Kevin Harvick converted his pole position to win the Hollywood Casino 400 as the battle for the Sprint Cup title tightened.
Chase contender Kyle Busch crashed out, while Jimmie Johnson slipped from third to sixth on the final lap with a loss of engine power. It meant that Matt Kenseth's 11th place finish was not as bad as it could have been.
The fourth race in the Chase ended as it began, with Harvick out front. The driver of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet crossed the finish line more than a football field ahead of runner-up Kurt Busch, with Jeff Gordon trailing Busch in third.
The victory was Harvick's third of the season, his first at Kansas and the 22nd of his career. With the win, Harvick moved into third place in the standings, 25 points behind Kenseth. Kyle Busch, who entered the race third in the Chase and 12 points behind Kenseth dropped to fifth in the chase and 35 points out of the lead.
“To sit on the pole and win the race, obviously, is a great weekend,” Harvick said. “Controlling our own destiny by doing that, putting ourselves closer to where we need to be with the championship race … so we'll just keep having fun and doing what we're doing.
“Out front, it was not even close, and in traffic, you were just another one of the cars and had a lot of trouble.”
The race had a record 15 cautions for 71 laps as teams struggled on a cool track and the Goodyear tyres.
Australia's Marcos Ambrose made his way into the top-10 and he had a wild ride spinning off Turn 2. This dropped the Tasmanian to 30th, but with four fresh tyres made his way forward and then on the final round of pit stop he took fuel only and vaulted to fourth. He held his own early after the re-start but over the longer run he fell down the order, but kept things in-check to finish ninth.
RESULTS: Hollywood Casino 400 – Kansas Speedway
POS |
Car # |
driver |
Make |
Start Pos. |
Laps |
Laps Led |
Final Status |
Points |
Bonus Points |
1 |
29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 1 | 267 | 138 | Running | 48 | 5 |
2 |
78 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 19 | 267 | 0 | Running | 42 | 0 |
3 |
24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 14 | 267 | 0 | Running | 41 | 0 |
4 |
22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 5 | 267 | 33 | Running | 41 | 1 |
5 |
99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 9 | 267 | 0 | Running | 39 | 0 |
6 |
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 3 | 267 | 6 | Running | 39 | 1 |
7 |
27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 8 | 267 | 0 | Running | 37 | 0 |
8 |
88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 6 | 267 | 10 | Running | 37 | 1 |
9 |
9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 25 | 267 | 0 | Running | 35 | 0 |
10 |
43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 20 | 267 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
11 |
20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 7 | 267 | 21 | Running | 34 | 1 |
12 |
31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 16 | 267 | 1 | Running | 33 | 1 |
13 |
16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 26 | 267 | 0 | Running | 31 | 0 |
14 |
15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 22 | 267 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
15 |
5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 15 | 267 | 0 | Running | 29 | 0 |
16 |
1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 24 | 267 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
17 |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 4 | 267 | 52 | Running | 28 | 1 |
18 |
42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chevrolet | 12 | 267 | 0 | Running | 26 | 0 |
19 |
56 | Martin Truex Jr | Toyota | 13 | 267 | 0 | Running | 25 | 0 |
20 |
47 | AJ Allmendinger | Toyota | 28 | 267 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
21 |
13 | Casey Mears | Ford | 37 | 267 | 1 | Running | 24 | 1 |
22 |
14 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 23 | 267 | 0 | Running | 22 | 0 |
23 |
11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 10 | 267 | 0 | Running | 21 | 0 |
24 |
38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 34 | 267 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
25 |
7 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | 41 | 267 | 0 | Running | 19 | 0 |
26 |
93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | 36 | 267 | 1 | Running | 19 | 1 |
27 |
36 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | 33 | 267 | 1 | Running | 18 | 1 |
28 |
32 | Timmy Hill | Ford | 35 | 267 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
29 |
40 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | 42 | 267 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
30 |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 2 | 266 | 0 | Running | 14 | 0 |
31 |
30 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | 30 | 260 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
32 |
55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 11 | 242 | 0 | Accident | 0 | 0 |
33 |
33 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 43 | 235 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
34 |
18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 18 | 199 | 1 | Accident | 11 | 1 |
35 |
39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 17 | 188 | 0 | Running | 9 | 0 |
36 |
34 | David Ragan | Ford | 32 | 168 | 2 | Accident | 9 | 1 |
37 |
83 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 27 | 157 | 0 | Running | 7 | 0 |
38 |
98 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 31 | 144 | 0 | Vibration | 6 | 0 |
39 |
51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 21 | 135 | 0 | Accident | 0 | 0 |
40 |
35 | Josh Wise | Ford | 38 | 108 | 0 | Vibration | 0 | 0 |
41 |
87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 39 | 107 | 0 | Engine | 0 | 0 |
42 |
95 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | 40 | 103 | 0 | Vibration | 0 | 0 |
43 |
10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 29 | 0 | 0 | Accident | 1 | 0 |
STANDINGS
Position |
driver |
Points |
Behind |
Starts |
WINS |
Top 5 |
Top 10 |
DNF |
1 |
Matt Kenseth | 2183 | Leader | 30 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 3 |
2 |
