Larson, Kenseth, Stenhouse Jr., McMurray eliminated from NASCAR playoffs at Kansas
As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs moved to its third of five 1.5-mile tracks in the 10-race run, some surprising developments hit the title contending field.
Advancing to the round of 8, which kicks off next week at Martinsville Speedway are: Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick.
Truex won the Hollywood Casino 400, despite a pit road penalty and a loose wheel early in the race. It was an emotional victory, coming after the death of one of his crew members, James ''Jim'' Watson, who died Saturday night of a heart attack. It was Truex's seventh win of the season and third in six playoff races.
Eliminated were: Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jamie McMurray.
Here's a look at what happened to those drivers whose championship hopes ended Sunday at Kansas Speedway:
Kyle Larson
No. 42 Chevrolet
Chip Ganassi Racing
Analysis: Larson was one of the top drivers during the regular season, notching four wins and seven runner-up finishes and running up front nearly every race. He came into Sunday's race in third position and seemed likely to secure a transfer berth, but an engine failure proved his undoing after finishes of 10th and 13th at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, respectively.
Quote: "I felt it drop a cylinder or something. It's a disappointing way to finish the race and probably our season. Just crossing my fingers and praying to anything I can. I don't think 29 points is enough. We've had a good year ... It sucks to have an engine failure, but it is what it is. Just really disappointed."
Matt Kenseth
No. 20 Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Analysis: The 2003 champion saw his chances to win a championship in what might be his final year in the series dissolve when his team committed a costly error - too many men over the wall to work on a damaged car. He was disqualified.
Quote: "I don't know what the rules are. Seems like we have a lot of stuff change so often, I honestly can't keep up. My head kind of spins from putting lug nuts on outside of pit boxes to too many men over the wall, you're not allowed to race anymore. I just don't get it to be honest with you.
"I dont' have a lot to say right now. I'm more than disappointed. We've shown flashes of briliance this season -- been off and on, been fast at times -- we just haven't been able to put it all together like a championship team needs to."
Jamie McMurray
No. 1 Chevrolet
Chip Ganassi Racing
Analysis: Larson's teammate wasn't as strong this season and hasn't won since 2013. He excelled at points racing, however, notching 16 top-10s to remain in the title hunt. But a 37th-place finish at Talladega last weekend left him last of 12 drivers coming into Sunday's race. When he got caught up in the massive crash that appeared to be started by Erik Jones, he couldn't recover.
Quote: "We had to win today in order to get in. Had a really good car. Had maybe, I don’t know… we had a car that could have won. I think if we could have gotten to the front, but just didn’t make it to the end. ... But we’ve had two bad races in a row and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
No. 17 Ford
Roush Fenway Racing
Analysis: Stenhouse qualified for the playoffs thanks to his two wins at restrictor-plate tracks - Talladega in May and Daytona in July. But his playoff run at Talladega last week - where he finished 26th - left him 11th of 12 drivers heading into Kansas. Stenhouse didn't have a finish higher than 13th in the playoffs and didn't have the speed to match the front-runners.
Biggest surprise: Larson. He's been strong all year and suffered his first mechanical failure of the season at the worst time.
Biggest moment: Perhaps when Johnson avoided the huge crash that caught so many other contenders - which helped him make it to the end and the next round after it looked like he had run out of luck.
Next race: Oct. 29 at Martinsville Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network)
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