Kansas Speedway may not appear unique at first. It has similarities to the other intermediate tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, which usually means that you can look at drivers’ results from other intermediates and get a good idea of how the finishing order will look.
After 400 miles of racing at Kansas on Sunday (Sept. 29), that strategy proved fruitless. You might have expected big days from racers like Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. Those six drivers have combined for 12 wins at Kansas, including eight of the last 10 races. But when the dust settled and Ross Chastain celebrated his victory with his customary watermelon smash on the start/finish line, none of them were in the top five. In fact, Bell and Hamlin were the only ones in the top 10.
Nearly all the pre-race favorites had their afternoons disrupted in some way. Their setbacks included mistakes on track, errors in the pits or simply unexpectedly slow cars. Most of these contenders are still in the playoffs, and although not all of them are in bad shape for the next couple of races, all of them missed out on great opportunities at Kansas.
Larson was the first to encounter trouble. After a dominant performance at Bristol Motor Speedway, the No. 5 team was once again looking like the championship favorite. However, things fell apart on lap 19 when Larson blew a tire going into turn 1, snapping sideways and hitting the wall. This crash was not nearly as bad as the one Larson had at Atlanta Motor Speedway a few weeks ago, and the No. 5 was able to continue. Yet Larson’s rear diffuser was damaged in the mishap, and he struggled to make speed for the rest of the race. His 26th-place finish was a serious disappointment for the driver who won at Kansas earlier this year.
Next, it was Bell’s turn for adversity. He had the best car early in the race and looked to be on cruise control for most of stage one. But with eight laps to go in the stage, Bell got loose in turn 2 and bounced off the wall, allowing William Byron to swoop past him and take the lead. Byron won the stage and added to his playoff point total, while Bell slipped back to fifth. Still, the No. 20 was not as damaged as the No. 5, and Bell was able to continue.
Unfortunately for Bell, he hit the wall again in the closing laps of stage two and missed out on another stage victory. This time, the damage to his Toyota was more serious and he fell out…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …