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Up to Speed: Contenders Miss Opportunities at Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway may not appear unique at first. It has similarities to the other intermediate tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, which usually means that you can look at drivers’ results from other intermediates and get a good idea of how the finishing order will look.

After 400 miles of racing at Kansas on Sunday (Sept. 29), that strategy proved fruitless. You might have expected big days from racers like Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. Those six drivers have combined for 12 wins at Kansas, including eight of the last 10 races. But when the dust settled and Ross Chastain celebrated his victory with his customary watermelon smash on the start/finish line, none of them were in the top five. In fact, Bell and Hamlin were the only ones in the top 10.

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After Ross Chastain Conquers Kansas

Nearly all the pre-race favorites had their afternoons disrupted in some way. Their setbacks included mistakes on track, errors in the pits or simply unexpectedly slow cars. Most of these contenders are still in the playoffs, and although not all of them are in bad shape for the next couple of races, all of them missed out on great opportunities at Kansas.

Larson was the first to encounter trouble. After a dominant performance at Bristol Motor Speedway, the No. 5 team was once again looking like the championship favorite. However, things fell apart on lap 19 when Larson blew a tire going into turn 1, snapping sideways and hitting the wall. This crash was not nearly as bad as the one Larson had at Atlanta Motor Speedway a few weeks ago, and the No. 5 was able to continue. Yet Larson’s rear diffuser was damaged in the mishap, and he struggled to make speed for the rest of the race. His 26th-place finish was a serious disappointment for the driver who won at Kansas earlier this year.

Next, it was Bell’s turn for adversity. He had the best car early in the race and looked to be on cruise control for most of stage one. But with eight laps to go in the stage, Bell got loose in turn 2 and bounced off the wall, allowing William Byron to swoop past him and take the lead. Byron won the stage and added to his playoff point total, while Bell slipped back to fifth. Still, the No. 20 was not as damaged as the No. 5, and Bell was able to continue.

Unfortunately for Bell, he hit the wall again in the closing laps of stage two and missed out on another stage victory. This time, the damage to his Toyota was more serious and he fell out of the top 10 by the time the stage ended. From that point on, the No. 20 team fought for track position. Bell clawed his way back to seventh at the checkered flag, and he left Kansas with a 28-point advantage over the cut line. But given how fast his car was, Bell must be wondering what might have been.

For Hamlin and Logano, their heartbreak came on pit road. Hamlin’s trouble started after a slow pit stop on lap 101 cost him several spots. More issues plagued the No. 11 team under caution on lap 147 when Hamlin had to return to the pits for a loose wheel. Hamlin’s had an up-and-down postseason to this point, and he certainly could have done worse than the eighth-place finish he earned. But for a driver who went into Sunday’s race with six straight top fives at Kansas, there is no doubt the No. 11 team was looking for more.

See also
Monday Morning Pit Box: Loose Wheels Plague Penske Drivers at Kansas

Logano, meanwhile, had a great car early in the race. He and his Team Penske teammates, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, were particularly fast on the long run. Yet the script flipped on Penske near the end of stage two, which concluded with several short runs. First, Cindric crashed on the backstretch on lap 157. Under the following caution, Logano went to pit road, thinking that he could stay out under the stage-ending caution and be near the front of the field.

However, that plan blew up when Logano had to return to pit road to tighten a loose wheel. The No. 22 team never fully regained its track position, and Logano had to settle for 14th. A loose wheel during the third stage nearly doomed Blaney’s race too, but a late caution allowed the No. 12 to get back on the same pit cycle as the rest of the field. The result is that Blaney is 28 points above the cut line, and Logano is four above. Cindric is much worse off at 29 below, but it feels like Logano had the biggest loss of the three after finishing deeper in the field than where he ran earlier.

Shockingly, the driver behind Logano in points, and the first below the cut line, is Reddick. The No. 45 team had been on a roll recently, edging Larson out for the regular season championship. Yet ever since the playoffs began, Reddick has been off his game. Kansas figured to be a race where he could right the ship, but the No. 45 team was slow all afternoon. Things got even worse when Reddick was bottled up on a late restart and to 25th. He will now have to hope for a good race at Talladega, where he won earlier this season.

The last driver to miss a great opportunity at Kansas was Busch. Having failed to reach the playoffs this year, Busch is still searching for his first win of 2024, a victory that would extend his record of consecutive seasons with a win to 20. When Busch cycled to the lead after a round of green flag pit stops late in the race, it looked like Sunday might finally be the day. But it all fell apart on lap 236. Busch lost control of his car trying to lap Chase Briscoe and spun out on the backstretch. He did not sustain serious damage and restarted the race in the top 10, but whatever magic Busch’s car had before the spin was gone. He fell back to 19th at the checkered flag and has only six more chances to extend his winning streak.

There is no doubt that Kansas produced a few surprises. The next two races are still going to have a major impact on the playoff field, but do not be surprised if a missed opportunity at Kansas comes back to haunt one of the title contenders. In a championship fight where every point matters, a surprising race at Kansas will prove influential once the Round of 12 is over.

About the author

Bryan began writing for Frontstretch in 2016. He has penned Up to Speed for the past seven years. A lifelong student of auto racing, Bryan is a published author and automotive historian. He is a native of Columbus, Ohio and currently resides in Southern Kentucky.

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