Tyler Reddick grabs a victory at Kansas Speedway to advance to the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 in the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday.
Kansas Speedway hosted the second race in the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 16 playoffs. A thrilling race at Darlington Raceway last week painted a good picture of how dramatic the playoffs can be. These theatrics continued at Kansas with some teams continuing on with their success, while others struggled.
The Polesitter is Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell started the race in first place after being the fastest in qualifying on Saturday. The race did not stay green for long as Martin Truex Jr. wrecked out of the race after suffering a tire malfunction.
Kyle Larson took over the lead on the following restart. Green flag stops began to cycle through with Larson returning to the front. With eighteen laps remaining in the first segment, the caution came out after William Byron spun around. Kyle Larson won the race off pit road and led the final eleven laps to win the first stage.
Bubba Wallace Loses a Tire and Two More Cautions in Second Stage
Kyle Larson continued to lead the opening 20 laps before the first caution in the next stage came out with Bubba Wallace losing a tire. Chase Elliott moved into the lead on the restart, but another caution flag was waved with Austin Cindric spinning around.
Elliott led through another caution involving Chase Briscoe as the race settled into a green flag run to the end of the segment.
Brad Keselowski tracked down Chase Elliott and made a pass for the lead with four laps remaining in the stage. Elliott could not gather enough momentum to make another run as Keselowski cruised on to win the second stage.
Tire Strategy and Restarts Play a Role in the Third Stage
Brad Keselowski led into the early portion of stage three. A quick caution came out with Harrison Burton hitting the wall in the third turn. Denny Hamlin moved into the lead shortly after the following restart and took off.
Hamlin held the lead with seven laps remaining in the race. The race was all but over when a caution came out with Chris Buescher losing a tire while running in 12th place. A few drivers stayed out while many leaders came down pit road for fresh tires.
Tyler Reddick Grabs a Victory at Kansas Advancing to the Playoff Round of 12
Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones stayed side by side for the first lap after the restart. As the two took the white flag, Tyler Reddick forced the issue going three wide on the front stretch.
Reddick cleared the field going into the first turn and did not look back. Tyler Reddick stormed on claiming victory at Kansas Speedway.
Tyler Reddick was the faster car on the restart, and he knew it. Once Reddick had his run coming off the fourth turn, he did not hesitate to take Suarez and Jones three wide on the front stretch. He quickly grabbed the lead going down into the first turn, and that was all she wrote.
The Hollywood Casino 400 Results
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
More playoff drivers continued to have issues at Kansas with Martin Truex JR wrecking out on the fourth lap of the race. Bubba Wallace finished 32nd after running in the top five early on. Chris Buescher was another driver who was on the verge of a solid finish before his wreck with seven laps remaining.
As it stands with the Round of 16 elimination race next week, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Bubba Wallace sit in must-win situations. Stenhouse Jr. and Wallace could make it in on points but will take a lot to go their way to make that happen.
Martin Truex Jr., the regular-season champion sits seven points back as well. Bristol Motor Speedway will be the venue for the cut-off race. A highly anticipated race on Saturday night, held under the lights. The perfect setting for what could be a significant race.