Kyle Busch was one of several drivers who failed to successfully navigate Turn 1 with six laps remaining in Bank of America Roval 400. He retired in 32nd.
Kevin Harvick was close on fuel until he pitted with seven laps remaining. He climbed through the field and finished ninth.
Martin Truex Jr. spun with Brad Keselowski in the closing laps of Stage 2, but he survived to challenge for the lead on the last lap. Contact between him and Jimmie Johnson resulted in a 14th-place finish.
Brad Keselowski was leading on a late-race restart. He drove too hard into Turn 1 on Lap 104 and drove head-first into the tire barrier. He finished 31st.
Clint Bowyer avoided the snapping turtles. Along with Almirola and Blaney, he spent much of the race battling for the final transfer spot. Johnson’s accident at the end of the race took the question out of whether he would advance to Round 2. Bowyer finished 3rd.
Joey Logano drove a safe race and avoided any major incidents. He finished 10th.
Kurt Busch started on the pole and led early. Once he was passed by Larson, he settled into the field and finished 5th.
Ryan Blaney snaked through the crash site of Truex and Johnson to score his first win of the season and second of his career.
Aric Almirola pitted with seven laps remaining. He finished 19th, which was enough to elevate him into Round 2 of the playoffs via a tiebreaker with Johnson and Larson.
Chase Elliott scored stage points in the first two segments (finishing 5th in Stage 1 and 6th in Stage 2), which allowed him to race with a little margin for error in Stage 3. He finished 6th.
Kyle Larson thought he was going to be eliminated from Round 2. On the final lap, Jeffrey Earnhardt crashed. His team told him to gas it to beat the crashed No. 96 to the line. Larson hit the wall twice, but won the battle to the line. He advanced to Round 2 on a tie breaker with Johnson and Almirola.
Alex Bowman spent much of the day either just above or below the 12th-place cutoff line. He ended the race two points above after finishing 4th.
Eliminated from the Playoffs
Jimmie Johnson wanted to snap his 51-race winless streak. He drove too hard into the frontstretch chicane and spun, collecting Truex in the process. In the process of his spin, he cut the chicane, was forced to stop on the fronststretch as a result and crossed the finish line 8th. That was not enough to advance him to Round 2.
Austin Dillon ran up on Chris Buescher on Lap 59 in Turn 15 (oval Turn 4) and slipped in the marbles. He made heavy contact with the wall. Six laps later, he cut a tire and hit the wall hard and sustained enough damage to cause him to retire.
Denny Hamlin sustained damage in both practice and qualifying and had to drive from the back of the grid with a backup car.
Erik Jones crashed in the backstretch chicane during Saturday’s practice and started at the rear of the field. He cut a tire on a Lap 72 restart and spun while trying to limp back to the pits.
Click here for complete points results
