Take 5: Sorting out elimination drama at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan -- Cruising to his fifth victory of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Denny Hamlin continued his prominence in the playoffs at Kansas Speedway. On the flip side, it was the end of the postseason road for a quartet of drivers in Sunday’s elimination race. See the biggest takeaways from the Hollywood Casino 400.

ABOVE THE REST: Despite minor hiccups at Las Vegas and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Denny Hamlin has been consistent with four top-five finishes in the first six playoff races. Leading 153 of the 277 laps on the way to a Kansas triumph, we could see much of the same from the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the Round of 8. Hamlin owns a combined nine wins at the next three racing venues, including five victories at Martinsville Speedway. Look for Hamlin to continue to establish himself as the championship favorite moving forward.

STAYING ALIVE: While Chase Elliott squeaked his way into the Round of 8 with a runner-up finish at Kansas, Alex Bowman and William Byron didn't quite have enough to rally for a needed victory to move on in the postseason. Hendrick Motorsports now leaves its playoff fate solely in the hands of the No. 9 driver, but that doesn't mean the other two drivers still don’t have goals to achieve.



"I think we can still further our position in the points, which is awesome," Byron said after the race. "For us to make that next step, we have to compete for wins. We're getting close. We’re running in the top five, so that's great. We just have to make that next step. I think we're really close."

CLEAN UP ON AISLE 22: Defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano avoided catastrophe in the closing laps at the 1.5-mile Kansas City track, overcoming significant damage in a crash that set up the last of two overtime restarts to advance to the Round of 8. It was nearly the final straw of a roller-coaster day. The No. 22 car had a loose wheel at the start of the race but miraculously rallied back to win Stage 1. Those 10 extra points proved vital, but Logano wasn't satisfied despite the comeback.



"For one, we have to smoothen out our days," Logano said. "That's probably the most controllable thing we need to work on. We need to work on getting through the race with nothing happening. We shouldn't have loose wheels when the race starts. We've got to clean that stuff up. I've got to be smoother on the race track. … We just have to look at every department and be a little better right now."

BACK ON TRACK? Kyle Busch's playoff run hasn't been a reflection of how strong the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team was during the first 26 races. The regular-season champion’s six postseason races have been split – three finishes of sixth or better, a pair of 19th-place results and a 37th at the Charlotte Roval. Scoring just his second top five of the playoffs with a third place at Kansas, Busch is still riding on bonus points to maintain a four-point lead over Martin Truex Jr. atop the championship standings.

TICK, TOCK: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway on Sunday to kick off the final push toward the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For the eight remaining playoff drivers, winning the coveted grandfather clock means they're on to the finale, while it serves as a reminder for the other seven competitors that time is ticking away to advance. After his Kansas victory, Denny Hamlin goes into it as the favorite with five wins, but don’t count out Kyle Busch with two wins to his credit. Others looking for their first Martinsville triumph include Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, who feel confident about their chances as well.