October 20, 2019 | By Lee Spencer

Hamlin conquers Kansas Speedway

KANSAS CITY, KAN.—Denny Hamlin didn’t have to gamble to win the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday.

The driver of the No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota dominated the second half of the Kansas Speedway contest.

But a two-tire call on the final pit stop on Lap 218 allowed Hamlin to cycle to the lead eight laps later. He led the final 45 laps—and 147 of 270—en route to his fifth win of 2019 and his second at the 1.5-mile track.

“I knew track position was the biggest factor for us,” Hamlin said. “As long as we could keep our car out front, it was the most important thing beyond tires.

“We made the right call and took two lefts there and that turned out to be the best call there.”

Chase Elliott finished second to collect the final transfer spot to the Round of 8. Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top 10.

Elliott entered the weekend 10th in the standings and was under the impression he needed to win. However, problems for his teammate Alex Bowman, who finished 11th, and 19th-place Brad Keselowski, alleviated the pressure. With two cautions over the final 12 laps, Elliott had his shot. But finished .128-seconds behind the No. 11 Toyota.

“I was trying to make a run at Denny,” Elliott said. “We never got our momentum up enough for me to do anything about it. The restarts were helping his cause on tires. The good news was the bottom lane rolled good enough on the last restart to at least get back to second. So, I appreciate the effort.

“We were really struggling there at one point in the race. You have to stay fighting in these things, especially with these late‑race restarts. Just proud of the effort today. Just excited we get to fight another race.  Back up against the wall, to come out here and battle for a win, that's what you have to do when you're in the position that we were in.”

Daniel Hemric led the field to green in the Hollywood Casino 400, but Larson showed his hand by Lap 4. He traded the point with Keselowski, Byron and Hamlin but led 60 of the first 80 laps.

Logano had a loose wheel and was forced to pit on Lap 31. He dropped to 33rd. The first caution was called on Lap 75 for debris after Ryan Newman hit the wall in Turn 4 after contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Todd Gordon, the crew chief of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, elected to remain on the track when the leaders pitted on Lap 76. The move enabled Logano to line up third behind Blaney and Bowyer on Lap 77. With two laps to decide the stage, Logano had a masterful restart, powered his way to the stage win and 10 bonus points. Elliott, Suarez, Truex, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Hamlin, Erik Jones and Stenhouse completed the top 10.

“I think every one of them matters for sure,”  said Logano who holds a nine-point edge over Larson. “You just have to fight for every point. I think everyone does the same thing. It is tough. You see a late-race restart in Kansas and it is like, ‘Oh boy, we are about to crash some stuff.’ Because everyone is trying to get every point possible especially when cars are right on the cut line and know they have to pass three or four cars. Then it becomes a real mess.

“Luckily we made it.”

The second stage started on Lap 86 with Elliott in command. He was passed by Suarez in three laps. Truex moved to the point for the first time on Lap 93 and held on for the next 33 circuits. His pace was slowed by the third caution triggered by Kyle Larson punting lapper Joey Gase in Turn 4 on Lap 116.

Hamlin caught Truex following the restart on Lap 121. He passed the No. 19 Toyota for the lead on Lap 125 and remained in command over the next 35 laps for the Stage 2 win. Blaney, Truex, Byron, Elliott, Harvick, Logano, Menard, Bowyer and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10.

Hamlin held serve through pit stops and restarted with Blaney alongside. Kyle Busch, who restarted fifth behind Elliott and Truex, mounted a charge and quickly moved to second. But his car wasn’t a match for Hamlin.

By Lap 229, Hamlin had lapped all but 18 cars including Alex Bowman and Keselowski—both who would fail to advance along with Byron and Bowyer.

The sixth caution was called for debris in Turn 2 on Lap 249 after Blaney blew a tire following contact with Larson. Fortunately, with last week’s win at Talladega, Blaney had a mulligan.

The race returned to green on Lap 259. Coming to the white flag, Matt Tifft and Bubba Wallace collided in Turn 2 to send the race into overtime. As the field collected the white flag, Keselowski tagged Suarez and turned the No. 41 into Hemric. The melee sent Logano through the front stretch grass and dropped the No. 22 Ford to 21st.

NASCAR made its final attempt to finish the race on Lap 276. Hamlin darted out to the lead with Elliott in two and held the point for the finish.

“Yeah, I just had to hold the bottom and get a good push,” Hamlin said. “It was all about the push that I got from the 9 (Elliott) and really the 18 (Busch) those last couple of restarts.

“That was the most important thing for us – to get a good restart. Once we got out front, we could hold it wide open. Our car was built for downforce, so it worked out that it was just fast enough to win.”

Despite finishing third, Busch moved into the top of the standings boosted by 46 bonus points. Truex trails his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate by four points.