Following a caution on lap 58, the field took the green with 48 laps to go with Logano scored 17th and now below the cut line as teams began to decide between two and three-stop strategies to make it to the end. Logano cycled to sixth in the running order as green flag pit stops began before crew chief Paul Wolfe called him to pit road with 36 to go. After reaching 12th on the leaderboard with 25 laps to go, tire falloff and handling issues prompted Wolfe to go with a three-stop strategy, bringing Logano to pit road with 23 to go and one final time with 11 laps remaining. Despite putting on scuff tires during the final stop, the strategy allowed Logano to go on offense instead of holding off the field behind him during the final stretch as he raced to close the gap to the No. 1 who was on a two-stop strategy. With four laps to go, Logano needed to make up three spots on the No. 1 who was running about two seconds slower than Logano's pace due to older tires. On the final lap, Logano drew even on points - and owned the tiebreaker - but a spin in the final corner for the No. 1 allowed Logano to go by just before taking the checkered flag to secure a spot in the Round of 8. Logano and the No. 22 team enter the first race of the semifinal round eighth in the playoff standings, 24 points below the elimination line. 

LOGANO'S THOUGHTS: "Yeah, everybody was telling me how close it was going to be there. We're still in. We're still alive, baby.  I'm so excited. It was such a close finish there.  I knew it was within a point there and I knew we were going to be tied there at the end and Ross [Chastain] was going to do whatever he had to do to make it happen. I just wasn't quite fast enough today with our car, but, overall, it's the drama of the playoffs. If you want drama, the playoffs bring it every time.  What an entertaining finish there. To come down to, like I said, a tie there basically at the end before the wreck.  I'm proud of Paul Wolfe. He made some really hard calls today. Three-stopping the end there. That was kind of an audible at the because our fall off was a little bit too much. Making that call there at the end was ultimately what kept us in the game with just a few left, so that's a championship performance from the team. I wish I was a little faster, but, overall, I couldn't be more proud of the team. We've still got a shot."

The NASCAR Cup Series begins the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 12. Live coverage of the South Point 400 begins at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.