5. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
Edwards finished just where he should have in the Hollywood Casino 400. Both his average lap time and average speed were fifth-fastest among the competitors, precisely where he wound up. He’ll head to Charlotte in third place in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. Get more driver data with RaceView.
6. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
Newman’s six laps led at Kansas Speedway tied his second-most this season. He’s only had more laps out front once, at Michigan in August, when he led 14 laps. His last two finishes have been top-10s, and if he extends that stretch next week, he’ll have his best streak of top-10s this season.
7. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
Hamlin reported over the radio just after the race was halfway completed that there was fire underneath his dashboard. His team advised him to turn off the switches to see if that would help the problem. It must have, because Hamlin continued to pilot the No. 11 into the top 10, putting him 11 points behind round leader Joey Logano heading into Charlotte. Get more in-race audio with RaceView.
8. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
Dillon’s accomplishments seem often overshadowed by those of fellow rookie Kyle Larson. But Dillon’s top-10 is also impressive, given that the rookie was competing for positions against drivers competing for a title. Dillon started 16th, and drove a nearly flawless race to bring the No. 3 home with its fourth top-10 of the season.
9. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
Rounding out a strong day for RCR, Menard followed the team’s rookie past the checkered flag to put all three cars in the top 10. After brushing the wall, Menard needed some repair to the right side, but was able to get the work done in 38.2 seconds, only losing two positions. The top-10 is Menard’s 12th of the season, and a significant improvement over his 17th-place finish at Kansas earlier in the year. Get more pit data with RaceView.
10. Brian Vickers, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing
Vickers started the Hollywood Casino 400 on the front row, but couldn’t make the inside line work and fell back quickly. He moved all the way back to 21st by Lap 105, and continued his onward march forward until the checkered flag fell on his ninth top-10 of the season.
11. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing
It was hard for Allmendinger to miss the first cut of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by only a couple of points in last week’s elimination at Dover. It must be even harder to know that now, as Allemendinger finished ahead of most of the drivers still in contention for the Chase this week at Kansas.
12. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing
Once again, a good day went bad for Harvick. He had led 47 laps when he thought he lost a right front tire. Turns out his tires were OK, but the unscheduled trip to pit road was followed by a caution, and the driver apologizing to his team after learning they would be three laps short of fuel. Thanks to several other drivers seeing tire issues, Harvick’s 12th-place run puts him in sixth place in the Chase standings, 15 points behind leader Joey Logano. Get in-race driver audio with RaceView.
13. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
After seeing several other drivers suffer tire issues, Kenseth and his team decided to bring the No. 20 down to pit road under green as a reaction to a vibration. Unfortunately for the Joe Gibbs Racing crew, a caution flag came out not much later. The No. 20 took the wave-around, restarting 22nd. "A lot of adversity today, way to fight through it," crew chief Jason Ratcliff said as Kenseth passed the start/finish line. Get in-race driver audio with RaceView.
14. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
"It’s just not our day, is it?" Gordon asked over the radio during the Hollywood Casino 400. A loose tire that rolled off of pit road and into the infield brought Gordon back to pit road as a penalty. But as his Hendrick Motorsports teammates know, it could have been much worse. "Well we’re going to have to do better than that guys," Gordon said to his team after the race. He’s currently in the final position to make the next round of the Chase. Get in-race driver audio with RaceView.
15. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
After a bottleneck caused by Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray, Biffle got into the back of Jimmie Johnson and sent the pair of them spinning on Lap 85. Biffle was able to keep the No. 16 out of the wall, preventing any serious damage, and his team was able to get him back on track and keep him on the lead lap. That is, until a Lap 229 caution sent Biffle sliding along the wall. Get more pit data with RaceView.
16. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing
It must feel like a successful day if you beat your boss, but Patrick’s finish at Kansas was something of a disappointment when considering her top-10 finish at the track earlier this year. Patrick is yet to score a top-five finish, and with her seventh-place run in the books, Kansas would’ve been a natural place to earn it. Compared to her qualifying effort of 29th, however, 16th place is a big improvement.
17. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing
Despite starting in the top 10, Stewart was a lap down when the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 hit the wall. The team’s boss would get the free pass, getting Stewart’s No. 14 back on the lead lap. Stewart hasn’t had a top-10 finish since stepping away from racing in the wake of Kevin Ward Jr.’s death. Perhaps as the season’s end nears and as the healing process continues, Stewart will return to championship form.
