Kansas hurt many Chase drivers chances at a title

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Tony Stewart, who at one point was a step, or a few raindrops, away from Kansas Speedway's Victory Lane on Sunday in the LifeLock 400, was an integral player in two interconnected melees in the closing stages that led the race to be shortened a second time and drastically affected the outcomes for four Chase for the Nextel Cup contenders.

Kurt Busch, who won the first Chase for the Nextel Cup title in 2004, could only shake his head after he exited his hauler with a scrambling 11th-place finish that enabled him to pick up two spots in the standings, to ninth.

Lap-by-Lap

There was bunches of crumpled mess being hauled away after a crash-filled day turned into night at Kansas Speedway.

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"It's pretty wild and we're not the only ones with a hex that's happening out there," Busch said. "It seems like there's all these unforeseen circumstances that keep popping up, and a lot of it is out of the team's control -- it's just racing."

Stewart was the leader when the race was red-flagged after 148 laps, 14 after halfway and the second time rain interrupted the event. Just before that point, Stewart reportedly questioned crew chief Greg Zipadelli's strategy to stay on the track as the other lead lap cars began heading to pit road for fuel and tires, albeit under threatening skies (watch video).

Stewart was calm under the delay, but proved to be a prophet while daylight dwindled and jet dryers circulated the 1.5-mile speedway to dry it under the two-hour, 13-minute red flag.

"I am really proud of our guys, we have done a great job this weekend, Zippy [Zipadelli] and all the guys to give us a car that is drivable," Stewart said. "I hate to say this because of the fans here, but I hope it rains like this the rest of the day. We need these points right now."

But it wasn't to be. Stewart, though leading, restarted behind a number of lead lap cars, as well as the laps-down cars that typically restart in the inside line.

Before the race restarted just after 7 p.m. ET, NASCAR made the call to cut the race from 267 laps to 225, due to impending darkness.

And on Lap 156, right after the restart, Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet was in the middle of a scrum involving no less than seven cars coming off Turn 2 in which he punted fellow Chase contender Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 1 Chevrolet into the rear of 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth's No. 17 Ford.

The accident began when Michael Waltrip tried to drive his No. 55 Toyota between Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet and Ken Schrader's No. 21 Ford, which created a three-wide exit from Turn 2 that loosened up Schrader's car and spun it into the middle of the pack (watch video).

"Somebody just keeps taking it all away from us, you know -- it's the worst part about it," Truex said after exiting his ruined car for the second week in a row after getting in a wreck he didn't cause. This week it was repaired by his Dale Earnhardt Incorporated crew and he finished the race 38th, 35 laps down.

"We've had cars that could win, every damn week -- it's frustrating."

The cars of Truex and Kenseth, who came into the race seventh and 10th, respectively, in the Chase, were substantially damaged in the crash, while Stewart's car suffered front end damage, including a warped left front fender. (Continued)