Rule damaged Kenseth’s shot
Larson also ousted as Truex wins again
It was a simple case of miscounting.
Seven crewmembers went over the wall to help repair Matt Kenseth’s No. 20 Toyota and only six are allowed.
Consequently, Kenseth was parked and unable to finish the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Because of his 37th-place finish, Kenseth, in what might be his final season, was eliminated from the playoffs, along with Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jamie McMurray.
“We missed a head count there,” said a downcast Jason Ratcliffe, crew chief for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. “In the heat of battle … that’s one thing about that pit stall, it makes it difficult. And when you get to pit road really quick, and you have a little less time to communicate. …
“We have a game plan that has worked really good for us all year. I don’t know if somebody missed the call there or I didn’t communicate properly. Typically it boils down to communication, and that’s what happened there.”
Martin Truex Jr. won Sunday’s race, though he was already locked into the next round of the playoffs, which begins next week in Martinsville, Va. Kenseth’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin advanced, but that was little solace to Kenseth, the 2003 champion who is not being retained by Gibbs next year.
Kenseth, 45, was derailed by a new rule, the Damaged Vehicle Policy, which limits a team to five minutes to repair a car and only six crewmembers who can go over the wall and work on it.
When Kenseth pulled into pit road during a frantic and frenetic pit stop in which he was collected at the end of an 11-car chain-reaction wreck, he was black-flagged.
“I don’t know what any of the rules are,” Kenseth said. “Seems like we got a lot of stuff that kind of gets, you know, changed so often I honestly can’t keep up with it. My head kind of spins from putting lug nuts out of pit boxes to one-too-many guys over the wall, you’re not allowed to race anymore.
“I just don’t get it, to be honest with you. I really don’t have a lot good to say right now. I’m more than disappointed.”
The Damaged Vehicle Policy allows an additional crewmember to “service the driver” but his team was caught with an extra tire carrier.
“It’s a shame about the rule that takes a competitor out of an opportunity for a championship,” Ratcliff said. “It’s one rule that needed to be implemented this year as far as the Damaged Vehicle Policy, but it really needs some restructuring and some work, now that it’s been in place.
“I don’t think it’s doing what they intended for it to do, and today is a perfect example.”
Kenseth, who entered the race 10th in the points and eight
“It’s a shame about the rule that takes a competitor out of an opportunity for a championship.” Jason Ratcliffe, crew chief for the Joe Gibbs Racing team
points behind the cutoff line, was in position to advance to the Round of 8 at the time of the black flag.
“We were playing a little different strategy just because we were focused in on a couple of cars,” Ratcliff said. “Obviously we wanted to win the race, and I felt like we had a car good enough to win in the top three. … We were focused on the guys we needed to race to go on to Martinsville and continue our road to the championship.”
One of the drivers Kenseth needed to overtake in the standings was Larson, who entered the race third in the standings with a 29-point cushion. But Larson’s engine blew on the 66th lap, resulting in a 39th-place finish.
“I felt a dropped cylinder or something, it got worse and finally blew up,” said Larson, a winner of four races this season. “We hate we blew our engine and our shot at the championship. I knew as soon as I felt it, or heard it, I was probably done. Luck is a big factor in this sport. It was a disappointing way to finish a race and probably our season.”
Larson stayed on the track and grinded out seven more laps while his No. 42 Chevrolet team searched for a diagnosis to the problem.
“You are not going to read a magic potion and have your engine start running better,” Larson said.
“It sucks to have an engine failure … things happen. You look at the past playoffs. I’m not stunned. Freak things happen in every sport. The 78 (Truex) had an engine issue last year after having the best car all year … and us this year.
“You look at most years in the new playoff format era, not always does the best team win. I’m not saying we were the best team, but we’ve been one of the contenders all season long.”
“I’m not stunned. It’s a long, 10-race playoff season, and anything can happen.”