Moments that changed the course of the 30th race of the 2014 season
BRAD KESELOWSKI HITS THE WALL AFTER BLOWN TIRE
Brad Keselowski found the wall on Lap 158 due to a right front tire issue, making him the latest Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contender to find trouble in the Hollywood Casino 400.
Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion, smacked the wall and took his car to the garage shortly after for repairs. He would return to the race 38 laps down and scored in 37th place.
The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford spent much of the first half of the race in the top 10.
In addition to Keselowski, Chase contenders Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson also found trouble at Kansas during the first half of the race.
Looking ahead at the two other tracks in the Contender Round, where he will need solid performances to advance, Keselowski has one victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway and two wins at Talladega Superspeedway.
DALE EARNHARDT JR. BLOWS A TIRE, CRASHES WHILE LEADING RACE
A promising run for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Kansas Speedway hit the wall, literally, on Sunday in the Hollywood Casino 400.
Earnhardt Jr. led 45 laps and held the lead in what had been the best run of his 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup before smacking the wall on Lap 122. His No. 88 team was at work in the garage trying to him back out on the track.
“The whole surface of the unwound like a string,” Earnhardt told ESPN. “It just came off the car and it popped off in the corner. I felt it coming apart through the corner, and the surface of the tire is gone. The whole cap came off. Must have been a recap.
“I got to hand it to the guys. Man, that was a great race car. We hadn’t been running very good the last several weeks, and man, we came in here with a great attitude and a great fast car. This is the car we won Pocono with both times. It’s a good car. Hopefully we didn’t hurt it too bad, and we’ll just try to go to the next one. This will hurt us in the points obviously, but we’ve got a lot of racing left, a lot of races to win. We’re running good.”
Over the radio, Junior told crew chief Steve Letarte, “I wasn’t really pushing. I wasn’t tight.” Letarte responded, “I’m going to keep my opinions to myself.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON TURNED BY GREG BIFFLE, CRASHES
Defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson saw his Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup get off to a bad start following a wreck Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
Johnson was the lone Chase driver involved in the four-car incident on Lap 84. Johnson wheeled the No. 48 to the garage where he was hopeful work could be done to get the car back on track.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Johnson told ESPN after leaving the infield care center. “Obviously a big hit in championship points so we’ll try to get the car back on the track, run some laps, get a few points if we can and it just puts a premium on next weekend and the weekend after.
“It just means we’ve got to be on our game at Charlotte and Talladega. And there’s still a lot of racing left. This stuff can happen so we’ll see how the other Chasers fare. If I can get taken out today, somebody else can later in this event or at Charlotte so we’ll do our best to get back on track and then certainly need W’s I would assume moving forward.”
Johnson took a big hit into the wall after Greg Biffle got loose and into his car. Justin Allgaier and Josh Wise were also involved. Johnson was scored in 39th place as his crew worked on the vehicle.
“That’s pretty heavy damage there, looks like, guys,” crew chief Chad Knaus said over the radio.
“Yeah, we’re killed,” said Johnson, who quickly stopped his No. 48 car as it began losing oil. He then took the mandatory ride to the infield care center — where he was quickly cleared — after he was unable to drive back to the garage.
“(Biffle) just came down and said he just lost it and ran into us,” Johnson’s spotter Earl Barban said on the radio to Knaus.