The Round of 12 concluded at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL Sunday (Oct. 10), a rollercoaster 109-lap race in which nearly every playoff driver faced adversity. However, the biggest controversy coming out of the event was NASCAR’s decision not to black flag Chase Elliott while his rear bumper cover flapped in the wind for multiple laps before falling off and drawing a caution.
Should NASCAR have forced Elliott to pit road to fix the problem? How much did that decision make a difference in the reigning champ moving on to the Round of 8?
Meanwhile, Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson scored his seventh win of the 2021 season. Does that victory make him the title favorite once again? Who’s best positioned to challenge the No. 5 car for title supremacy heading into the year’s final four races?
Bryan Nolen and Adam Cheek weigh in on those topics plus whether the feud between Elliott and Kevin Harvick has come to a head after the two tangled once again, this time at the ROVAL, to cause Elliott’s bumper damage in the first place.
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Bryan Nolen is the Operations Manager and Multimedia Director for Frontstretch.com. He also hosts the Bringing the Heat with Bryan Nolen Podcast and occasionally makes appearances on The Happy Hour Podcast. He has a Sportscasting degree from the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting. He resides in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, his French Bulldog Archer and two rabbits.
Follow him on Twitter @TheBryanNolen