Desperate times, they call for desperate measures. In racing, especially at the highest level, that can take on many different meanings. It could be making an adjustment on a pit stop, or getting out of sequence. It could be as simple as choosing which lane to restart in as the leader. It could be as challenging as deciding whether to pit or not, and if a pit stop is needed, do we gamble with two tires, or even only gas.
On Sunday, the desperate measure was seen with a bumper, and some smoke.
Just because a driver is locked into the next round of the Chase, as Joey Logano is, doesn’t mean he wants to see others win to get locked in as well. If possible, one driver would want to win all the races so that the other Chase drivers had to worry about position instead of victory.
That came to a head when Logano was chasing down Matt Kenseth, who simply was the dominant car on the afternoon at Kansas. Yet, on the shorter run, Logano was able to run him down, and he would challenge for the lead. Every way he tried to get by, it wouldn’t work, as Kenseth took away his line.
Finally with lapped traffic in front, and five laps remaining,the two traded a bit of paint, and Logano brushed the wall. But then a few feet later, Logano would tag the bumper of the No. 20, and around the yellow Toyota went. Logano, he would take the victory shortly after.
Kenseth did exactly what he would do in every aspect, as he tried to take away the line and momentum of Logano. On the other side, the race winner felt he was being blocked too much and he simply got tired of it. Kenseth afterward felt that it was a rather dirty move, but rather than confront in victory lane or at the trailer, he kept his composure and decided he wasn’t going to accept his explanation for what happened.
Could it be considered a desperate move to keep someone who is considered a favorite to win the title possibly out of the hunt, at least for another week…maybe.
Was it a full dirty move, not necessarily. Had it been the other corner of the bumper, the right side, it would be as that corner would have sent Kenseth head-on into the wall, and in turn probably would have caused a much different reaction by Kenseth, both after the incident and after the race.
No one can change how it went down, all that can be done at this point is move forward and see who is able to move into Eliminator 8. After all, one race still remains in this round.
RESULTS: 1-Logano 2-Hamlin 3-Johnson 4-Kahne 5-Kyle Busch 6-Kurt Busch 7-Blaney 8-Edwards 9-Keselowski 10-Gordon
NOTABLE FINISHES: 11-Newman 14-Kenseth 15-Truex Jr. 16-Harvick 21-Earnhardt Jr.
CAUTIONS: 7 for 39 laps. Lap 31-39 (#26 Accident-T2); 65-69 (#14 Spin-BS); 109-114 (#42 Spin-T2); 156-159 (#3 Accident-T2); 172-178 (#15 Accident-BS); 244-247 (#51 Accident-T2); 264-267 (#22, 20 Accident-T1).
LEAD CHANGES: 21 among 9 drivers. B. Keselowski 1-28; K. Harvick 29-49; J. Logano 50-66; C. Mears 67-68; C. Edwards 69-71; M. Kenseth 72-109; J. Logano 110; M. Kenseth 111-155; J. Logano 156; M. Kenseth 157-177; J. Logano 178-185; M. Kenseth 186; J. Logano 187-194; M. Kenseth 195-213; J. Johnson 214; R. Blaney 215-219; C. Edwards 220-222; P. Menard 223-229; M. Kenseth 230-243; J. Johnson 244-247; M. Kenseth 248-262; J. Logano 263-269.
TIME OF RACE: 2 Hrs, 58 Mins, 22 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 135.732 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.491 Seconds
CHASE GRID: 1. Logano, 3095 points*; 2. Hamlin, -13; 3. Kurt Busch, -18; 4. Edwards, -19; 5. Harvick, -24; 6. Gordon, -24; 7. Keselowski, -24; 8. Truex Jr, -25; 9. Kyle Busch, -31; 10. Newman, -33; 11. Earnhardt Jr, -56; 12. Kenseth, -60; 13. McMurray, -941; 14. Johnson, -961; 15. Menard, -986; 16. Bowyer, -1009.
*Locked into third round of Chase