What an interesting story for a race. I rarely am down on competitive races, but I am down on this Kansas race. The finish resulted in fans watching Harvick almost helpless in his attempts to try to pass Joey Logano, and Logano used his master blocking skills to clinch a spot in the Championship Four.
Stage one was controlled by Chase Elliott largely, and seven of the eight remaining playoff drivers scored stage points. Stage one was the best racing of the day, and it is becoming more obvious this intermediate aero package works best in cool, cloudy, and wintery weather.
Stage two was won by Denny Hamlin, and it was an interesting battle in the closing laps of the stage, but it was at that point I realized passing for the lead was going to be a problem at the end of the race. It was another stage dominated by the playoff drivers, and it tightened up around the playoff cutline after stage 2.
Stage three was a mess. Playoff contender Kurt Busch had an engine blow up, and Denny Hamlin made the mistake of hitting the wall late in the run. The end of the race basically came down to Joey Logano versus Kevin Harvick for the final forty laps. Logano used his mirror and spotter TJ Majors to repeatedly take the air away from Kevin Harvick. Watching Harvick try to pass Logano was interesting, but knowing Harvick had the better car, and still wasn't able to pass him was infuriating.
Joey Logano's win clinches his title race spot, and he will be one of the favorites at the championship event considering his win at Phoenix earlier this year. Joey beat Kevin Harvick to the line in a close battle that day as well. As for the other contenders...Logano's win hurt everybody except Kevin Harvick. As we near the final two races of the round every driver should race like they're in a must win situation... because they are.
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