RELATED: Updated series standings
Advancing: Last week’s Charlotte winner Joey Logano continued his dominance in the Contender Round, taking the checkered flag on Sunday at Kansas Speedway after spinning leader Matt Kenseth, forcing a green-white-checkered to end the race. The win marked the Team Penske driver’s second career win at the Midwestern track.
Because Logano secured a spot in the Eliminator Round with last weekend’s Bank of America 500 win, no new drivers earned automatic bids this weekend at Kansas.
Four in, four out: Here’s the bubble picture following Kansas. The four drivers below the line would not advance to the next round (Eliminator) if the Contender Round ended today. (Note: The Contender Round ends next week at Talladega Superspeedway.)
5. Kevin Harvick (1 point ahead of eighth-place driver)
6. Jeff Gordon (+1)
7. Brad Keselowski (+1)
8. Martin Truex Jr. (–)
———–
9. Kyle Busch (6 points behind eighth-place driver)
10. Ryan Newman (-8)
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-31)
12. Matt Kenseth (-35)
Reason for hope: With a runner-up finish at Kansas that put him second on the Chase Grid, Denny Hamlin sits in a comfortable position heading into Talladega next weekend. Tack on the fact that Hamlin is a recent winner at the superspeedway (May 2014) and the No. 11 looks like it could coast into the Eliminator Round, win or not.
Reason for worry: Already in a hole from last weekend’s struggles at Charlotte, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 21st-place result at Kansas left the team where they started the race — 11th of 12th in the Chase Grid, 31 points behind eighth-place Martin Truex Jr. Now, Earnhardt Jr. will undoubtedly have to win next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, a track where he excels but one which is also notoriously unpredictable in nature.
Up next: CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega, 2:30 p.m. ET, Oct. 25 at Talladega Superspeedway (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM)
Who it favors
Most wins: 6 — Jeff Gordon , Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Best driver rating: 92.8 — Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Best average finish: 15.1 — Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Who it hurts
Fewest top 10s: 4 — Joey Logano (in 13 starts)
Worst driver rating: 66.4 — Carl Edwards
Worst average finish: 22.4 — Kyle Busch