18. Clint Bowyer, No 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing
It wasn’t very long into the Hollywood Casino 400 when the No. 15 went down a lap. Not long after, on Lap 70, a caution put Bowyer right back at the end of the lead lap. He’d do his best to move forward, especially on restarts, but couldn’t get much done. A bit of damage in the wreck on Lap 85 didn’t help, and Bowyer would end his first race as a dad mired in the middle of the pack.
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
It’s been two weeks in a row where Stenhouse has finished in 19th. However, the driver took the blame for an early mistake that put the No. 17 team two laps down, making the lead-lap finish something they had to work for. Stenhouse’s takeaway was that the team is gaining every week, so we’ll see how the Roush Fenway Racing team fares in the coming weeks.
20. Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports
Now that Ambrose knows his time in NASCAR is limited, it seems a burden has been lifted off of him. He spent several laps in the top 10 at Kansas, earning his 15th top-20 finish of the season and improving on his earlier Kansas finish of 24th. He may have ruffled some feathers, however, making contact with Greg Biffle before the driver hit the wall.
21. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Racing
Cassill’s 21st-place finish at Kansas was his third-best of the season, and best finish since May at Talladega. Cassill started in 35th, making his way up as high as 18th in the Hollywood Casino 400. He finished 42nd at Kansas earlier this year.
22. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
The Hendrick Motorsports driver held the lead on the Lap 166 restart, but couldn’t hold off the speed of Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano, barely keeping the front position as the pack passed the green flag. He’d bang the wall several times on Lap 235, spending over a minute and a half on pit road for damages, finishing the race two laps down and falling 25 points behind Joey Logano in the Chase standings. Get more pit data with RaceView.
23. Cole Whitt, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing
Despite finishing the race three laps down, Whitt earned his best finish since visiting Pocono in August, where he ended the race in 21st. He improved 16 positions on his starting spot of 39th, making him the third biggest mover of the Hollywood Casino 400. Get more in-race driver stats with RaceView.
24. Michael Annett, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing
With 3 DNFs in the past eight races, Annett has seen some difficult competitions. Yet when he has a good car, he shows he can do a lot with it — he has 10 top-25 finishes this season, yet an average finish of 29.3, showing the inconsistency of the team. They should see potential, however, in the fact that their driver had the seventh-most positions gained with 12. Get more in-race driver stats with RaceView.
25. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
After starting 14th, Jamie McMurray took the lead from Kevin Harvick on Lap 44. "I have a weird noise in here, like a tire’s coming apart," McMurray reported on Lap 50. A caution on Lap 70 would give the No. 1 team a chance to reinforce a side panel and still get their driver back out in first, but he couldn’t hold on to the front spot. Continuous troubles left the McDriver finishing laps down after 27 laps led. Get in-race driver audio with RaceView.
26. Reed Sorenson, No. 36 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing
With an average finish of 30.4, Sorenson should be more than satisfied with a finish of 26th. His earlier outing at Kansas resulted in a 32nd-place finish, though some of the positions gained can be attributed to bad luck by some of the series’ top drivers.
27. David Ragan, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports
His best finish since visiting Atlanta Motor Speedway five races earlier, Ragan’s 27th-place effort is more impressive when considering his starting position of 37th. He also started in 37th last week at Dover, but was only able to earn a 31st-place finish.
28. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing
Mears’ outing at Kansas was mediocre at best. Despite several drivers ahead of him spending time in the garage and giving up positions, Mears finished two places behind where he started, five laps down.
29. J.J. Yeley, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing
With his first effort in the 20s, Yeley earned his best finish of the season at Kansas. He qualified in 38th, giving him nine positions gained in the race — 11th-best in the race. Get more in-race driver stats with RaceView.
30. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports
Improving seven positions from his earlier trip to Kansas Speedway, Gilliland put down a performance perfectly in line with his average finish of 30.8.
31. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports
Almirola’s trip to the Chase was short lived, but even if he had made it to the second round, his performance at Kansas certainly would have made it difficult to go any farther. He qualified third, but by Lap 120 fell to 35th and would spend the rest of the race battling to get back up the pack. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get far.
