KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Joey Logano kept peeking around Matt Kenseth as the laps ticked away at Kansas Speedway, the two of them in entirely different situations in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Logano had nothing to lose. Kenseth had just about everything.
THE CHASE
x-Joey Logano 3,095
Denny Hamlin -13
Kurt Busch -18
Carl Edwards -19
Kevin Harvick -24
Jeff Gordon -24
Brad Keselowski -24
Martin Truex Jr. -25
Kyle Busch -31
Ryan Newman -33
Dale Earnhardt Jr. -56
Matt Kenseth -60
x- clinched spot in third round
NEXT RACE: 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway (NBCSN
So when Logano got under Kenseth entering Turn 1 with about five laps remaining and sent him spinning across the track, it left many eyebrows raised long after the Penske Racing driver pulled away on the final restart to win his second straight Chase race.
“That’s good, hard racing,” Logano said. “We were racing each other really hard. I felt like I got fenced twice. He raced me hard so I raced him back.”
Logano was already guaranteed a spot in the next round of the Chase after his win at Charlotte. After a disastrous 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 to make it to the final eight in the “eliminator” round of the playoffs.
That’s why Kenseth was doing everything possible to block Logano.
“I’m really disappointed,” Kenseth said. “I was running the lane he wanted to run in, but my goodness, isn’t this racing? Strategically, I think it wasn’t the smartest move on his part. He’ll probably sleep good tonight. I hope he enjoys that one. It’s not what I would have done.”
Kenseth wound up leading a race-high 153 laps, but he finished 14th and is last among the 12 drivers in the title race.
“I’m sure we’ll talk about it,” Logano said after hopping out of his No. 22 Ford. “I just felt like I raced hard. I got fenced twice. I wasn’t going to put up with it.”
Uh, Joey, you sure about that chat?
“I won’t talk to Joey. I don’t have anything to talk to him about,” Kenseth said. “I’m one of the only guys that I think hasn’t been into it yet with Joey, and I’ve always raced him with a ton of respect. I’ve actually been one of his biggest fans. I’m certainly not anymore.”
Denny Hamlin climbed to second in the standings with a second-place finish. Six other Chase contenders finished in the top 11: Kyle Busch (fifth), Kurt Busch (sixth), Carl Edwards (eighth), pole sitter Brad Keselowski (ninth), Jeff Gordon (10th) and Ryan Newman (11th).
“It was a very good day,” said Hamlin. “I wanted to be seventh or better entering (next) weekend, and obviously second was a good run for us. Some of the guys in front of us had some troubles.”
Plenty of guys behind him, too.
When the field pitted under green with 53 laps remaining, Martin Truex Jr. had a tire roll away and served a pass-through penalty, while Kevin Harvick drove off with his fuel can and had to serve a stop-and-go penalty. Truex finished 15th and Harvick was 16th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a wheel go loose during a long run and wound up in 21st place, putting him in a must-win situation heading to Talladega.
“There’s no place I would rather go next week,” said Earnhardt, the winner at Talladega in the spring.
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