The closing laps of the race saw a three-way battle for victory between Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.

Larson was in control, but Elliott and Blaney had 30 laps of fresher tires to decide who would be part of Championship 4.

With 25 laps to go, Elliott finally managed to get around Larson. Blaney then traded blows with Larson before getting through as well. With 14 minutes to go he took the lead and won the race.

Shadow over the target

Blaney took the checkered flag, but behind him there was chaos for the final transfer spot. William Byron and Christopher Bell fought an exciting points battle. In the final corner, Bell overtook Bubba Wallace's rapidly slowing Toyota and then went over the wall.

NASCAR is still deliberating, looking at the radios on Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain's Chevrolets and Wallace's Toyota. At the checkered flag, Bell was tied with Byron and should get into the game via the tiebreaker. There was questionable radio communication from all teams involved.

The race results are: Elliott in 2nd place, Larson in third place, Cindric in fourth place, Hamlin in fifth place, Byron in sixth place, A. Dillon in seventh place, Chastain in eighth place, Keselowski in ninth place and Logano.

After much deliberation, NASCAR finally made a decision: Bell was charged with a safety violation and removed from the playoffs, reinstating Byron to the playoffs.

The whole story follows…