Around the Track: Playoff driver’s woes at Kansas sets up Bristol elimination race showdown

Everyone should have seen it coming. It’s happened basically every year since it was repaved; Kansas once again won the long-fought battle the track has waged vs. playoff drivers.

Drivers like Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher all hit metaphorical road bumps in the race which has put all three in serious danger of being eliminated at The Last Great Colosseum on Saturday night.

While Bristol is a strong track for them, the level of unpredictability it brings makes them less than safe for the next round.

Before the green flag drops at Bristol, however, let's rewind to Kansas. The race was an even battle for domination between the Chevys and Toyotas. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott were the class of the field all day, as the three combined to lead 209 of the 268 laps of the race.

But no Kansas story would be complete without mentioning 23XI. The Hamlin/Michael Jordan-owned team took home yet another victory in one of the most dramatic fashions.

To set the scene, the race was going into overtime after a blown tire sent playoff driver Buescher into the wall. Tyler Reddick was stuck back in the third row on the bottom behind drivers on old tires or only two new tires (Reddick had four fresh tires).

On the restart, it was a mad dash between him and Hamlin to get around the slower cars and to the front. Reddick was the most successful in this task and went on to win the race and punch his ticket to the Round of 12.

Tire issues were one of the main focuses of the race. After Truex’s lap four accident, the field was on edge about conserving their tires. Crashes from Wallace and Buescher reinforced these worries.

After the tire issues, the three mentioned above are in grave danger of being eliminated this weekend. Buescher is the only one of the drivers over the cutoff line at +13 points. Truex and Wallace are both in the negative at -7 and -19 points respectively.

However, with Bristol on the horizon, many drivers do see some light at the end of the tunnel. Buescher, for example, has some confidence going into this race as the defending winner.

Additionally, Truex has seen a vast improvement in his short-track racing with a plethora of wins at short tracks like Martinsville and Richmond. Additionally, drivers close to the cutoff line like Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick also are previous winners at the famed track.

When it comes to this race, the key for drivers will be to pick and choose their battles. This race is a 500-lap marathon and it will be imperative for drivers to keep their cool and avoid mistakes all race long. However, this won’t be easy on a track as small and tight as Bristol which promotes beating and banging.

While the race for the Cup Championship is far from over, one thing’s for sure, the playoff picture will get much clearer after this weekend when four drivers lose their chance to win the Cup Championship.

Ethan Ellis is a third year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ece5133@psu.edu.