By Bob Pockrass
Joey Logano proved that winning early in the season and winning late in the season is a solid strategy to have a shot at the championship.
Logano won two of the first four races of 2020, locking him into the playoffs and also giving him a solid start on playoff points that helped him advance to the semifinal round, which he opened Sunday with a victory in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
His first win in the 29 races since NASCAR’s return to competition in May, Logano earned one of the four spots available to compete for the championship Nov. 8 at Phoenix Raceway.
Races at Texas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway will determine the remaining four drivers who will have a shot at the title.
Here are some takeaways from Kansas:
Logano The Blocker
NASCAR’s low-horsepower, high-downforce rules for ovals that are 1.5 miles and bigger were on full display Sunday, as Logano blocked every move by Kevin Harvick to hold on for the win. NASCAR created the package so there could be some drafting and swaps for the lead, but in the instance Sunday, there was no one who could get to Harvick to help push him by Logano.
Harvick probably had the better car, but the way the aerodynamics work, he couldn’t get a strong enough run in Logano’s wake to be able to pass him.
Teams have used this package the last couple of years, and while it can frustrate drivers, they now know a little better how to race it.
"It’s just a scenario that you just become used to," Harvick said. "That's part of what we race. I definitely don't make the rules. I just try to do the best that we can each week with whatever situation that we have, go from there.
"He did a great job of putting this car where he needed to. We just never had an opportunity to capitalize on anything from a mistake side of it."
Logano admitted the mirror-driving didn’t thrill him, but the outcome did.
"It's very intense," Logano said. "It’s fun now, don't get me wrong. If I'm being honest, I don't have fun driving a race car. I have fun winning. That's what I enjoy doing. That's what that is at this point.
"If I want to go have fun, I'll go to a go‑kart track and have fun. That's not what this is about. This is about winning, this is a job, putting food on the table for not only my family but countless others that helped this race team."
Elliott and radio confusion
Chase Elliott had difficulty hearing his team on his radio throughout the race. At one point, he pitted under caution when the team wanted him to stay out.
NASCAR has a rule that the driver, spotter and crew chief must have communication. It is primarily considered a safety concern if a driver can’t hear a spotter on where to go when there is an accident.
Elliott could hear his team under caution but had trouble under green-flag conditions. NASCAR said it monitored the communication and felt they had the communication required by the rule.
It is a difficult spot for NASCAR because at every caution, it seemed like Elliott was able to get the radio to work but struggled under green-flag conditions. Forcing him to come in would result in him losing laps and potentially knock him out of the playoffs.
Elliott didn’t have any thought of the possibility of NASCAR black-flagging him.
"I didn’t think it was unsafe," he said. "I never really even thought about it.
"Short-track dirt racers around the country race with no spotters every weekend ... I don’t know why we can’t handle it if your radios go bad."
Bowman – the good and bad
Alex Bowman had his best finish in 28 races, as he placed third at Kansas.
But the Hendrick Motorsports driver couldn’t feel great about it as he went from 18 points below the cutoff to 27 points below the cutoff, thanks to strong performances by other drivers and the Logano victory. Logano was low enough in points that Bowman thought he originally was one of those he potentially could have beaten on points to advance to the title round.
"Happy and sad, a little bit bummed we lost points," Bowman said. "A little bummed Joey won — that makes my life harder over the next couple weeks.
"I feel like we had a really good day. I'm really proud of my race team. A lot of people said we were going to go out early in the playoffs. We're still here fighting. We're still bringing really fast cars to the racetrack each and every week."
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