NASCAR, Hollywood Casino 500: Takeaways from Kansas
Two drivers make it to the third round of the Chase, while two others will need a win at Talladega or see their championship hopes disappear.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup season is winding down leaving just four races before the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway where a champion will be crowned. Kyle Busch is the reigning titleholder and is perfectly positioned to repeat having made the Round of 12. Sitting third in points, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is well positioned to move on to the Elite Eight.
Talladega Superspeedway is what stands in the way of all Chase hopefuls because it is one of the most unpredictable tracks on the entire circuit. Dreams are made or broken at NASCAR’s longest oval with speeds in excess of 200 mph and it is perfectly placed on the Chase for the Sprint Cup schedule as only the best will advance into the next round – if they can survive the 2.66-mile-long high bank track for 500 miles.
“You never can have any comfort and you do what you need to do in order to transfer through,” Busch said. “It’s all about the racing gods in that story in Talladega. Our M&M’s Camry was really strong today, we had a very good short run car, not a good long run car. I just wish we had more.”
Busch has four wins on the season and his fourth place finish at Kansas was important to keeping him alive. While he was not happy with the result, he tends to want more even after visiting the winner’s circle. This is just how competitive he is. The Hollywood Casino 400 is just an example of that and what makes him dangerous at Talladega and beyond.
“That’s a crazy race. Anything can happen there, but this team doesn’t quit. As tough and painful as this loss is we ran well today. That’s what it’s going to take to win at Homestead. We feel like if we get to that final round we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with. We’ll move on but man I wanted to win this today.”
Sep 18, 2016; Joliet, IL, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards (19) before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
4. Restarts hurt Edwards
Carl Edwards had one of the fastest cars on the track at Kansas and as the laps wound down he was right there in the mix to win the Hollywood Casino 400. Late race cautions left him battling eventual race winner Kevin Harvick ultimately dropping him back where he was fighting Kyle Busch, his teammate, before finishing second.
“Just the restarts,” Edwards stated. “That bottom line got a good run and they got in front of me. And, then I got choked up and raced Kyle (Busch) for a long time and that set us back. But, man, we had a really good car so it’s frustrating to come home second here. But, Kevin (Harvick) and those guys did a really good job. They didn’t have that fast of a car, they just made the most of that restart and then took off. We’ll just go to Talladega now, but man I wanted to win. I really appreciate all of the support out here. We’ll come back next year, we’ll give it 100 percent effort. That was a lot of fun to run upfront today.”
Edwards, like Busch, is perfectly positioned to advance to the Elite Eight as he is fourth in points just 13 points behind Jimmie Johnson and 24 ahead of Joey Logano and Austin Dillon who are tied at the cutoff line.
Kansas was a home track for Edwards and a win would have been great, however, being the runner-up did everything but give him the automatic spot in the next round.
“There’s so many people that come to this racetrack that support me and have supported me. Not just when I’m racing here, but Capitol Speedway, Old Summit, Callaway Raceway, Godfrey, all these places I raced growing up. It’s a really special place for me. As much fun as I had racing up front, yeah, it stings. There are negative emotions tied to not winning here with that fast of a car. But that’s the way it goes.”
Sep 17, 2016; Joliet, IL, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (2) during practice for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
3. Did Kansas kill Keselowski?
Kansas Speedway put a hurting on Brad Keselowski with a late race gaffe that would lead to getting hit from behind and spinning into the grass destroying the front end of his No. 2 Ford. In spite of a herculean effort by his crew to get him back out on the track to gain as many points as they could, it lasted one lap before the engine let go and the rest of the day went, literally, up in smoke.
“The guys busted their butt to get me back out,” he said. “They put a whole new front end. There must have been some kind of damage to the engine from the spin. It was running fine before that. I think it is just unfortunate. I am not going to say for sure what happened to cause the spin. We will move forward. If we keep getting the effort like they did to fix this thing we will be fine.”
What happened was Keselowski running up the track into the path of Denny Hamlin and when he checked up, the No. 11 hit him just hard enough to cause the spin. The 38th place finish dropped him out of the top-8 into 11th place and while he is just seven points out of the final spot and Talladega staring him in the face, does this mean he has to win to salvage the disaster in Kansas?
“I don’t think it is a must-win situation. I am not worried about it. I am going to go there and bust my butt to try to win but I don’t think it is a must win yet. We are going to Talladega. I like Talladega. Talladega has been good to me and I am going to drive my butt off and at the end of the day I have faith that if it is meant to be it is meant to be. We can’t get down. There is a long way to go still.”
Oct 16, 2016; Kansas City, KS, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) celebrates after winning the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
2. Happy Harvick bullish on Chase
On Sept. 6, Kevin Harvick tweeted out a video of a bull charging from the ring into the stands with the message, “My mood for the next 11 weeks.” Many believed it was out of frustration with his pit crew after Darlington where he finished second, a race he thought he would win. He later explained it was about his approach to the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
It seems to have worked because he won in the first round in Chicago after a 20th place finish the week before, then added one in Kansas following a 38th just a week ago. Each time he advanced in a pressure packed situation.
“I think the best thing is that we prepare this thing for every race,” Harvick said. “I try every week to find something to motivate myself and I know these guys do the same thing. It’s hard to keep yourself motivated and continue to perform at a high level. Being able to do it for three years now says a lot about the character of this team and the things that they do. It is like they say, anything that is really, really hard to get and come by, there are going to be some obstacles and some bumps in the road. I am just really proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing.
“These races are so hard to win, and these guys are so good at the details. You put their backs against the wall and they get better. Really proud of them.”
The kind of mentality has carried him many times and his win in the Hollywood Casino 400 is proof of that. Now he is one step closer to his second title in three years.
“I’ve done a poor job the first half if the year. We struggled with some ratios and timing. We came up with some ratios that really fit what we were doing, and the processes and some other things and it has really paid off twice in the Chase.”
Sep 16, 2016; Joliet, IL, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch (41) before practice for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
1. Don’t forget the other Busch
One driver who is flying under the radar in the Chase right now is Kurt Busch and for a time at Kansas he might have simply faded into oblivion without anyone noticing. Following a last minute final practice spin into the grass that wrecked his primary car, he was forced to start in the back of the field with his backup. Kyle’s older brother then showed why he belongs in the championship hunt.
Busch slowly worked his way through the field and by the time the checkered flag came out, the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 had a solid 13th leaving him fifth in points. His win at Pocono guaranteed him a spot in the Round of 16 and over the course of the Chase he has not had a finish worse than a 15th. He also has a pair of top-10s during that time.
“We got up as high as seventh and I could see the front, I could smell the front, I could taste it, we just couldn’t hang,” he said. “The last adjustment we made sure to free the car up and the car was tight on the last run. I don’t know what we have to do with these tires.”
Since the Chase began the talk is about those at the top and at the bottom, however, those in the middle of the pack, like Busch, look like an animal stalking its prey. One win could change his entire season, especially if he slips into the Elite Eight. As with all drivers still in the hunt for the championship, getting through Talladega unscathed is the most important thing.
“That is a (Tony) Gibson (crew chief) special right there,” Busch said about this upcoming elimination race. “We will have a fast car. I’m not worried about next week.”
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