By Cole Cusumano

NASCAR Cup Series teams had one theme on their minds upon entering the event at Kansas Speedway — Postseason. For driver’s locked into the Playoffs, it was all about compiling a contextually depth notebook for October. The tasks at hand proved to be far more difficult for those sitting on the points bubble, as the game of strategy and safety proved to be too much to handle.

The opening stages of the 400-mile event were textbook 1.5-mile competition; bland and uneventful single-file racing. Personality really didn’t start to take shape until the end of the second segment when drivers began gambling with two-tire calls. Once the lights turned on and the 107-lap sprint to the finish commenced, intensity heated up.

The only thing more consistent than the glow of the moon was the continuity of the yellow flashing lights along the catchfence. As the old saying goes, “cautions bred cautions”, and with that came bubble trouble and major Playoff implications. 

Jimmie Johnson, Matt DiBenedetto, Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace were among the many stars who entered the night dangerously close to the points cutoff and became victims of a variety of serious wrecks. The driver of the No. 21 attributed the slew of cautions in the later stages of this race to the low horsepower package. It took quite a bit of time for the cars to get up to speed and the results were both frantic and impulsive moves on restarts.

To NASCAR’s point, this was one of the first races this season on a short or intermediate track where the PJ1 traction compound was not applied. After continually failed attempts to improve competition and the outcry from viewers and those within the sport, this came as a refreshing surprise. In hindsight, the substance would have aided in more grip and less potential for demolished equipment.

In what was probably the scariest moment for the sport since Ryan Newman’s wreck in the Daytona 500, Ryan Preece got clipped by a spiraling car and got sent head-on, full speed into the inside wall. The impact sent his No. 37 airborne and on its side before coming to rest with all four tires grounded. 

There was no greater sight than seeing Preece’s silhouette through the smoke of the passenger-side window immediately ripping down the safety net and walking away under his own power. Just five months removed from the terror at Daytona International Speedway, this was another incredible testament to NASCAR’s safety advancements and innovations that continue to keep the athletes we love safe.

The three powerhouse teams of Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske made their presence known after pacing all but 10 laps in the event. While there was no clear-cut dominant car, it was Denny Hamlin and the Toyota Racing team that prevailed. 

The driver of the No. 11 was able to surpass fourth-place finisher Kevin Harvick and hold off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski to secure his fifth win of the season, while Martin Truex Jr. crossed the line third. Erik Jones managed to run an effectively clean race, notching his fifth consecutive top-10 at Kansas and jumping into the final Playoff spot.

It was the same story of struggles for Kyle Busch, who led 52 laps and ran top-five all race, but got derailed after smacking the wall in the closing stages. Almost instantaneously, Ryan Blaney had a tire go down as well after a solid showing. These drivers are leading eerily similar seasons in the sense that both run well, but can’t seal the deal.

To Blaney’s benefit, he’s locked into the Playoffs with a win. Either way you look at it, these issues need to get ironed out for the pair of drivers to accumulate some consistency heading into postseason.

Leaving the first event in The Sunflower State, many of the drivers locked into the Playoff should feel confident in their notes when preparing for the event in October. While the overall product ended up satisfying viewers, NASCAR may want to consider tampering with the horsepower to appease the athletes and prevent further hazards from taking place.