KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) The Latest on the NASCAR Cup Series elimination race at Kansas Speedway (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
Denny Hamlin further solidified his spot in the round of eight of NASCAR’s playoffs, dominating the second stage of Sunday’s Cup Series elimination race at Kansas Speedway.
While Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney have assured their spot in the next round, Hamlin was leading the 12 playoff drivers in the point standings coming into the race.
Blaney was second in the stage as playoff drivers swept the top eight spots. Martin Truex Jr. was third, William Byron and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott were next, and Kevin Harvick and Joey Logan were next before non-playoff driver Paul Menard.
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2:45 p.m.
Joey Logano got a big push from Chase Elliott on a restart with two laps left in the first stage, then held on to grab valuable playoff points in NASCAR’s elimination race at Kansas Speedway.
The caution flag flew Sunday when Ryan Newman tagged the wall, setting up a two-lap sprint for the final stage. Ryan Blaney led Clint Bowyer to the green flag on the restart, but the field went five-wide down the back stretch and Logano took advantage of the chaos.
He raced to the front on the outside with Elliott right behind him. That’s how they finished the stage, with Daniel Suarez third and playoff contenders Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin picking up points in their effort to advance.
Bowyer was the big loser, falling from second all the way back to 21st.
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1:40 p.m.
Daniel Hemric is on the pole alongside David Ragan on Sunday, but all the action figures to happen behind them when the elimination race for NASCAR’s playoffs begins at Kansas Speedway.
Ryan Blaney starts third and Kyle Larson is fifth, though both of them already have secured a spot in the round of eight by virtue of their wins at Talladega and Dover.
Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch appear to be in good shape on points, and Kevin Harvick has a nice buffer even though he’ll start last. Harvick had trouble going through inspection on Saturday and never made it onto the track for a qualifying run.
Brad Keselowski, who will start fourth, and Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano are the last two drivers on the good side of the cut line. Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer and William Byron are on the outside and could need a victory to advance in the playoffs.
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