NASCAR Notes: Regular Season Champ In Danger of Early Playoff Knockout

NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. completed only three laps in Sunday’s scheduled 267-lap Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway before a punctured tire sent him to the garage, plunging him in the playoff standings.

With one race remaining in the first round, Truex finds himself 13th in the standings, seven points below the cutline.

“I took off really tight and I knew something was up, and then cut a right rear,” said Truex, who finished last in the race won by Tyler Reddick. “Not really sure what happened, obviously, but it blew in the worst place possible. I was hoping it was going to go down on the straightaway, not going into turn three.

“In hindsight, I guess I should have just pitted, but at that point in time, you just don’t know if the car is just really tight or what’s going on.”

Final Caution Foils Hamlin

With 10 laps remaining in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Denny Hamlin possessed a 2.619-second lead over Tyler Reddick, but then with six laps remaining Chris Buescher’s Ford hit the wall, changing the race’s complexion.

Two tires or four tires. That was the decision the crew chiefs faced. Daniel Suarez didn’t pit and inherited the lead. Erik Jones, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano took two tires. Hamlin took four tires as did Kyle Larson and Reddick. When they lined up for the restart, Suarez took the inside line as did Logano and Reddick. Jones took the outside line as did Hamlin.

Hamlin didn’t get a good restart and found himself playing catch-up the final two laps that belonged to Reddick.

“Just kind of sleeping on the restart, looking in the rear view instead of out the front,” said Hamlin, who led three times for 63 laps. “The 5 (Larson) was just laying back so much (for the restart). I was trying to back up to him. It gave the 45 an opportunity to get up there in front of us.”

Hamlin, who co-owned Reddick’s car with Michael Jordan, notes that racing is “a sport of chance at times.”