Notes & quotes from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing at Kansas Speedway on NBC

NBC Sports continued its coverage of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Sunday afternoon with an overtime thriller on NBC from Kansas Speedway. Denny Hamlin won the Hollywood Casino 400 elimination race earning his 5th win of the season. Chase Elliott finished second, which eliminated Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Clint Bowyer, and Alex Bowman from the Playoffs at Kansas.

NBC Sports’ Rick Allen called the action alongside 21-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton. Racing legend and two-time Daytona 500-winner Dale Earnhardt Jr and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte provided commentary from a second booth. Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Rutledge Wood, and Dave Burns reported from pit road and the grandstands.

Krista Voda hosted Sunday’s pre-race coverage alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett. Pre-race coverage on NBC included:

  • A Driver 2 Driver feature with Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson;
  • A Clint Bowyer interview about racing at his hometown track’ 
  • And the Toyota Joy Ride with Jeff featuring Kansas City Chiefs FB and NASCAR fan Anthony Sherman

RACE RESULTS

Position
Driver
Car#
1
Denny Hamlin
11
2
Chase Elliott
9
3
Kyle Busch
18
4
Kurt Busch
1
5
William Byron
24

The following are highlights from this afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race coverage on NBCSN:

POST-RACE COVERAGE

Petty on Joey Logano: “I can’t believe a guy made as many mistakes as that team made and the positions that they put themselves in and still made it to the Round of 8.”

Letarte on the last restart: “No one was giving Brad Keselowski an inch. Even though he was racing for his playoff chances. Everyone else was racing for every position; That’s what makes this sport so much fun.”

Earnhardt Jr. on Chase Elliott: “What a really gutsy championship-caliber performance from that team today to do everything they did.”

Earnhardt Jr. on William Byron: “I think that team really is surging at this part of the season. They will not get to go further into the Playoffs. But I think they will come back next year better than ever.”

Burton on Denny Hamlin: “A confident Denny Hamlin with four races to go and the championship out there, that is something teams are going to have to deal with.”

Burton on Brad Keselowski: “They ran bad. They just plain and simple ran bad. On a day where you just have to step up to the plate and perform. You can’t run 19th and 20th and put yourself in that situation; they just plain and simple didn’t bring it today.”

Hamlin on the possibility of winning a championship: “It’s step by step, week by week. I’m not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We concentrate every week like it’s the most important one. This win here kind of shows that.”

Letarte on restarts: “We’ve seen the restarts all day, two, three, four wide, you lose momentum and you’re done.”

Allen: “The 9 of Chase Elliott is going to advance in to the Round of 8.”

RACE COVERAGE

Burton on overtime crash: “Who doesn’t love playoff racing? This is the ultimate amount of pressure on these teams and these drivers. As fans and as athletes, that’s what you want. You want to be in these pressure-filled situations. It’s a chance to win a championship, it’s what you dreamed about, it’s what you want, it’s what you worked so hard for. It can come down to one position here today. These playoffs are awesome.”

Letarte on caution with 14 to go: “It’s like seven chess matches happening at once.”

Letarte on Kyle Busch with 23 to go: “What a day Kyle Busch has had. He’s had to pit for damage, had to pit for a throttle issue, not sure they had it resolved. And here he is all the way back to 2nd.”

Burton on advancing: “Situational awareness. Right now, look at this 24 of William Byron they know they have to win. The 9 car, think about what situation they’re in. What do you need to do so you continue the quest for this championship?”

Burton on Brad Keselowski with 65 to go: “This 2 car has only had one finish worse than 14th at this racetrack in the last nine races. And that was because of an accident. That’s how bad this team is running today in a pressure situation.”

Snider on playoff cutline: “You think about that, four points, that’s four positions all year long that Chase Elliott, if he would have gained it somewhere, right now he might be above that cutline. That’s amazing. That’s how tight the NASCAR Playoffs are.”

Earnhardt Jr. on the wind: “Everybody has to deal with that wind, it’s not just you out there. But hopefully you’re thinking about that while you’re making adjustments to your car. Some things you’re not going to fix because of the wind.”

Martin Truex Jr. to Rick Allen: “Racing has changed so much. You used to work to get your car working on the bottom of the race track, or maybe the middle or the top. It has to work everywhere now, because you can’t run the same line that the guy you’re trying to pass is running”

Burton on Joey Logano Stage 1 win: “That was huge for Joey Logano. If that thing had would have continued green without that late caution, Joey Logano was going to give up about 6 points to Chase Elliott. As it turns out, he gets a stage win. Great gamble.”

Burton on the wind in Kansas: “If you’re pushing that corner to the edge of the grip, almost crossing over that line, and you get 20 or 15 mph wind in the door of the car, it can really shove you up the racetrack.”

Allen on car position: “It’s been a three-wide moment almost since they dropped the Green Flag here in Kansas. It has been incredible!”

Letarte on lines: “Looks like pace laps; they’re so organized at 180 miles an hour.”

NBC PR