Joey Logano did what he had to do over the final 45 laps of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, as he blocked his way and took the clean air away from Kevin Harvick down the stretch to win the race.
“What an amaazing team this Shell/Pennzoil team is, Oh my goodness I’m worn out,” Logano said. “I spent more time looking at the mirror than I did the window.”
This win, Logano’s third of the 2020 season, locks him into the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.
“We’re going to Phoenix,” Logano exclaimed. “We’re racing for a championship again, heck yeah?”
While Harvick had a much faster Ford Mustang in the closing laps, the driver of the No. 4 couldn’t do anything with the air being flung from behind of the seemingly 50-foot tall spoiler of Logano’s car.
Sure, the faster car didn’t win, but that’s how it goes with the NA18D aero package.
“We just needed to get off pit road first. It came down to control on that restart,” Harvick explained.
Alex Bowman finished behind Logano and Harvick to score a third-place finish.
Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch finished fourth and fifth.
Chase Elliott, who raced the majority of the race with little to no radio communication, was sixth and he was followed by Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell in the top-10.
Denny Hamlin, who pounded the outside wall in the final stage and needed to make an unscheduled pit stop for a flat tire as a result, was one of two Playoff drivers to finish outside the top-10 on Sunday. Luckily, for Hamlin, the cautions played out to get him back on the lead lap and he would finish 15th.
Kurt Busch was the other Playoff driver outside the top-10 on Sunday, as his day ended on lap 197 when the engine in his No. 1 Chevrolet expired. Busch will need to win at Texas or Martinsville if he hopes to advance to the Championship 4.
Here is the updated NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 Playoff Grid with two races remaining:
- Joey Logano (locked in by way of win)
- Kevin Harvick, +41 points
- Denny Hamlin, +20
- Brad Keselowski, +8
—Cut Line—
5. Chase Elliott, -8
6. Alex Bowman, -27
7. Martin Truex Jr., -31
8. Kurt Busch, -73
Post-Race Stat Pack
