By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
The Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway starts round two of the NASCAR playoffs and most of the pretenders are gone and the serious contenders are rounding into focus. There are still seven races left before we reveal the winner below. Most Cup fans believe in Larson, Bell, Reddick and Byron making it. Same goes for Blaney, Hamlin, Elliott and Logano. But that is why they race. Who is buying for Cindric, Suarez, Bowman or Briscoe? There are always some surprises and now the one mile race track that is the host of race four of ten.
Checkered Flags
Ross Chastain got to bust a watermelon wide open after his victory in Kansas on Sunday. “We haven’t gone anywhere. We keep showing up,” said Chastain, who barely missed out on qualifying for the playoffs. “It’s not easy when you’re failing or struggling at something, and you just can’t get to where you want to get to.” Chastain did not make the playoffs in 2024 but he played spoiler keeping playoff drivers automatically qualifying for the round of eight with a crazy race expected in Talladega next weekend. He won a race where he does very well. He has a win two additional top five finishes and a top Kansas record of finishing all eight races in the top-20. Chastain wins for the 5th time in his Cup career.
Second Place is a help for Byron
William Byron’s second-place run was the best among the 12 drivers going on to the second round of the playoffs. Byron And while the win would have locked him into the next round of the playoffs with unpredictable Talladega up next, the result was enough to move the No. 24 car to the top spot in the playoff points standings. Byron collected 17 of a possible stage points at Kansas. “You’re so close, and going to Talladega, you know what that is,” Byron said. “But proud of the effort.”
Christopher Bell is in the hunt for his first Cup Championship
Christopher Bell won the pole for the Hollywood Casino 400. It was his first in 2024 and when it comes to playoff time, there is never a bad time to win a pole. In seven appearances at Kansas, Bell has two top-five finishes and three more in the top ten since 2021. Bell led 122 laps on Sunday, nearly half of all the laps led. He trails Byron, who finished second, by six points going into the gauntlet of Talladega next weekend. The little things made the difference for Bell at Kansas. “They brought the heat, that’s for sure. I don’t know. Just obviously wish I had a couple corners back because there were a couple of them where I made mistakes and let a lot of track position go. Yeah, to come back and finish seventh after getting mired back in the back is something that is good but definitely left what could’ve been.”
Martin Truex Jr. has more hard luck
Truex Jr. was leading the race before the final restart after a late race crash on Sunday. He has had multiple close calls winning for perhaps the final time of his 2024 season before his scheduled retirement in Phoenix. Instead, he settles for third place. he answered this press question. What was the difference at the end of today’s race? Truex Jr. “I just didn’t quite get the restart I needed or the help on the restart that I needed. Just not quite good enough on the short runs all day on the restarts. It took us 10 to 15 laps to get going. A couple of those guys could get by us, so that’s kind of what happened there. The 1 (Ross Chastain) and the 24 (William Bryon) got away and then we were catching them back, but just ran out of time.”
Ryan Blaney finishes fourth
Ryan Blaney was in contention until a loose rear wheel pushed him back in the pack. Still, Blaney rallied to finish fourth. He does not have a top resume at Kansas. He finished in the top five for the first time in over four years. He is tied for second in points with Christopher Bell.
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Chase Elliott finishes strong after starting in the rear of the field
Chase Elliott finished ninth after an engine change mandated he start in the rear of the field and it was a race long effort to move into the top ten. Elliot sits on the cut line in eighth place. He will hope for better engine luck in Alabama next weekend.
Ross Chastain sums it up
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 KUBOTA CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 1st
“This is incredible! To drive into victory lane in the Cup Series, it’s just so challenging. It’s so tough. That process I talked about last year in Nashville, we all stayed on it. We haven’t gone anywhere. We keep showing up. It’s not easy when you’re failing or struggling at something, and you just can’t get to where you want to get to.
Our No. 1 Kubota Chevy today, we had what we needed to have, when we needed it. After practice and qualifying, I didn’t think we had the best car, but we kept working on it. I have to be honest; it was some of the most motivating on-radio stuff that Phil Surgen has ever had. We manifested the front-two rows when we weren’t up there, and then we manifested the front row and we took the lead on it. For everything that this means for Worldwide Express and Busch Light – a brand like that, to buy into me, it’s absolutely incredible.”
Roy J. Akers covers NASCAR and several other sports for www.skyviewsports.net