How… did Toyota restart 1-2-3-4-5 and still lose?
Toyota had the most consistent speed of any manufacturer throughout the day at Kansas Speedway.
Denny Hamlin swept the stages and was en route to a dominating win before facing power steering problems and a bad pit stop late in the race with backup crew members. Christopher Bell methodically worked his way up to the front while Chase Briscoe displayed consistent speed after starting on the pole.
On the final restart, Toyota had the top five covered. The manufacturer had never swept the top five of a NASCAR Cup Series race in its history and had a prime opportunity to accomplish that feat.
Not a single one of them came away with the win.
Bubba Wallace, who had a good recovery after a tough start, washed up in turn 3, forcing him and Bell to jump out of the gas. Briscoe and Hamlin saw the red sea part in front and threw themselves into the fight on the final lap. Hamlin forced the issue in the final turn, putting Wallace in the wall and hurting his own corner in the process. It was Chase Elliott who had the prize fall into his lap as he took his second win of the year.
Elliott and Kyle Larson flirted in and around the top five but needed the right set of circumstances to pounce. Boy, did Elliott find a way to deliver and then some.
As the white flag flew, Elliott sat in fifth place. With Toyota throwing everything out the window, he simply slithered on the bottom and flexed his muscle when he needed to.
On the other hand…
William Byron had a very miserable day at Kansas. It’s not often that you characterize a ninth-place finish as a win, but that’s exactly what it was for the driver of the No. 24. At no point throughout the first 75% of the race did the car show any speed, as Byron slowly but surely dropped from the top 10 and beyond.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver didn’t score any stage points and was on the verge of going a lap down to Hamlin late in the race while sitting outside the top 25 before a JJ Yeley caution saved the team from a disastrous day.
Byron avoided the ensuing crash that involved Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, managing to scrap together a top-10 finish that at times, he had no business being near. If the No. 24 doesn’t have a good day next week but still advances, they’ll point to here as the recovery drive on a potential championship run.
23XI Racing’s playoff drivers didn’t have a great start to the day but more than made up for it, giving themselves a chance to win it at the end. It was a heavy day in particular for Tyler Reddick, whose four-month old son Rookie is currently in the ICU. New Hampshire Motor Speedway was a complete no-show, but they’ll need a lot more to break their way at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL next weekend.
What… does this mean for the point standings?
There was a lot at stake late at Kansas in regards to the points implications. Had Wallace been able to win the race, the cut line would’ve shaken immensely. Byron, Elliott and Briscoe all would’ve had gaps of 20 points or less.
Briscoe acknowledged to USA Network after the race that he needed to avoid the scenario where the No. 23 would come out on top, knowing there was a hard balance to try and seize his moment while taking care of his teammates.
Going into the Charlotte ROVAL, lots of guys should feel good about where they are at, with Larson, Bell and Byron chief among them given their history at the young road course. For guys like Hamlin, he just needs to avoid disaster, which hasn’t come easy when the Cup Series has turned lefts and rights recently.
As for Briscoe, Logano and Chastain, they’ll have to monitor one another throughout the stages to see who, if anyone, flips it and who has to rally from the back after pit stops. Wallace, Reddick and Cindric should go into next week thinking win or bust.
Where… did he come from?
It can only be Elliott. Entering turn 1 on the final restart, the driver of the No. 9 was running in ninth alongside his teammate Byron, ready to rim ride the top lane.
As mentioned earlier, he had managed to get himself to fifth by the time the white flag flew.
Somehow, someway, Elliott made hay while everything flew apart alongside him and struck while the iron was hot.
Team Penske had made a great effort to come from the back throughout the day, but all three drivers ran into trouble late. Cindric and Logano were caught up in the late restart pileup, while Ryan Blaney sped on pit road late. It’s going to be a tense cutoff race for Logano, who will need a big effort to advance.
When… was the moment of truth?
After a caution for a rolling tire carcass off of the No. 8 of Kyle Busch, everyone on the lead lap came down pit road with less than 15 laps remaining. After dominating the day, Hamlin’s crew had a slow stop when trying to change right-side tires. The beneficiaries of that mishap were Toyota teammates Bell, Wallace and Briscoe, who became the front runners late.
They survived restarts but eventually threw it all away on the final sprint. This week, its more of who didn’t meet the moment, and its hard to point to anything but the No. 11 car in the late stages. Bad pit stop, does the right thing in going for the win but walls his own driver in the process and ultimately comes away with nothing.
Why… should you be paying attention this week?
It’s about to be a chaotic end to the Round of 12 in the Cup Series playoffs. The Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL beckons, and there have been no shortage of dramatics over the years. While it may not be showcasing NASCAR’s premier product on the 1.5-mile oval, there’s definitely an intensity about having guys like Hamlin, Briscoe and Logano earn their way into the Round of 8.
Two drivers who need to advance have won in Queen City before. Larson and Bell have each notched recent wins at the road course. With the way road racing pit strategy matches up, there will be a lot of comers and goers throughout the day and a lot of chaos in the live points standings.
Who… could possibly make sense of this race?
Kansas is a track where drivers love to go to given the amount of options at their disposal. Through the first 80% of the race or so, things were proceeding normally until everything broke loose after the Busch caution.
You could go anywhere to pass, with drivers making the bottom and top lanes work. Much like prior races in the Next Gen era, you could run a shade lower to upset the car in front and could manipulate your entry and exit.
Some guys didn’t get the finishes they deserved, notably Zane Smith. He ran in and around the top 15 for most of the day before being punted by John Hunter Nemechek late and flipping off turn 4.
In the end, it was a very intense finish to a playoff race where both strategies and positioning played a crucial factor at the end. Lost in the shuffle was that Elliott took four tires on the final stop while everyone in front took right sides only.
A lot of times in the postseason, you have to stay opportunistic. Elliott did that and more as Toyota threw away a race they had no business losing.
Thomas is in his first year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college football in the Bay Area, also writing about the California Golden Bears.