Harvick wins from pole in Kansas

Happy Harvick
Chevy

Kevin Harvick won the Hollywood Casino 400 from the pole on Sunday at Kansas Speedway in a race that featured a record number of cautions and tightened up the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Harvick's 22nd victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series brought him to within 25 points of Matt Kenseth in the Chase standings. Jimmie Johnson, who finished sixth, shaved his deficit to Kenseth from eight points to three.

Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, who finished third, pulled to within 32 points of Kenseth. Kurt Busch, in second, Joey Logano, in fourth, and fifth-place Carl Edwards rounded out the top five.

For Kyle Busch the day was not as kind. On Lap 200 Busch got loose in Turn 2 and contacted hard with the outside wall, doing major front-end damage to the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Brian Vickers also sustained damage in the accident, but it was Busch, whose controversial move drew the ire of Brad Keselowski a day earlier in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, who took the biggest hit.

Busch, who had to go to a backup car after a wreck in a Saturday practice session, exited the race with his historic troubles at Kansas in tow. He entered Sunday in third place in the Chase but ended it in fifth place, 35 points back and will have to avoid major trouble the rest of the way in order to contend.

It was a day when many Chase contenders were trying to overcome mistakes and/or misfortune. Within the first 100 laps both Johnson and Harvick pitted just before cautions, an unlucky play that forced them to battle from deep in the field afterward. Meanwhile, Kenseth was hit with a pit road speeding penalty on Lap 140 that forced him back to 31st on a restart.

The race featured a track-record 15 cautions, including a four-car accident on the opening lap that involved Danica Patrick, Kyle Busch, Cole Whitt and David Reutimann. Patrick hit hard into the outer wall in Turn 2 and her car was too damaged for her to continue.

Another big wreck happened on Lap 136 when the No. 51 of Justin Allgaier contacted hard with Ryan Newman's No. 39 on the backstretch of the 1.5-mile track. Allgaier's machine was too damaged for him to continue. Newman took his vehicle to the garage. Newman entered Sunday in seventh place in the Chase standings but dropped to 12th.

There was even a caution on Lap 155 for a small fire on the hill above Turn 1 that popped up in some bushes near a spectator area. The fire was quickly extinguished and nobody appeared to be injured.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series resumes at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500.

Results

Pos # Driver Make St Laps Led Status
1 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 1 267 138 Running
2 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 19 267 0 Running
3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 14 267 0 Running
4 22 Joey Logano Ford 5 267 33 Running
5 99 Carl Edwards Ford 9 267 0 Running
6 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 3 267 6 Running
7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 8 267 0 Running
8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 6 267 10 Running
9 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 25 267 0 Running
10 43 Aric Almirola Ford 20 267 0 Running
11 20 Matt Kenseth Toyota 7 267 21 Running
12 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 16 267 1 Running
13 16 Greg Biffle Ford 26 267 0 Running
14 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 22 267 0 Running
15 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 15 267 0 Running
16 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 24 267 0 Running
17 2 Brad Keselowski Ford 4 267 52 Running
18 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 12 267 0 Running
19 56 Martin Truex Jr Toyota 13 267 0 Running
20 47 AJ Allmendinger Toyota 28 267 0 Running
21 13 Casey Mears Ford 37 267 1 Running
22 14 Mark Martin Chevrolet 23 267 0 Running
23 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 10 267 0 Running
24 38 David Gilliland Ford 34 267 0 Running
25 7 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 41 267 0 Running
26 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 36 267 1 Running
27 36 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 33 267 1 Running
28 32 Timmy Hill Ford 35 267 0 Running
29 40 Tony Raines Chevrolet 42 267 0 Running
30 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Ford 2 266 0 Running
31 30 Cole Whitt Toyota 30 260 0 Running
32 55 Brian Vickers Toyota 11 242 0 Accident
33 33 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 43 235 0 Running
34 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 18 199 1 Accident
35 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 17 188 0 Running
36 34 David Ragan Ford 32 168 2 Accident
37 83 David Reutimann Toyota 27 157 0 Running
38 98 Michael McDowell Ford 31 144 0 Vibration
39 51 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 21 135 0 Accident
40 35 Josh Wise Ford 38 108 0 Vibration
41 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 39 107 0 Engine
42 95 Reed Sorenson Ford 40 103 0 Vibration
43 10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 29 0 0 Accident

Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com