Joey Logano has continued to be a major thorn in the side of his rivals as he took his second straight win in the second phase of the Chase for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup.
After winning last weekend at Charlotte, Logano surged to victory at Kansas Speedway, brushing past leader Matt Kenseth with five laps remaining.
After being one of the dominant drivers in the first portion of the Chase, Kenseth was brought back to earth last weekend. In Kansas he led a race-high 153 of 269 laps, but was sent spinning when he tried to defend his race lead again the fast-finishing Logano.
Like it was for defending champion Kevin Harvick in the first phase of the Chase, Kenseth has to win next weekend at Talladega.
“Strategically, that doesn’t seem like such a great decision for him,” said Kenseth who finished 14th.
“But it’s the one he made, and that’s how he wanted to win.”
Logano took the win after a green-white-chequered overtime finish, holding off Denny Hamlin to notch his fifth Sprint Cup victory of the year, his second at the 1.5-mile track and the 13th of his premier-series career.
“When you see trophies you want to get them,” said Logano.
“Our goal is to keep everyone on edge when they go into Talladega and we can feel comfortable about it, so I’m just proud of what this team is doing. We’ve just got to keep this speed in our race cars and keep doing what we’re doing.”
A wide variety of issues befell several Chase hopefuls, making the task ahead of them that much more difficult in next weekend’s elimination race at treacherous Talladega Superspeedway.
A look at the standings is more about focussing on the bottom four which is Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Matt Kenseth.
If any driver in the top-12 wins at Talladega they will automatically advance to the next round of the Chase.
VIDEO: Race wrap
RESULTS: Hollywood Casino 400 – Kansas Speedway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MAKE | START | LAPS | LAPS LED | FINAL STATUS | POINTS | BONUS POINTS |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 14 | 269 | 42 | Running | 47 | 4 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 5 | 269 | 0 | Running | 42 | 0 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 21 | 269 | 5 | Running | 42 | 1 |
| 4 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 24 | 269 | 0 | Running | 40 | 0 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 3 | 269 | 0 | Running | 39 | 0 |
| 6 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 9 | 269 | 0 | Running | 38 | 0 |
| 7 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 8 | 269 | 5 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | 2 | 269 | 6 | Running | 37 | 1 |
| 9 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 1 | 269 | 28 | Running | 36 | 1 |
| 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 6 | 269 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
| 11 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 10 | 269 | 0 | Running | 33 | 0 |
| 12 | 33 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | 16 | 269 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 18 | 269 | 0 | Running | 31 | 0 |
| 14 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 11 | 269 | 153 | Running | 32 | 2 |
| 15 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 7 | 269 | 0 | Running | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 4 | 268 | 21 | Running | 29 | 1 |
| 17 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 12 | 268 | 0 | Running | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 19 | 268 | 0 | Running | 26 | 0 |
| 19 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 13 | 268 | 7 | Running | 26 | 1 |
| 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 28 | 268 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 15 | 267 | 0 | Running | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 29 | 267 | 0 | Running | 22 | 0 |
| 23 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 38 | 267 | 2 | Running | 22 | 1 |
| 24 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 23 | 267 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
| 25 | 55 | David Ragan | Toyota | 22 | 266 | 0 | Running | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 30 | 266 | 0 | Running | 18 | 0 |
| 27 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 27 | 265 | 0 | Running | 17 | 0 |
| 28 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | Ford | 31 | 265 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 20 | 265 | 0 | Running | 15 | 0 |
| 30 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | 34 | 265 | 0 | Running | 14 | 0 |
| 31 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 32 | 264 | 0 | Running | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | Ford | 35 | 264 | 0 | Running | 12 | 0 |
| 33 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | 39 | 264 | 0 | Running | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 37 | 263 | 0 | Running | 10 | 0 |
| 35 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 17 | 263 | 0 | Running | 9 | 0 |
| 36 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 33 | 262 | 0 | Running | 8 | 0 |
| 37 | 23 | Jeb Burton | Toyota | 40 | 260 | 0 | Running | 7 | 0 |
| 38 | 98 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | 42 | 258 | 0 | Running | 6 | 0 |
| 39 | 32 | Will Kimmel III | Ford | 43 | 255 | 0 | Running | 5 | 0 |
| 40 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 26 | 170 | 0 | Accident | 4 | 0 |
| 41 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 25 | 154 | 0 | Accident | 3 | 0 |
| 42 | 26 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 36 | 144 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 41 | 127 | 0 | Engine | 0 | 0 |
STANDINGS
| POS | DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 | DNF |
| 1 | Joey Logano | 3095 | Leader | 31 | 5 | 19 | 25 | 0 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 3082 | -13 | 31 | 2 | 13 | 17 | 1 |
