Start: 4th |  Finish: 8th  | Points: 8th

Stage One: 2nd  |  Stage Two: 2nd 

Joey Logano’s eighth-place finish in Sunday’s Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval came up just short of clinching a spot in the semifinal round at the time of the checkered flag, but a disqualification levied to the No. 48 team following post-race inspection advanced the No. 22 team to the Round of 8. NASCAR’s ruling is subject to appeal and a decision on whether an appeal will be submitted is expected on Monday, October 14. After starting fourth for Sunday’s 109-lap event, Logano settled into fifth for the opening run of the afternoon despite battling issues with rear grip in the early going. Crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call to run the opening stage to the end with every point making a difference on the playoff battle, allowing Logano to come away with a second-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments under caution, Logano lined up 27th to take the green flag for the second segment and quickly gained 11 spots while leading all other cars on his same strategy. The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford charged back into the top-10 with 10 laps remaining in the stage as Wolfe kept Logano on track through the end of Stage 2 to come away with another second-place effort. Logano was kept on track during the stage break in an effort to maintain track position for the final run of the afternoon, taking the restart from the inside of row one with 55 laps to go. Wolfe called him to pit road from sixth with 39 laps to go for a four tire stop and enough fuel to make it to the end, allowing Logano to race back into the top-10 with 30 to go while scored five points above the cut line. Logano was locked into a tight battle with the No. 45 for the final transfer spot and worked his way up to fifth with 26 to go. The points lead began to shrink in the closing laps as the two were tied for the eighth and final spot with 12 laps remaining. Logano ultimately came away with an eighth-place finish and was scored four points below the cut line when the checkered flag waved.

WHAT’S NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series opens the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 20. Coverage of the South Point 400 begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.