Clinching scenarios for Martinsville Speedway tripleheader weekend

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series

Already Clinched

The following driver has clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round: Kyle Larson.

Can clinch via points

If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the fourth winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin or Kyle Busch.

o Chase Elliott: Would clinch with 20 points, 22 points if Kyle Busch wins

o Denny Hamlin: Would clinch with 23 points, 24 points if Kyle Busch wins

o Kyle Busch: Would clinch with 54 points

o Ryan Blaney: Would clinch with 55 points, would need help if Kyle Busch wins

o Martin Truex Jr.: Would clinch with 55 points, would need help if Kyle Busch wins

o Brad Keselowski: Could only clinch with help

o Joey Logano: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Ryan Blaney or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the third winless driver in the standings.

o Chase Elliott: Would clinch with 22 points

o Denny Hamlin: Would clinch with 25 points

o Kyle Busch: Could only clinch with help

o Ryan Blaney: Could only clinch with help

o Martin Truex Jr.: Could only clinch with help

o Brad Keselowski: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

o Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

RELATED: Playoff standings

Already Clinched

No drivers have clinched a spot in the four-driver field of the next round.

Can clinch via points

If there is a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the fifth winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier or Daniel Hemric.

o Austin Cindric: Would clinch with 9 points

o AJ Allmendinger: Would clinch with 9 points

o Justin Allgaier: Would clinch with 47 points

o Daniel Hemric: Would clinch with 49 points

o Justin Haley: Could only clinch with help

o Noah Gragson: Could only clinch with help

o Brandon Jones: Could only clinch with help

o Harrison Burton: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Justin Haley or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the fourth winless driver in the standings.

o Austin Cindric: Would clinch with 15 points

o AJ Allmendinger: Would clinch with 15 points

o Justin Allgaier: Would clinch with 53 points

o Daniel Hemric: Would clinch with 55 points

o Justin Haley: Could only clinch with help

o Noah Gragson: Could only clinch with help

o Brandon Jones: Could only clinch with help

o Harrison Burton: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

o Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, Brandon Jones, Harrison Burton.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

RELATED: Playoff standings

Already Clinched

No drivers have clinched a spot in the 4-driver field of the next round.

Can clinch via points

If there is a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the fifth winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton or Sheldon Creed.

o John Hunter Nemechek: Would clinch with 20 points

o Ben Rhodes: Would clinch with 21 points

o Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 46 points

o Sheldon Creed: Would clinch with 51 points

o Stewart Friesen: Could only clinch with help

o Chandler Smith: Could only clinch with help

o Carson Hocevar: Could only clinch with help

o Zane Smith: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Stewart Friesen or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the fourth winless driver in the standings.

o John Hunter Nemechek: Would clinch with 25 points

o Ben Rhodes: Would clinch with 26 points

o Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 51 points

o Sheldon Creed: Could only clinch with help

o Stewart Friesen: Could only clinch with help

o Chandler Smith: Could only clinch with help

o Carson Hocevar: Could only clinch with help

o Zane Smith: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

o John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, Sheldon Creed, Stewart Friesen, Chandler Smith, Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith.

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer will be on hand to shake down the Next Gen car Oct. 26 at Bowman Gray Stadium, a 0.25-mile flat, asphalt oval in Winston Salem, North Carolina, affectionately known as the Madhouse.

NASCAR is spending the time at Bowman Gray to prepare the car for The Clash at the Coliseum, which will be held Feb. 6 on a similar track at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. NASCAR.com will be at Bowman Gray for coverage of the test, so check back for our report as well as a photo gallery of Tuesday’s event.

NASCAR announced the LA Coliseum race back in September when the full 2022 Cup Series schedule was revealed. At that time, Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation, said, of the Coliseum race, “I think the large fan base that we have here in Los Angeles, the largest that we actually have in the nation, paired with exciting racing and being here in the downtown Los Angeles market, I think will be really special.”

During the two-day Next Gen test two weeks ago at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, it was revealed NASCAR would hold tests for the Next Gen car at Bowman Gray Stadium and Wythe Raceway’s half-mile dirt track in Rural Retreat, Virginia. The test at Wythe is set for Nov. 16 and will be in preparation for next season’s return of the Bristol Dirt Race.

Posted on October 24, 2021October 24, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano all sit below the elimination line with one race to go in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.

Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway was another upheaval to the postseason, with multiple playoff drivers finding issues throughout the day, including Blaney, Truex, Keselowski and Kyle Busch.