| 3 | Kurt Busch | 3077 | -18 | 28 | 2 | 10 | 17 | 0 |
| 4 | Carl Edwards | 3076 | -19 | 31 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 2 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 3071 | -24 | 31 | 3 | 20 | 24 | 1 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | 3071 | -24 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 1 |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | 3071 | -24 | 31 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 1 |
| 8 | Martin Truex Jr | 3070 | -25 | 31 | 1 | 8 | 19 | 2 |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 3064 | -31 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 2 |
| 10 | Ryan Newman | 3062 | -33 | 31 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 3039 | -56 | 31 | 2 | 13 | 18 | 1 |
| 12 | Matt Kenseth | 3035 | -60 | 31 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 3 |
| 13 | Jamie McMurray | 2154 | -941 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 14 | Jimmie Johnson | 2134 | -961 | 31 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 1 |
| 15 | Paul Menard | 2109 | -986 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 16 | Clint Bowyer | 2086 | -1009 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 1 |
| 17 | Aric Almirola | 821 | -2274 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 18 | Kasey Kahne | 811 | -2284 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
| 19 | Kyle Larson | 757 | -2338 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| 20 | Greg Biffle | 753 | -2342 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 688 | -2407 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 22 | Casey Mears | 672 | -2423 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 | AJ Allmendinger | 645 | -2450 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 24 | Danica Patrick | 644 | -2451 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 25 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 623 | -2472 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 26 | Sam Hornish Jr | 614 | -2481 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 27 | Tony Stewart | 608 | -2487 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 28 | David Ragan | 602 | -2493 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 29 | Trevor Bayne | 578 | -2517 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 30 | Justin Allgaier | 504 | -2591 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 31 | Cole Whitt | 463 | -2632 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | David Gilliland | 458 | -2637 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Brett Moffitt | 378 | -2717 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Alex Bowman | 377 | -2718 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Matt DiBenedetto | 348 | -2747 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Michael Annett | 338 | -2757 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Josh Wise | 234 | -2861 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 38 | Jeb Burton | 182 | -2913 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 | Michael McDowell | 176 | -2919 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Alex Kennedy | 109 | -2986 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Reed Sorenson | 74 | -3021 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Bobby Labonte | 39 | -3056 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | Brian Vickers | 32 | -3063 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Michael Waltrip | 26 | -3069 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Ryan Preece | 12 | -3083 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Will Kimmel III | 11 | -3084 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Mike Wallace | 8 | -3087 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | T.J. Bell | 7 | -3088 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Eddie MacDonald | 7 | -3088 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Ron Hornaday Jr | 2 | -3093 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | -3095 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 52 | Brian Scott | 0 | -3095 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 53 | Landon Cassill | 0 | -3095 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 54 | Ty Dillon | 0 | -3095 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | J.J. Yeley | 0 | -3095 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 56 | Regan Smith | 0 | -3095 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | Chase Elliott | 0 | -3095 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 58 | Matt Crafton | 0 | -3095 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Johnny Sauter | 0 | -3095 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | Chris Buescher | 0 | -3095 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Boris Said | 0 | -3095 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | Brendan Gaughan | 0 | -3095 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 63 | Justin Marks | 0 | -3095 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -3095 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | Travis Kvapil | 0 | -3095 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -3095 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | B J McLeod | 0 | -3095 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 0 | -3095 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Timmy Hill | 0 | -3095 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 70 | Joey Gase | 0 | -3095 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 71 | Derek White | 0 | -3095 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | Jeff Green | 0 | -3095 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 | Erik Jones | 0 | -3095 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | Tanner Berryhill | 0 | -3095 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats and betting insights at MotorRacing.com
Discussion about this post