The curtain finally falls on the Kansas Speedway after the conclusion of the second playoff NASCAR race today. With its short stretch and its progressive banking, the second race on the track was nothing but wreckage. The wrecks involved more than seven playoff drivers aspiring to make headway in the next stage of the race, with cautions being issued as early as Lap 7 of the race after Martin Truex Jr. spun on the track.
The NASCAR race today at Kansas was a nail-biting affair, as the lead shifted continually before 23XI Racing‘s Tyler Reddick maneuvered his way on the track to hold off Erik Jones and Joey Logano and take the checkered flag. The victory by Tyler Reddick was assuredly out of the blue, but the final caution seemed to have upset the fans as they held Hendrick Motorsports accountable.
Denny Hamlin heaves his disappointment after a sad outing in Kansas
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Although Christopher Bell had seized the pole position during the qualifiers, it was Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott who had resurged on the track in Kansas and snatched the lead from the other drivers. Yet Michael Jordan’s prodigy outdueled the whole track, took the chequered, and seized his second victory of the season.
The caveat at this juncture is whether Tyler Reddick would have been the probable winner of the NASCAR race today at Kansas Speedway had there been no late-race cautions. Well, the answer is difficult to decipher, but Denny Hamlin did have the best chance of notching another victory had the driver not faltered on the track after the late restart in the race.
Watch this Story: How Hendrick Motorsports Alerted Michael Jordan’s Team of an Impending Crash Involving Bubba Wallace
Although it was Hamlin who led this week’s NASCAR race today and was on the brink of notching his second victory on the track in the season, the late race caution sent the track into a topsy-turvy situation as most of the race leaders chose to pit. The No. 11 Toyota driver was caught in pit road traffic and failed to gain back his position on the track.
Moreover, in the post-race interview, Denny Hamlin expressed, “The fire was laying back so much I was trying to back up to him [Tyler Reddick] […] Kind of sleeping on the restart, looking in the rearview instead of the front.”
Fans blame the NASCAR authorities for playing favorites with Hendrick Motorsports
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However, fans seemed to be enraged by the fact that the late caution seemed to have added to the advantage of Hendrick Motorsports, and the authorities again played the role of being partial to Rick Hendrick drivers. The final pit road witnessed the pitting of both Hendrick Motorsports drivers, and a seamless pit stop helped to gain position on the track.
Owing to this, many fans wrote on Twitter, “Great, now we’re going to see a HMS pit crew win this race.”
“5 is alive!”
“Hendrick rig.”
CAUTION! And hold everything.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 10, 2023
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Others also wrote, “@NASCAR will do anything to help Hendrick.”
“Took @NASCAR long enuff to throw that caution!”
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Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott were able to complete the race within the top 10. Nonetheless, both had been dominant drivers on the track and had a close shot of winning, but minor hiccups changed the direction of the results of NASCAR race today at Kansas Speedway. With the next race at Bristol, it is to be seen how these two drivers fare.