What was looking like a top-10 day went sour for Blaney. Following a restart on Lap 224, Blaney was running the higher line in Turn 2 when Austin Dillon lost control of his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and slid into Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Blaney’s effort to save his machine resulted in him pounding the outside wall and heavy damage to his car. His crew were unable to make repairs and he was forced to retire from the race.

“We got run into from two lanes below me,’’ Blaney told NBC Sports. “I have no idea (why). Obviously it hurts. Finishing 37th is not fun. We didn’t have a great day but we did a good job of fighting back and getting back into the top 10 but then just got wiped out when we had plenty of room.

“It sucks. That was very unfortunate.’’

Going into Kansas, Blaney was second in the playoff standings and 17 points to the good, but a 37th-place result moved him back to fifth, just one point below the elimination line. One spot ahead of him is Kyle Busch, who sits one point to the good. But Kansas wasn’t good to him, either, as the 2019 champion earned a 28th-place finish following two brushes with the wall resulting in a pair of flat right-rear tires.

Busch, along with Blaney, Truex and Keselowski all suffered right-rear tire issues in the first stage of the event. Truex was able to recover the best of out of them all, scraping up a seventh-place run. After a disastrous crash last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver made up ground in the standings and now sits just three points below the elimination line after Kansas.

“You never quit fighting in these things and all you can do is the best you can do,” Truex said. “Just kept working on it and kept making adjustments and do what we could. We were able to get back on the lead lap there and take the wave around with the quick caution and battle from there.

Truex also expressed optimism for the Round of 8 finale next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, where he has three victories, including this year’s Spring race.

“We’re going to have a good starting position now and good pit selection,” Truex said. “The place has been good to us. If we can get up there and win a couple stages and battle for the win, I think we’ll be able to get ourselves in. We’ll wait and see how it goes, you never know how these things are going to play out. Excited for the opportunity and thankful for everybody for all their hard work.”

For Penske’s two other drivers, Keselowski and Logano, finishes of 17th and ninth respectively still place them below the elimination line. But after their teammate’s misfortune, the deficits for both have shrunk. Keselowski is now just six points behind, while Logano has a 26-point hole to climb out of if he wants to make the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.

“It is pretty far out still,” Logano said. “All things considered, it isn’t just that it is 20-something points out, but I am still eighth. I have three or four cars in front of me that I have to get in front of, assuming there isn’t a different winner. It is still pretty much a must-win situation. It would be far-fetched for it to happen. But hey, look at today. Maybe it could happen.”

Posted on October 24, 2021October 24, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

Chase Elliott did everything in his power to catch Kansas Speedway race winner Kyle Larson, but a late wall scrape sealed his fate.

After passing Kevin Harvick for second place as the laps wound down in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 middle race at Kansas, it appeared Elliott had the speed to track down Larson. But Elliott’s performance was hindered when he scraped the wall on the exit of Turn 2 with under 10 laps remaining.

RELATED: Official results | Playoff standings | Race recap

With significant right-side damage to the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, was Elliott forced to settle for a second-place finish?

“Didn’t really have a choice,” Elliott told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns. “Once I hit it (the wall), it hurt it pretty bad. Really proud of the effort on our NAPA team. We did a great job today. I felt like we had something for Kyle (Larson) there, just got the wall there off of (Turn) two. So hard to get up to him when you’re running the fence like that, just tough … every few feet you get closer, the harder it gets.”

As multiple playoff drivers had trouble throughout the afternoon, the runner-up result now places Elliott second in the points standings, 34 points above the elimination line heading into the Round of 8 finale next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

With Larson locked into the Championship 4, Elliott’s sights are set to join him.

“It was a lot of fun,” Elliott said. “Really proud of the way we ran today. I felt like it was a really nice step in the right direction. … These are the types of runs you have to have in order to compete for a championship. Good time to be doing that.”

Posted on October 24, 2021October 25, 2021 by Zach Sturniolo

After the second race in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, here’s a brief look at the playoff picture. There’s just one race left in the Round of 8, the elimination race at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 31 which will determine the four drivers who will fight for a championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 7.

WINNER

Kyle Larson. Kyle Larson became just the third driver to win three straight races in the playoffs courtesy of his win at Kansas, his ninth victory of the season.

WHO’S HOT

Kyle Larson. By winning each of the opening two races in the Round of 8, Larson remains the only driver officially locked into the Championship 4 at Phoenix. Larson also set the record Sunday for most laps led in a 36-race race season, eclipsing Jeff Gordon’s mark set in 2001.

