Chase Elliott Wins Cup Race at Kansas and Moves on to the Next Round

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KANSAS CITY, KS - RIS - Chase Elliott won for the second time in three races and punch his ticket to the next round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.  Elliott needed 98 career starts before he figured out how to close out a win. The breakthrough victory 11 events ago sparked his performance in NASCAR’s playoffs and Elliott bookended this second round with wins.

His victory three races ago at Dover ensured Elliott a spot in the round of eight, and the Kansas victory showed he just might contend for the title.

“I feel like we are among those guys that you have to beat, and I think that is all you can ask for,” Elliott said. “I think we still have room to improve, but the last month or two has been way closer to where we need to be.”

Elliott is the only Hendrick driver and single Chevrolet representative in the round of eight. Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time champion, was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and Alex Bowman was knocked out Sunday.

Also eliminated Sunday were Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski, both winners in the first round of the playoffs, and Kyle Larson.

Larson needed to win to make it into the third round and was frantically chasing Elliott in the closing laps but settled for third. He was docked 10 points by NASCAR earlier this week for an infraction at Talladega, his team lost two appeals of the penalty and he was in a must-win situation at Kansas.

Advancing into the third round of the playoffs were Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Joey Logano.

Stewart-Haas Racing has all four of its cars in the round of eight and Ford has five of the slots. Toyota has two entrants in Kyle Busch and defending series champion Truex. Elliott is the only representative from Chevy and Hendrick, which has struggled this year with a new Camaro and a young driver lineup.

NASCAR’s so-called “Big Three” of Harvick, Truex and Kyle Busch are still in the playoffs. Harvick, winner of the second stage Sunday, and Kyle Busch, the runner-up to Elliott, have looked like championship contenders all season. Truex has been hot in spurts but was fifth at Kansas, where he swept both races last season.

Keselowski briefly flirted with a title run by reeling off three consecutive victories, but he ran out of gas last week when Talladega went into overtime and it crushed his momentum. He was sixth Sunday.

“We needed something to step up, but it just wasn’t there,” Keselowski said. “I am proud of what we did down the stretch of the year. We won three races … but of course the ultimate goal is to win a championship and we won’t have an opportunity to do that this year.”

Elliott has now taken over Keselowski’s slot as a late challenger to the “Big Three”

“This is a huge time of year. We’ve got a lot of work to do and a long ways to go,” Elliott said.

Unofficial Race Results for the 18th Annual Hollywood Casino 400 - October 21, 2018
Kansas Speedway - 1.5 - Mile Paved

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 13, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, 267, 10, 4, 1, 44, 5, 48, Running
2) 7, Kyle Busch (P), No. 18 M&M's Halloween Toyota, 267, 4, 5, , , , 48, Running
3) 27, Kyle Larson (P), No. 42 McDonald's Trick. Treat. Win! Chevrolet, 267, , 6, , , , 39, Running
4) 6, Erik Jones, No. 20 Craftsman Toyota, 267, 8, 7, , , , 40, Running
5) 12, Martin Truex Jr.  (P), No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, 267, , 10, , , , 33, Running
6) 5, Brad Keselowski (P), No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 267, , , 2, 26, , 31, Running
7) 4, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Wrangler Riggs Ford, 267, 3, 2, 2, 9, , 47, Running
8) 1, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 267, 1, 3, 3, 100, 1, 47, Running
9) 10, Alex Bowman (P), No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 267, , 9, , , , 30, Running
10) 3, Aric Almirola (P), No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 267, 6, , , , , 32, Running
11) 23, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 2, Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 267, 2, 1, 1, 76, 1, 44, Running
13) 14, Clint Bowyer (P), No. 14 Dekalb Ford, 267, 7, , , , , 28, Running
14) 9, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 266, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 16, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 21, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Bush's Chili Beans Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 20, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald's Trick. Treat. Win! Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 11, Kurt Busch (P), No. 41 Haas Automation/Mobil 1 Ford, 266, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 28, David Ragan, No. 38 MDS Transport Ford, 265, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 15, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 265, , , 1, 1, , 17, Running
21) 25, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet, 265, , , 1, 9, , 16, Running
22) 22, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet, 264, 9, 8, , , , 20, Running
23) 31, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Plan B Sales Ford, 264, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 8, Daniel Suarez, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota, 263, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 30, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 263, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 29, Bubba Wallace #, No. 43 Transportation Impact Chevrolet, 263, , , 1, 2, , 11, Running
27) 24, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Coburn Supply Company Ford, 262, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 26, Regan Smith, No. 95 Tommy Williams Drywall Chevrolet, 259, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 35, Landon Cassill(i), No. 00 Share Foundation Chevrolet, 258, , , , , , 0, Running
30) 19, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Rehydrate Ford, 258, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 36, JJ Yeley(i), No. 23 BK Racing Toyota, 256, , , , , , 0, Running
32) 18, Paul Menard, No. 21 Menards/NIBCO Ford, 256, 5, , , , , 11, Running
33) 38, BJ McLeod(i), No. 51 Jacob Companies Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 0, Running
34) 34, Corey LaJoie, No. 72 Dragonchain Chevrolet, 219, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 37, * Kyle Weatherman, No. 99 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet, 216, , , , , , 2, Transmission
36) 39, * Reed Sorenson, No. 7 Harrah's North Kansas City Chevrolet, 157, , , , , , 1, Vibration
37) 33, * Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 96 Xtreme Concepts/iK9 Toyota, 151, , , , , , 1, Transmission
38) 17, William Byron #, No. 24 Unifirst Chevrolet, 55, , , , , , 1, Engine
39) 32, Ross Chastain(i), No. 15 Durkin Tactical Chevrolet, 37, , , , , , 0, Accident
40) 40, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 Ternio Toyota, 3, , , , , , 0, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (P) Playoffs qualified, (#) Rookie, (*) non-charter team

Total Race Length - 267 Laps - 400.5 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 38 Mins, 2 Secs.
Average Speed: 152.713 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.903 Seconds

Race Comments: Chase Elliott won the Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway, his third victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 1, 66 (engine change), 42 (backup car).

Caution Flags: 3 for 17 laps;
Laps: 58-64 (No. 24 Fluid On Track [13]);
82-86 (Stage 1 Conclusion [43]);
162-166 (Stage 2 Conclusion [37]).

Lead Changes: 11 among 8 drivers;
J. Logano (P) 1-40;
A. Allmendinger 41-49;
B. Wallace # 50-51;
J. Logano (P) 52-62;
R. Stenhouse Jr. 63;
R. Blaney (P) 64-71;
J. Logano (P) 72-120;
R. Blaney (P) 121;
B. Keselowski (P) 122-137;
K. Harvick (P) 138-213;
B. Keselowski (P) 214-223;
C. Elliott (P) 224-267.

American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kyle Busch, No. 18 
Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson, No. 42 
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Toyota Racing Development (TRD), No. 18 
Mobil 1 Performance and Protection: Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 17 
Moog Go the Extra Mile: Clint Bowyer, No. 14 crew chief Mike Bugarewicz, -0.050 seconds
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: William Byron, No. 24