The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
High hopes for bubble drivers at Kansas race
Contenders seem to run strong at today’s venue.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. — Ryan Blaney felt good about his chances of advancing to the next round of NASCAR’s playoffs even before he qualified fourth for the elimination race at Kansas Speedway.
Yes, he is 22 points outside the cutoff line. Yes, he has to leapfrog a couple of other guys to make the final eight who will contest the next three rounds before the seasonending race at Homestead.
But Blaney has always considered the fast mile-and-ahalf track one of his best, even though he’s yet to win here in seven career starts. He has led laps four times, was on the pole for the spring race last year and was strong this past spring before ultimately wrecking out.
“This is a good track for us,” Blaney said. “We’ve had a good chance, especially the first race this year before I wrecked ourselves. So hope we have a good shot Sunday to move on.”
The trouble for Blaney is that just about everybody on the bubble is also strong at Kansas. Clint Bowyer, who is seventh and 21 points inside the cutoff line, considers the track his home after growing up in Emporia. Martin Truex Jr. is riding the bubble, 18 points to the good, and swept the Kansas races last year before finishing second this past spring.
Brad Keselowski is the first driver outside the cutoff, and while he has just three top-5 finishes in 17 starts at Kansas, he qualified fifth on Friday — right behind Blaney, his Penske Racing teammate, who is four points back of him as they jockey for a spot in the next round of the playoffs.
Blaney said that dynamic hasn’t created any tension in their garage. The two have continued to share ideas as they prepare for today, which is the only way team owner Roger Penske would have it.
“Brad and I have always been open with each other, which is great,” Blaney said. “It’s our season pretty much, our chance at a championship is this weekend, but you try not to let that distract you and just do the best you can.”
Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman are the two drivers that basically face must-win situations today. Larson was penalized 10 points last week at Talladega for using unapproved materials to fix damage on his car, and that punishment was upheld through two rounds of appeals. That left the Chip Ganassi Racing driver in a 36-point hole, made even more difficult after a wreck in practice forced him into a backup car and will land him at the back of the field for the start.
But like Blaney and the rest of the contenders, Larson feels good about his chances at Kansas. “In May, I felt really, really good,” he said. “I made a mistake in qualifying and spun, we had to change tires, drove to the front pretty easily in the race, won the second stage, passed guys like Harvick and (Kyle) Busch and Truex, and Blaney was really good that day. Then Harvick passed me on one of the later restarts and then Blaney and I got together and we had to repair damage and stuff.”
Larson was still able to recover and finish fourth, but he left Kansas feeling as if he had the best car that day. At the very least, he was on even footing with Harvick and Blaney.
Bowman is the only driver who mathematically must win, and even he feels good about his chances. He won a couple of times at the track in ARCA and has been strong in his few Cup starts. “This is one of my better tracks,” he said.
Joey Logano will start from the pole, giving him a good chance of earning stage points and securing his place in the next round — he’s currently fifth and 39 points ahead of the cutoff. Kevin Harvick qualified second, and at third in the playoff race he needs only to stay out of trouble to advance.
Busch will start seventh and Kurt Busch will start 11th as both try to lock up spots in the next round. Each of them should be in good shape if he manages to avoid any kind of chaos. The two drivers with nothing to worry about? Chase Elliott, who won at Dover, and Aric Almirola, who won at Talladega.
Xfinity Series: John Hunter Nemechek’s father first brought him to victory lane at Kansas Speedway almost 15 years ago, when “Front Row” Joe Nemechek swept the weekend Xfinity and Cup series races.
His boy drove himself there Saturday.
The younger Nemechek overcame a couple late mistakes then drove away from title contender Daniel Hemric late in the race to earn his first Xfinity Series win. Hemric finished second while the rest of the playoff field got a major shakeup following a crash on the opening lap.
“It means a lot, especially at Kansas. I forget how old I was when my dad swept the weekend, so it was pretty special,” Nemechek said. “The first one is the hardest to get.”