Chase Elliott. Elliott fell back to seventh on the final restart of the race but charged through the field and rallied to finish second behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate despite contacting the outside wall multiple times in the final laps.

WHO’S NOT

Ryan Blaney. Blaney had plenty of momentum on his side entering Kansas Speedway 17 points above the elimination line. But on a late restart on Lap 224, Austin Dillon got loose to Blaney’s left and chased the car into Blaney’s left rear, sending Blaney sideways and hard into the outside wall. That contact relegated Blaney to the garage early en route to a 37th-place finish. He falls to fifth in points, a single point outside a position to advance to the Championship 4.

Kyle Busch. The No. 18 team endured a long day of frustration at Kansas that started at Lap 22 when he cut a tire for the first time Sunday. In the middle of Stage 2, he hit the wall once again and suffered another cut tire, sending him back to pit road. Still, Busch leaves Kansas fourth in points, just one point above behind the elimination line after finishing six laps down in P28.

BUBBLE WATCH

Kyle Larson WIN

Chase Elliott +34

Denny Hamlin +32

Kyle Busch +1

Ryan Blaney -1

Martin Truex Jr. -3

Brad Keselowski -6

Joey Logano -26

NEXT RACE

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500 next Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App/Peacock, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Who it favors

Martin Truex Jr. The 2017 series champion is making Martinsville his own these days, winning three of the last four races at the half-mile short track. In his eight Martinsville starts since the second Martinsville race in 2017, Truex has finished outside the top five just twice — eighth in the spring of 2019 and 22nd in the fall of 2020.

Who it hurts

Kyle Busch. Despite being a two-time winner at the half-mile paperclip, Busch’s last four Martinsville starts have produced finishes of 14th, 19th, ninth and 10th. Before those four races, Busch notched a streak of eight consecutive top fives. After a dismal day at Kansas, the No. 18 team will need to rekindle some of that magic to ensure advancement into the Championship 4.

Posted on October 24, 2021October 30, 2021 by Holly Cain

Kyle Larson did the heavy-lifting on Sunday, leading nine different times for a race-high 130 laps, ultimately crossing the finish line a hefty 3.619-seconds ahead of the field to earn a NASCAR Cup Series-best ninth win of the season (15th of his career) in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

It is the third consecutive race win for the 29-year old Californian and the second time this season he’s won three in a row. The last time a driver won three straight races twice in a season was 1987 when the late, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt accomplished the feat.

As important as the milestone and positive playoff outcome to Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports team, however, Sunday’s victory also comes 17 years to the day that the storied organization lost 10 people – including Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky and brother John – in a plane crash near Martinsville, Virginia.

In Victory Lane, Larson’s No. 5 Chevy team turned their hats backward in tribute to Ricky’s favorite style and pointed upward in tribute to the organization’s beloved lost members.

“I want to dedicate this win to Rick and Linda (Hendrick),’’ Larson said. “I didn’t ever get to meet Ricky or the other men and women who lost their lives that day, but I felt the importance of this race, no doubt.

“It’s crazy how it kind of all worked out there for me to win. I know they were all looking down and helping out there with all the restarts and stuff after getting into the wall. Again, thank you to Rick Hendrick. I know this means a lot to you and I’m glad I could get it done.‘’

There was a lot to be proud of. Larson has four race victories and a runner-up finish in seven playoff races this season as the series holds its penultimate playoff race next week at Martinsville Speedway. The outcome will determine which four of the current eight playoff-eligible drivers will advance to the Nov. 7 season finale able to contend for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Larson’s Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott was runner-up Sunday, nursing a car with some damage after he hit the wall pushing for a win in the final laps. Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, who are not playoff-eligible and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, a playoff driver, rounded out the Top five.

“Once I hit the wall, I really didn’t have a choice, I hurt it pretty bad, but I’m really proud of the effort,’’ Elliott said. “Our NAPA team did a great job today and I felt like we had something for Kyle [Larson] there, just got the wall off of Turn 2. Just so hard to get up to him. Every few feet you get closer, the harder it gets.’’

William Byron, who won his fourth Stage of the year, and playoff driver Martin Truex Jr. were sixth and seventh, followed by Christopher Bell, playoff contender Joey Logano and Austin Dillon.

At least six of the eight playoff drivers – including Larson – endured some competitive drama during the competitive afternoon that saw 23 lead changes.

Notable was the early exit for Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. He entered Kansas ranked second in the standings. But his No. 12 Ford was hit by Dillon and sent into the wall as the two ran among the frontrunners with only 44 laps remaining. Blaney’s car was unable to continue and he ended up 37th on the afternoon, dropping from second to fifth in the playoff standings, one point behind Kyle Busch, who finished 28th.

“We got run into from two lanes below me,’’ a clearly frustrated Blaney said. “I have no idea (why). Obviously it hurts. Finishing 37th is not prime. We didn’t have a great day but we had did a good job of fighting back and getting back into the Top 10 but then just got wiped out when we had plenty of room.

“That sucks. It was very unfortunate.’’

Strong winds and season pressures made for action-packed runs all afternoon. Some cars scraped the wall and could continue like Larson and Elliott, but others, such as playoff drivers Busch, Brad Keselowski, who finished 17th, and Truex had to pit for repairs and rally back into contention or points-saving modes.

Heading into Martinsville, Larson has the only automatic entry into the Championship 4 with his wins last week at Texas and this week at Kansas. Elliott is now second in the standings with a two-point edge over Hamlin.

Fourth place, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Busch, has that one-point advantage over Blaney and a three-point edge on his JGR teammate Truex. Team Penske’s Keselowski is six points behind Busch and his Penske teammate Logano goes into Martinsville 26 points below the elimination line.

RELATED: Blaney slams wall at Kansas

The series moves to the Martinsville Speedway next weekend for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The top-four ranked drivers then move on to the Nov. 7 NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway to decide who will hoist the hardware.

Inspection note: The race-winning No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson passed post-race technical inspection. The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Christopher Bell had two lug nuts not safe and secure, which will be a fine and one-race suspension for crew chief Adam Stevens. The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Chase Briscoe and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford of Joey Logano each had one lug nut not safe and secure. The Nos. 5, 11, and 22 of Larson, Denny Hamlin and Logano will go back to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Posted on October 24, 2021October 24, 2021 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, Oct. 25
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, Oct. 26
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, Oct. 27
5 p.m., Lost Speedways: Earnhardt Proving Grounds, NBCSN (re-air)
5:30 p.m., Lost Speedways: In the Still of the Night, NBCSN (re-air)
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Lost Speedways: Animal House, NBCSN (re-air)
6:30 p.m., Lost Speedways: Fireball’s Forgotten Georgia Giant, NBCSN (re-air)
7 p.m., Lost Speedways: Concrete Palace on the Passaic, NBCSN (re-air)
7:30 p.m., Lost Speedways: Fit for a King, NBCSN (re-air)

Thursday, Oct. 28
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN

Friday, Oct. 29
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, Oct. 30
8 a.m., NASCAR Masters of the Clock: The Legend of Martinsville, FS1 (re-air)
9 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series Classics: 2010 Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, FS1 (re-air)
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Martinsville, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series United Rentals 200, FS1
5:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Martinsville, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Dead On Tools 250, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5)
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
9 p.m., Lost Speedways: Danger Zone, NBCSN (re-air)
9:30 p.m., Lost Speedways: Home Treasures, NBCSN (re-air)
10 p.m., Lost Speedways: Animal House, NBCSN (re-air)
10:30 p.m., Lost Speedways: Fireball’s Forgotten Georgia Giant, NBCSN (re-air)
11 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series United Rentals 200, FS2 (re-air)

On MRN
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series United Rentals 200
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Dead On Tools 250

Sunday, October 31
6 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series Classics: 2010 Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, FS2 (re-air)
9 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series United Rentals 200, FS2 (re-air)
11 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Martinsville, FS1 (re-air)
11:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Martinsville, FS1
1:30 p.m., Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500, NBC/Peacock/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5)
6 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
1 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500

Posted on October 24, 2021October 24, 2021 by Staff Report

Playoff drivers Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney all found trouble early Sunday in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Busch’s No. 18 Camry was the first with an issue after contacting the outside wall exiting Turn 2 on Lap 22, cutting down the right-front tire of the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and sending him off the pace. He had a separate issue later in the race after he got loose with roughly 30 laps to go in Stage 2 in the same part of the track and again slid into the wall. Just a few hundred feet later, Busch ran the high line entering Turn 3 and had another tire give out, sending him back into the SAFER barrier and onto pit road. Busch finished the race in 28th place, six laps down.

Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, found himself mired in traffic shortly after the ensuing restart and slid up into the outside wall off Turn 2 directly in front of Truex, who also scrubbed the fence. Keselowski was forced to pit at Lap 38 with a flat right-rear tire as a result of the contact while Truex’s No. 19 car lasted until Lap 53 when his right-rear also went down. Keselowski was caught off the lead lap for much of the rest of the race and came home 17th, one lap down. Truex was able to rebound with a seventh-place finish.