Jimmie Johnson | 2180 | -3 | 30 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 1 |
3 |
Kevin Harvick | 2158 | -25 | 30 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 2 |
4 |
Jeff Gordon | 2151 | -32 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 5 |
5 |
Kyle Busch | 2148 | -35 | 30 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 4 |
6 |
Greg Biffle | 2139 | -44 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
7 |
Kurt Busch | 2136 | -47 | 30 | 0 | 10 | 15 | 2 |
8 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr | 2129 | -54 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 3 |
9 |
Clint Bowyer | 2128 | -55 | 30 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 2 |
10 |
Joey Logano | 2124 | -59 | 30 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 3 |
11 |
Carl Edwards | 2123 | -60 | 30 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 1 |
12 |
Ryan Newman | 2110 | -73 | 30 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 5 |
13 |
Kasey Kahne | 2100 | -83 | 30 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 3 |
14 |
Jamie McMurray | 847 | -1336 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
15 |
Brad Keselowski | 827 | -1356 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 2 |
16 |
Martin Truex Jr | 806 | -1377 | 30 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 3 |
17 |
Paul Menard | 805 | -1378 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
18 |
Aric Almirola | 775 | -1408 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
19 |
Jeff Burton | 757 | -1426 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
20 |
Marcos Ambrose | 756 | -1427 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
21 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 741 | -1442 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
22 |
Juan Pablo Montoya | 740 | -1443 | 30 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
23 |
Casey Mears | 621 | -1562 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
24 |
Tony Stewart | 594 | -1589 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
25 |
Denny Hamlin | 573 | -1610 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
26 |
Mark Martin | 552 | -1631 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
27 |
David Ragan | 551 | -1632 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
28 |
Danica Patrick | 530 | -1653 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
29 |
David Gilliland | 518 | -1665 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
30 |
Dave Blaney | 460 | -1723 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
31 |
Travis Kvapil | 420 | -1763 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
32 |
AJ Allmendinger | 402 | -1781 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
33 |
David Reutimann | 402 | -1781 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
34 |
J.J. Yeley | 400 | -1783 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
35 |
David Stremme | 362 | -1821 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
36 |
Bobby Labonte | 347 | -1836 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
37 |
Timmy Hill | 169 | -2014 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
38 |
Michael McDowell | 144 | -2039 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 |
39 |
Michael Waltrip | 102 | -2081 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
40 |
Scott Speed | 99 | -2084 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
41 |
Ken Schrader | 92 | -2091 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
42 |
Terry Labonte | 77 | -2106 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
43 |
Boris Said | 48 | -2135 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
44 |
Ron Fellows | 31 | -2152 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
45 |
Alex Kennedy | 21 | -2162 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
46 |
Justin Marks | 14 | -2169 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
47 |
Scott Riggs | 11 | -2172 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
48 |
Victor Gonzalez Jr | 10 | -2173 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
49 |
Brian Keselowski | 9 | -2174 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
50 |
Tomy Drissi | 8 | -2175 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
51 |
Jacques Villeneuve | 3 | -2180 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
52 |
Jason Leffler | 1 | -2182 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
53 |
Brian Vickers | 0 | -2183 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
54 |
Regan Smith | 0 | -2183 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
55 |
Austin Dillon | 0 | -2183 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
56 |
Trevor Bayne | 0 | -2183 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
57 |
Max Papis | 0 | -2183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
58 |
Josh Wise | 0 | -2183 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
59 |
Landon Cassill | 0 | -2183 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
60 |
Owen Kelly | 0 | -2183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
61 |
Joe Nemechek | 0 | -2183 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
62 |
Cole Whitt | 0 | -2183 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
63 |
Justin Allgaier | 0 | -2183 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
64 |
Tony Raines | 0 | -2183 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
65 |
Ryan Truex | 0 | -2183 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
66 |
Mike Bliss | 0 | -2183 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
67 |
Brendan Gaughan | 0 | -2183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
68 |
Sam Hornish Jr | 0 | -2183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
69 |
Kevin Swindell | 0 | -2183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
70 |
Paulie Harraka | 0 | -2183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
71 |
Elliott Sadler | 0 | -2183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
72 |
Reed Sorenson | 0 | -2183 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
73 |
Morgan Shepherd | 0 | -2183 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
74 |
Johnny Sauter | 0 | -2183 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |