Go Bowling 400 2016: 5 takeaways from Kansas

It was a relatively clean night of racing at the 2016 Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway.

After a wild week at Talladega last week, NASCAR was anything but at Kansas Speedway this week.

In fact, for a track that saw tensions boil over in the Chase last year, it was a track that was friendly to everyone and it seemed like there wasn’t any real competition at all on Saturday night.

Part of that is because Martin Truex Jr. dominated for most of the race on Saturday night. The other drivers just didn’t have the speed out of turns that Truex Jr. had. Finally late in the race, Truex Jr. started to lose a little bit of what he had going for him, as he had to make a double pit stop.

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch took their turn up front at Kansas. Just when it looked like it was going to be a smooth ending to the night, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski spun out, which created a huge wreck among other drivers near the front.

Kevin Harvick would split the Joe Gibbs drivers and would turn it into a one-on-one battle between him and Busch. In the end, Busch would hold off Harvick and pick up his third win of the season.

1. Carl Edwards had a variety of issues

While his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates were dominating for most of the night, Carl Edwards was having issues early and often at the Go Bowling 400. It all started off, when he appeared to have lost a tire and began sparking on the track.

To make matters worse, Edwards missed pit road on the way down and would have to go all the way around before he could get the attention that he needed on his car.

After a strong few weeks, Edwards had to battle a little bit at Kansas.

2. NASCAR is always watching

Sometimes teams will do whatever they can to gain a competitive advantage. At the Go Bowling 400 on Saturday night, Jamie McMurray’s team learned the hard way that NASCAR is always watching.

As McMurray came in for a pit stop, the jackman on his team gave his side a little extra bump on an adjustment. It was not approved at all by NASCAR.

He would get the black flag and would have to come in to get it right, before he was allowed back out on the track.

3. Joe Gibbs Racing was strong yet again

Not surprisingly, Joe Gibbs Racing was great again at Kansas, albeit Carl Edwards had a struggle of a night. Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth were the two contenders to Martin Truex Jr. the entire night and they also had two of the fastest cars on the track.

Just like every other race this year, the Toyota’s seem to have a special formula on the track that seem to be working better than any other team. Kenseth flexed his muscles in qualifying on Friday, and it really transferred over into the way he raced on Saturday night.

As for Busch, it was another win for him and he picked up his first career win at Kansas.

4. Martin Truex Jr. was dominant

This race for most of the night was all about Martin Truex Jr. at Kansas. He had speed that no one else on the track had and when he was out in front, he didn’t have to worry about anyone challenging him on the track.

It was a strong showing from Truex Jr., as he is letting it be known that his final four finish last year was not a fluke year. His crew gave him fantastic car this week.

He didn’t pick up the win, but it was exactly the race that he needed.

5. Tony Stewart had a nice night at Kansas

After a bad 2015 season, Tony Stewart missed the beginning of the 2016 season after an ATV injury caused him to suffer a back injury. Last week at Talladega, Tony Stewart ran for the first time this season and then turned the car over to Ty Dillon.

This week at Kansas, Tony Stewart got to lead late in the race, which is important for him as he tries to climb the points standings to get in the top-30. If he gets there, he will have a chance to qualify for the Chase.

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