Blaney was the next victim of a flat right-rear tire with nine laps to go in Stage 1, costing him valuable stage points as he was running fourth at the time of his problems. Blaney entered Sunday’s race second in points and 17 points to the good.

The No. 12 team’s day went from bad to worse, though, on a restart at lap 224 that saw Austin Dillon get loose underneath Blaney and contact his left rear. Blaney pounded the outside wall exiting Turn 2 as a result and finished 37th, the only playoff driver to end with a DNF on Sunday.

All four drivers are in the Round of 8 and remain well in playoff contention. Busch leaves Kansas fourth in the standings just one point above the elimination line. Blaney heads to Martinsville one point out of a Championship 4 spot with Truex (-3), Keselowski (-6) and Joey Logano (-26) behind him. Those teams will try to rebound next weekend at Martinsville Speedway in their attempts to advance to the Championship 4 in Phoenix.

Posted on October 24, 2021October 24, 2021 by Staff Report

Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 (coverage on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) was delayed for 28 minutes by wet weather at Kansas Speedway. Caution came out for weather on Lap 11, and after a brief downpour, cars were brought down pit road and the red flag displayed. Pole sitter Kyle Larson was the leader with 12 of the scheduled 267 laps completed.

The red flag was displayed and then a hold was called for lightning, but drivers were told to stay close to their cars as track-drying efforts got underway. The red flag lasted for 15 minutes, 46 seconds, the sun came out and the lightning hold was lifted. The race resumed at 3:52 p.m. ET.

The race at Kansas marks the middle race of the Round of 8 of the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs. Kyle Larson is the only driver locked into the Championship 4 following his win at Texas and started on pole for today’s 267-lap race. Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano are also still in title contention. Busch is the most recent winner at Kansas scoring a victory here in May.

Blaney (+17), Hamlin (+9) and Busch (+8) are holding the three remaining Championship 4 transfer spots with two races left in the Round of 8. Elliott (-8), Keselowski (-15), Truex (-22) and Logano (-43) are below the elimination line. Elliott is the reigning Cup Series champion, and Logano is the defending race winner.

Posted on October 23, 2021October 23, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

A daunting task lies ahead for Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson following the NASCAR Xfinity Series Round of 8 middle race at Kansas Speedway.

Disaster struck for both drivers with 21 laps remaining in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300. Burton’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was launched into the front stretch outside retaining wall after part-time driver Sam Mayer got into the left-rear quarter panel of Burton. In the process, Gragson, a teammate of Mayer, was an innocent bystander when his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet smashed into Burton’s machine.

The crash took both postseason contenders out of the 200-lap race. Burton finished 34^th, while Gragson finished a position behind in 35^th.

Burton heads to next Saturday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway eighth in the playoff standings, 51 points below the elimination line — a must-win situation to make his first Championship 4 appearance.

“I just got hit and got headed toward the fence,” Burton told NBC’s Parker Kligerman after exiting the infield care center. “Such a bummer. We were so fast today. I felt like this was one of our better races. We were really building on it, building on it and just needed a different outcome. But that’s alright. We’ll go to Martinsville and try to kick their tail.”

Prior to the incident with Burton, Gragson had raced back into the top five following a run-in with playoff driver Daniel Hemric after a restart on Lap 97. Gragson got into the back of Hemric’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at the exit of Turn 2, sending Hemric for a spin. As Hemric tried to save his car, he hit the right front of Gragson’s No. 9. Both drivers hit pit road for relatively quick damage repair and stayed on the lead lap.

WATCH: Burton, Gragson react to late-race crash at Kansas

Although Hemric finished 15^th, he still remains seven points above the elimination line in his effort to make his first Championship 4 appearance.

As for Gragson, he’s now 24 points below the elimination and likely in the same boat as Burton if he also wants a title opportunity.

“I thought Harrison was doing a great job and myself. You know, we’re just racing for a championship,” Gragson said. “Harrison didn’t do anything wrong. Just a bummer. Proud of this True Timber 9 Bass Pro Shops team. A lot of fun. Ran out of tires with the contact with (Daniel) Hemric there on the restart. Hung on really well for the tires that we were on.”

Gragson noted he would address the situation with teammate Mayer, but viewed Martinsville with a positive lens.

“We’re really good at Martinsville,” Gragson added. “Finished third there last year, second there earlier in the spring. I’ll get the situation from today handled and we’ll go to battle next week as a team. Just very thankful for the opportunity today to race here at Kansas.”