Joey Logano wins Kansas: Five takeaways

Joey Logano picked up the win in a tough race at Kansas Speedway.

Joey Logano somehow someway came out of Kansas with a win. For most of Sunday’s race at the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas, it looked like it was going to be Matt Kenseth having his day at the track. Instead, Kenseth spun out as Logano got into the back of him, and for the second week in a row, Logano has won a race.

Now Logano has effectively blocked another driver from getting into the third round of the chase with a win, and he showed that he won’t be afraid to race hard on the track. It’s not clear if anyone is at fault for the wreck that happened, but one thing is for sure, the racing is getting harder and more intense.

Logano is suddenly looking like a driver with championship poise and it won’t be surprising to see him become the new Sprint Cup Championship at years end.

Between the fireworks and the wrecks, next week at Talladega is poised to have a lot of ammo behind it. Get ready, the racing is about to get even better.

Here are five takeaways from Kansas.

1. Matt Kenseth’s title hopes slid away

In what was one of the most unthinkable occurrences at Kansas, Matt Kenseth watched as his championship hopes faded away. At the bottom of the chase standings, Kenseth needed a win in the worst race at Kansas to move on and it appeared that he was going to have it.

That was until he and Joey Logano got aggressive on the track and it left with Kenseth going for a block and spinning out.

Now it looks like Kenseth’s season is over unless he wins at Talladega. That’s a big if to ask of anyone.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the verge of elimination

After barely surviving the first round, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is suddenly looking like he’s on the verge of elimination once again. After a poor day at the track, Earnhardt Jr. is suddenly dead last in the points standings and too many points to move on unless he wins at Talladega.

The good news for Earnhardt Jr., is that he won the first race at Talladega this season. However, that was a long time ago and the season is completely different now in the chase. Earnhardt Jr. has no choice but to to win next season or his bid for a championship is over.

The new chase format leaves no margin for error and one bad race could end your season. Earnhardt Jr. is learning a lesson that the first four drivers eliminated learned.

3. NASCAR has great safety measures implemented

One thing NASCAR continues to work on over time is improving the safety of the tracks and the cars for the drivers. Sunday, a great example of the track safety implemented came into play when Clint Bowyer was involved in a very scary scene out on the track.

As Bowyer lost control coming out of the turn, his car got loose and he turned full speed into the wall in what was nothing short of terrifying to watch.

Thankfully the safety barriers prevented something even worse. Hitting a barrier at full speed is something all drivers want to avoid, but it speaks volumes of the measures that NASCAR has implemented that Bowyer was able to walk away.

4. Kyle Busch is going to need to overcome one more odd

Like the last round, Kyle Busch is currently in the bottom four heading into the final race of the second round of the chase at Talladega. He’s only a few points out and has a manageable road, but once again, it’s going to be an uphill climb for him.

This week temperature problems with his car, prevented him from getting to the front, despite the fact that he worked his way toward the front at the end of the race. However, it wasn’t enough for him to get up and compete for the win.

The season isn’t over though and he should have a great chance next week to move up. However, hedging your bets on Talladega is a dangerous feat.

5. “The Big One” looms

Talladega is a track like none other. It’s wide and it’s long track creates for the fastest and most dangerous racing possible. For 11 drivers looking to join Joey Logano in the next round, but only seven spots available, the drivers of NASCAR will be playing a most dangerous game.

“The Big One” has become a trait of the track as the speeds and width lead to some of the most insane wrecks in NASCAR. Every driver wants to avoid that wreck and it doesn’t matter how well a driver is racing, if they wreck at Talladega, it is game over.

The drivers of NASCAR will be getting no rest this week, with Talladega around the corner.