Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):
● Harvick started second and finished second to earn nine bonus points.
● The Busch Light Ford came to pit road on lap 39 under green-flag conditions for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments.
● The team returned to pit road under caution on lap 57 for four tires and fuel, while several teams opted for a two-tire strategy.
● Harvick restarted ninth on lap 64 and raced up to second by the completion of the stage.
● The team came to pit road for four tires and fuel at the completion of the stage.
● The second-place finish in Stage 1 allowed Harvick to clinch his spot in the Round of 8 in the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):
● Harvick started second and finished first, earning 10 bonus points and one playoff point.
● The No. 4 Ford fell back to the third position on the restart of Stage 2 but battled back to reclaim the second position on lap 98.
● Harvick came to pit road under green-flag conditions on lap 122 for four tires and fuel.
● The green-flag stop by the No. 4 crew allowed Harvick to take the lead at the completion of the pit cycle.
● Harvick held the lead for the remainder of the stage.
● The No. 4 team came to pit road for four tires and fuel at the end of Stage 2.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):
● Harvick started first and finished 12th.
● The No. 4 team surrendered the lead to come to pit road on lap 214 for a green-flag pit stop to take four tires and fuel.
● Harvick received a pit-road speeding penalty and had to serve a pass-through penalty to drop him to the 18th position.
● The No. 4 Busch Light Ford rallied to a 12th-place finish in the closing laps.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Today wasn’t great from my standpoint. Our Busch Light Ford was really fast and leading the race there, and I got a speeding penalty. That was my fault. I tried to get a little too much and wound up going too fast. We will take it one week at a time. We have had fast cars, and whether it is speeding on pit road or flat tires or valve stems or fuel, we haven’t put together a full day except for Richmond. Hopefully we have gotten all that out of our system and we can go to Martinsville and start off good.”
Notes:
● Harvick finished second in Stage 1 to earn nine bonus points, and he won Stage 2 to earn an additional 10 bonus points and one more playoff point.
● Harvick led once for 76 laps to increase his laps-led total at Kansas to 751.
● SHR is the only team to feature all four of its drivers in the Round of 8.
● Chase Elliott won the Hollywood Casino 400 to score his third career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Kansas. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was .903 of a second.
● There were three caution periods for a total of 17 laps.
● Only 13 of the 40 drivers in the Hollywood Casino 400 finished on the lead lap.
Playoff Standing (at the conclusion of the Round of 12):
1. Kyle Busch (4,055 points)
2. Kevin Harvick (4,054 points, -1)
3. Martin Truex Jr. (4,038 points, -17)
4. Chase Elliott (4,018 points, -37)
5. Clint Bowyer (4,015 points, -40)
6. Joey Logano (4,015 points, -40)
7. Kurt Busch (4,015 points, -40)
8. Aric Almirola (4,006 points, -49)
Failed to Advance to Round of 8:
● Ryan Blaney
● Brad Keselowski
● Kyle Larson
● Alex Bowman
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the First Data 500 on Sunday, Oct. 28 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It is the seventh race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 8. It starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage on NBCSN beginning at 1 p.m.
RCR PR