“That’s quintessential NASCAR”, France said on the “SiriusXM Speedway” show.
Advertisement
Busch, one of the dozen drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, fell to 23rd after repairs while the race was under caution.
The two drivers were one-two in the closing laps of the Hollywood Casino 400.at Kansas Speedway.
Joey Logano had been dueling Kenseth for the lead throughout the second half of the race and with five laps to go clearly had the faster auto. But a knockout blow. Logano had already punched his ticket to the next round of the Chase with last week’s win, while Kenseth needed the win after a poor finish last week.
The statements afterward reflected different views of Logano’s punt.
“I really don’t know what to say, but to thank everyone for these wonderful gifts”, said Mike Dizmang-Espy, an 11-year military veteran who was deployed to Iraq three times during his service. Strategically, I think it wasn’t the smartest move on his part. We both went into that corner hard. I raced him hard back. I wanted to run the second lane. I couldn’t be prouder of what this team is doing now…That was good, hard racing.
“I was following Gordon there and I started to catch him back”.
Tony Stewart spun on the back stretch on Lap 63 and brought out the second yellow flag of the race.
“A fun race. What a great Shell/Pennzoil Ford”.
That puts the emphasis on a solid run at Talladega where, as you know, anything can happen.
In a few ways, Logano didn’t just dump Kenseth. “I wanted that middle lane and so did he, and we collided there…it was hard racing”. Nor are they 100 percent without fault.
If NASCAR’s lucky, there will be more of this in the Chase, which has the potential for many more of the “we both went for the same piece of real estate” situations.
This went beyond a wreck-him-for-a-win.
Kenseth wasn’t the only Chase driver that took a potentially fatal blow to his Sprint Cup bid.
Logano’s maturation process hasn’t been as much about developing as a driver but as a competitor. I’ve actually been one of his biggest fans.
“There’s no place I would rather go next week”, said Earnhardt, one of the best restrictor-plate drivers in the series, and the victor at Talladega in the spring.
“You want to win the race”, Logano said. Instead, after finishing 14th, Kenseth is mired 35 points out of the eighth and final transfer spot and in an unenviable must-win situation next Sunday Talladega Superspeedway.
But Logano might have picked a battle with not just Kenseth. Logano might have executed the most ideal punt – one with no fumbles and one with no chance of an immediate return – at the expense of future hostility. When Kenseth won the 2003 championship under the old Latford system, he scored only one victory and took the title in a Roush Racing Ford by consistency. I found him today (before the race) and congratulated him on racing each other for a championship. A formidable beast that cares not for your Chase hopes, egos or body panels, it’s one that seven drivers will be trying to survive unscathed, and one that four more will be desperately trying to win – or cause a “Big One” trying.
Logano swears he can’t sweat it. He raced within his racing code. I didn’t run into him. After a hard race a week ago, Kenseth’s team arrived at Kansas knowing a victory this weekend or next weekend at unpredictable Talladega might be the only way he could make it to the final eight in the “eliminator” round of the playoffs.
Plenty of guys behind him, too.
Advertisement
So, Logano did everything he could to get by.