32. Alex Bowman, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing
After an initial fall from 33rd to 40th, Bowman would lead a steady charge for track position, making his way up to 32nd. His finish is right on par with his average for the season, which is 32.1.
33. Timmy Hill, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport
In his eight starts, Hill has four DNFs, making even just a finish an achievement for the team. It was even better this weekend at Kansas, however; his 33rd-place effort is his best of the season.
34. Mike Wallace, No. 66 Toyota, Jay Robinson Racing
In his third start of the season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Wallace tied his season-best finish, a 34th-place finish at Loudon. However, he did so this time with his worst starting position of the season, 43rd.
35. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Ford, Leavine Family Racing
What goes around, comes around didn’t seem to work for McDowell at Kansas Sunday. Despite working to help get debris off both the No. 22 and No. 41 grilles, McDowell was showered in unfortunate incidents, including contact with the wall and a pit road speeding penalty. He wasn’t able to come back from it, finishing several positions off of his average of 30.7.
36. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske
Keselowski also fell victim to a right-front tire issue. "Damn, my steering wheel’s almost straight," Keselowski commented to his team over the radio. The No. 2 team brought the car down pit road on Lap 149 hoping to fix the Miller Lite Ford, but the damage was too much, and they became the third Chase contender to head to the garage in the first race of the second round. He sits in 10th in the Chase standings, 39 points behind teammate Joey Logano. Get more in-race driver audio with RaceView.
37. Joey Gase, No. 32 Ford, Go FAS Racing
Gase was able to say he beat drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in only his second Sprint Cup Series start. It could have been even better had he not spun out between Turns 3 and 4, sending him several laps off the leader’s pace.
38. Josh Wise, No. 98 Chevrolet, Phil Parsons Racing
Though he saw the least damage, Wise got caught up in the Lap 85 wreck as Justin Allgaier got turned into his path. The incident follows a disappointing week at Dover International Speedway, where Wise suffered a DNF due to a suspension issue. Before these last two weeks, Wise had a 12-race stretch of finishing better than he had started. Let’s hope that these two bad races were an anomaly and not the new trend.
39. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
After leading 45 laps, Earnhardt Jr. lost a right front tire and took a hard hit into the wall. The driver was fine — "I’m happy about that," he said over the radio, noting the significant force with which he hit the wall — but the No. 88 headed to the garage. If there’s a silver lining in the incident, it was the way Junior handled the damage, complimenting his team for the solid race car they provided instead of lamenting the damage. He’d make it back to the track on Lap 181, but is second-to-last in the Chase standings. Get more in-race driver audio with RaceView.
40. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
Johnson’s starting position of 32nd tied his worst of the season in the season-opener at Daytona. He finished fifth in that race and was moving up in the field this time when contact from Greg Biffle sent the six-time champion into the path of Justin Allgaier, and later the wall. As the worst finisher in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup‘s Contender Round, Johnson will have to do some serious work in the next two races to keep himself in title contention. "We’ve got to be on our game at Charlotte and Talladega," Johnson said as members of his and other Hendrick crews worked on the No. 48 in the garage. He’s in last place among Chase contenders. Get more in-race driver audio with RaceView.
41. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports
Allgaier’s involvement in the Lap 85 wreck sent the No. 51 to the garage after what looked to be a solid run by the team. He was running 24th when the incident happened, but couldn’t make it any higher than 40th while dealing with the aftermath — a damaged car.
42. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing
In the opening laps of the race, Kurt Busch couldn’t find a car to help him get debris off the grille of his No. 41 Chevrolet. After several laps of monitoring the water temperature and pressure, the team gave it one more shot. "Let me know if it drops," crew chief Daniel Knost said. "If it doesn’t, we need to pit." Things went from bad to worse when Busch was issued a speeding violation and had to serve a pass-through penalty. He’d restart in 42nd, and later hit the wall on Lap 78 due to a tire rub, sending him to the garage and ending his day. Get more in-race driver audio with RaceView.
43. Mike Bliss, No. 37 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing
Out of Bliss’ seven starts in the Sprint Cup Series this season, five have been DNFs. He only completed 17 laps of the Hollywood Casino 400, which, unfortunately, is not a low — he only completed six laps in July at Loudon.
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