First driver since Earnhardt to win 5 times in nine races.
By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
Ty Gibbs got his first career CUP victory at Bristol last week. Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin are the Kansas Speedway Advent Health 400 favorites this week. With Talladega and Texas coming up, Kansas is one of the CUP drivers’ favorite tracks, and a win here is one where drivers will measure themselves going into the halfway point of the regular season. NOW…
Tyler Reddick leads us to the Green Flag
First Stage (Lap 1-80)
Just seven laps into the scheduled 267-lap race, Denny Hamlin leads under green flag conditions. The race has already seen three lead changes between two drivers. Hamlin, who started second in the No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota, has led five laps and holds a 0.499-second advantage over pole-sitter Tyler Reddick. Hamlin stretches his lead to 2.5 seconds as drivers pit. Leaders cycle as drivers pit and Hamlin returns to the race leader with Larson and pole sitter Reddick third.
As S1 winds down, Hamlin leads Larson by 3.72 seconds. Hamlin catches lapped traffic and they bunch up the field with Larson closing to 2.2 seconds behind. Drivers badly need to pit and the Stage ends with Hamlin winning S1. No major surprises. Hamlin wins his third stage in a row at Kansas.
Second Stage (Lap 81-165)
A caution-free S1 with no caution laps gives way to nine between-stage laps. Drivers run four-wide at the green flag and Larson takes the lead and Elliott goes by Hamlin. Larson’s lead lasts through green light pit stops on lap 122 of 165. Larson leads Hamlin after the cycle, with Elliot third and a lead of over five seconds. Passing is at a premium as the leaders are finding it difficult to pass. Larson wins his third stage of the season and leads five Toyota’s in the Top 10. No cautions for cause in the race.
Final Stage (Lap 166-Finish)
The cycling of pit stops during the Stage break puts Hamlin in the lead with Bell, and Larson 2-3. Eight laps are wasted between stages to organize the Final Stage. Drivers shuffle and Bell takes his first lead of the day with Hamlin and Reddick 2-3. Larson falls to fifth. Bell has led laps in six straight Kansas races and his pit crew is ranked No.1 in NASCAR. There have been six leaders and 11 lead changes in the race and Hamlin is only .62 behind the leader. Reddick takes second and Hamlin falls off to third. Hamlin pits and the top ten cars are on notice with Larson and Gibbs pitting. Bell waits too long to pit and Hamlin and Reddick go by Bell who is in third place with 41 laps to go.
Hamlin is out front over Reddick, Larson, and Bell. Reddick catches Hamlin with ten to go driving with fresher tires. The 45 is dualing with Hamlin and Austin Dillon trying to be lapped. Hamlin and Reddick trade the lead with one to go and Cody Ware spins in turn four. All drivers will pit in overtime. Bell and Larson get the jump in overtime until Bell tries to squeeze along the wall. Bell falters. Larson, takes the lead with Reddick in tow. Reddick does a crossover and takes the lead for good and wins.
Checkered Flag
Tyler Reddick becomes the first driver since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 to win five of the first nine races. Besides the five wins, he has six top-fives and another in the top-ten. That is Richard Petty dominant.
Tyler Reddick on the frontstretch after the race takes this question. A couple laps to go, you stumble. Then the caution comes out. You have to pit, then you go up against Denny Hamlin. How did you prevail?
TYLER REDDICK: Just really blessed with the late caution. Was that nuts or what? I couldn’t believe it. I mean, first off, I feel like I have to say obviously just for how I feel. I never like being on the inside of it. Really hate that for Christopher Bell. Good, hard racing. The 11 came up, I mean, I took off tight. Not thrilled I got Christopher there. I hate that for him because he was having a good, solid day.
Man, these late race restarts get crazy. I obviously had a run on the 5. I was shocked I was able to get to his inside there. An incredible SupplyHouse Toyota Camry all day long. Yeah, it was really painful to get that late caution.
They Said It…
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – Finished: 2nd
“It was a good execution on the restart there at the end. I got to the lead and I thought I could cruise right there to the checkered flag, but my balance on two tires was just super, super tight. I didn’t get through (turns) three and four fast enough, and then the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick, race winner) had such a big run on me from behind. I thought I could go to the top to get some load into my front tires, but it still didn’t turn there. That was a bummer, but just overall happy with the day we had.”
Tale of the Tape
Fantasy Lineup
Where is Kyle Larson? An overuse of Kyle Larson this season means he gets the day off. Not to sorry. Tyler Reddick, who qualified on the pole gets the start. He is joined by Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher are all in the top-ten to start the race. Also leaving is Ross Chastain. He runs well at Kansas but a Q-31 brings him to the bench. Larson is my choice in my matchup against Reddick. Ty Gibbs, last weeks Bristol winner has a poor track record at Kansas.
I think every week this season we hit the winner. We said earlier that Larson was not in the lineup due to competitive balance. Reddick was moved to Logano’s spot early in the race and it was figured we would use him. For the race, we score 231 points +10 in the matchups for 241 with the #5 on the bench. Best pick: Race winner Reddick. Worst pick, the benched Joey Logano.
What’s Next
