bigbadbrother
10-17-2016, 01:19 AM
Tom Jensen
Two races down, one to go in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 12, after Kevin Harvick’s clutch victory in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. With the win, Harvick locked himself into the Chase Round of 8. Here’s how the points line up after Kansas:
1
Jimmie Johnson, 3082 points
The winner last week at Charlotte, Johnson already was locked into the Chase Round of 8, so he didn’t have to sweat at Kansas. That said, he was fast again here, finishing fourth in the race.
2
Matt Kenseth, 3074
Kenseth has been fast all Chase long and he qualified on the pole at Kansas in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He led 116 laps early in the race, but contact with the wall on Lap 137, hurt the handling of his car. He was disappointed not to win, but he’s in a great points position.
3
Kyle Busch, 3072
The spring Kansas winner, Busch qualified second this time around and ran up front most of the race. But his car wasn’t good on long runs and Busch fell back to fifth at the end of the race.
4
Carl Edwards, 3069
The Missouri native started the Kansas race on the inside of the second row and wound up finishing second to winner Kevin Harvick. He really wanted to win on his home track, but couldn’t quite get there.
5
Kurt Busch, 3062
The elder Busch started the Kansas race at the rear of the grid because of a practice crash that forced him to a backup car. He managed to work his way inside the top 15, which was a good effort.
6
Martin Truex Jr., 3058
Truex won two of the first four Chase races and remains one of the championship favorites. But his crew couldn’t get his car full of fuel at about the one-third distance and he fought the problem on and off for the rest of the race.
7
Kevin Harvick, 3048
Harvick has always been a clutch performer. He came into the Kansas race 12th in points, and has he has done so often in the past, came on strong to win the race and with it a spot in the Chase Round of 8. Expect to see him race for a title at Homestead.
8
Joey Logano, 3045
Logano swept this round of the Chase in 2015, but he had a bad race at Charlotte. Things turned around for him this time, as he had a good day at Kansas, finishing third. He is now right on the cutoff line for the final race of this round.
9
Austin Dillon, 3045
Dillon surprised just be making it to the Chase Round of 12, and he had a great day at Kansas. He’s now tied with Joey Logano in points for the final transfer spot, although Logano is ahead on the tiebreaker.
10
Denny Hamlin, 3039
Moving on to the Chase Round of 8 might be tough for Hamlin, who lost an engine at Charlotte and had front-splitter problems at Kansas. Then, contact with Brad Keselowski damaged the nose of Hamlin’s car. Clearly, Hamlin is not enamored with this Chase format.
11
Brad Keselowski, 3038
It appeared Keselowski was headed for another solid finish, but he got loose trying to pass Denny Hamlin on Lap 190. Hamlin tagged Keselowski from behind, sending the Penske Ford spinning into the infield, where he tore the nose off the car in the grass. The good news for Keselowski is he has four Talladega victories.
12
Chase Elliott, 3020
Elliott began this round getting knocked out of the Charlotte race after leading 103 laps. At Kansas, he was leading when he had to make a second green-flag pit stop on Lap 176 for a tire rub on the left rear. He subsequently hit the wall a couple of times and then had a left-rear tire go flat. He must win at Talladega or likely face elimination.
Two races down, one to go in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 12, after Kevin Harvick’s clutch victory in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. With the win, Harvick locked himself into the Chase Round of 8. Here’s how the points line up after Kansas:
1
Jimmie Johnson, 3082 points
The winner last week at Charlotte, Johnson already was locked into the Chase Round of 8, so he didn’t have to sweat at Kansas. That said, he was fast again here, finishing fourth in the race.
2
Matt Kenseth, 3074
Kenseth has been fast all Chase long and he qualified on the pole at Kansas in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He led 116 laps early in the race, but contact with the wall on Lap 137, hurt the handling of his car. He was disappointed not to win, but he’s in a great points position.
3
Kyle Busch, 3072
The spring Kansas winner, Busch qualified second this time around and ran up front most of the race. But his car wasn’t good on long runs and Busch fell back to fifth at the end of the race.
4
Carl Edwards, 3069
The Missouri native started the Kansas race on the inside of the second row and wound up finishing second to winner Kevin Harvick. He really wanted to win on his home track, but couldn’t quite get there.
5
Kurt Busch, 3062
The elder Busch started the Kansas race at the rear of the grid because of a practice crash that forced him to a backup car. He managed to work his way inside the top 15, which was a good effort.
6
Martin Truex Jr., 3058
Truex won two of the first four Chase races and remains one of the championship favorites. But his crew couldn’t get his car full of fuel at about the one-third distance and he fought the problem on and off for the rest of the race.
7
Kevin Harvick, 3048
Harvick has always been a clutch performer. He came into the Kansas race 12th in points, and has he has done so often in the past, came on strong to win the race and with it a spot in the Chase Round of 8. Expect to see him race for a title at Homestead.
8
Joey Logano, 3045
Logano swept this round of the Chase in 2015, but he had a bad race at Charlotte. Things turned around for him this time, as he had a good day at Kansas, finishing third. He is now right on the cutoff line for the final race of this round.
9
Austin Dillon, 3045
Dillon surprised just be making it to the Chase Round of 12, and he had a great day at Kansas. He’s now tied with Joey Logano in points for the final transfer spot, although Logano is ahead on the tiebreaker.
10
Denny Hamlin, 3039
Moving on to the Chase Round of 8 might be tough for Hamlin, who lost an engine at Charlotte and had front-splitter problems at Kansas. Then, contact with Brad Keselowski damaged the nose of Hamlin’s car. Clearly, Hamlin is not enamored with this Chase format.
11
Brad Keselowski, 3038
It appeared Keselowski was headed for another solid finish, but he got loose trying to pass Denny Hamlin on Lap 190. Hamlin tagged Keselowski from behind, sending the Penske Ford spinning into the infield, where he tore the nose off the car in the grass. The good news for Keselowski is he has four Talladega victories.
12
Chase Elliott, 3020
Elliott began this round getting knocked out of the Charlotte race after leading 103 laps. At Kansas, he was leading when he had to make a second green-flag pit stop on Lap 176 for a tire rub on the left rear. He subsequently hit the wall a couple of times and then had a left-rear tire go flat. He must win at Talladega or likely face elimination.