NASCAR pit stops are a sport themselves with how much planning goes into a perfect pit stop. Here’s what you need to know about what happens during a pit stop.
23XI Racing continues to own Kansas Speedway.
The young organization, which debuted in 2021 with co-owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, has won three of the last four races at the track – including Sunday’s playoff race. Tyler Reddick became the latest 23XI Racing driver to visit Kansas’ victory lane, joining Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace.
After restarting fifth for the overtime finish, Reddick rocketed past several cars on older tires and took the lead on a three-wide pass coming to the white flag. He now advances to the Round of 12 for the first time in his third career playoff appearance.
After two races in the Round of 16, there are plenty of drivers still fighting to advance as the elimination race looms. Here’s our latest NASCAR power rankings heading into the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (Saturday, Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBCSports.com):
1. Denny Hamlin
Last week: 1
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Hamlin saw a win slip out of his fingers through no fault of his own for the second straight week. At Kansas, Hamlin led in the closing laps before a caution with seven laps to go sent everyone to pit road. Varying strategies forced Hamlin back to fifth for overtime and he recovered to finish second – putting him in a great position to advance to the Round of 12.
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2. Kyle Larson
Last week: 2
Larson followed up his Darlington win by leading the most laps and finishing fourth. He earned another playoff point by winning Stage 1, as the 2021 champion continues to build points for the ensuing rounds. Bristol has been one of Larson’s best tracks, with 850 total laps led and seven top-10s in his last eight starts.
3. William Byron
Last week: 3
Another quiet race for Byron, who finished 15th with no stage points. His stellar regular season has him in position to advance next week, with a 41-point cushion on the cut line. The No. 24 team has to improve because things only get tougher as the playoff field shrinks.
4. Chris Buescher
Last week: 4
A blown tire in the closing laps gave Buescher his first finish outside the top-20 since April 2 (!). He ended up 27th, but showed decent top-15 speed throughout the race. Buescher now heads to Bristol looking to defend his win from a year ago with a 13-point lead on the cut line.
5. Tyler Reddick
Last week: 10
The No. 45 team flipped a switch to start the playoffs, apparently. Reddick finished second at Darlington and then won at Kansas. For a team that has shot itself in the foot all year – whether it be driver or crew errors – this is encouraging. Reddick is a legitimate title contender if he can keep putting together clean races, but that’s been the issue all year.
6. Joey Logano
Last week: 6
Logano and his team are grinding out decent finishes even though the No. 22 clearly doesn’t have enough speed right now. Crew chief Paul Wolfe called for two tires on the final pit stop and Logano salvaged a fifth-place finish on a day where he was often running just outside the top-10. He’s still just 12 points ahead of the cut line, but things could have been a lot worse.
7. Brad Keselowski
Last week: 8
The late caution hurt Keselowski on multiple fronts – his teammate caused it, for one, and it also cost him a top-five finish. Overtime didn’t go as planned, with the No. 6 restarted ninth and finishing in the same spot. Regardless, BK showed top-end speed early in the race, won Stage 2 and holds a comfortable 33-point edge on the cut line.
8. Kyle Busch
Last week: 7
Busch can’t seem to put together complete race weekends right now. At Kansas, the issue came in practice when he hit the wall and couldn’t qualify. The two-time champion recovered to finish seventh after starting in the back but he hasn’t seriously challenged for a win in what feels like months.
9. Martin Truex Jr.
Last week: 5
We finally get to the elephant in the room. Truex won the regular season championship and was tied for the most playoff points. But after a lackluster 18th-place run at Darlington and crashing out in the opening laps at Kansas, he’s suddenly seven points below the cut line. He’ll need a great run at one of his worst tracks historically (four top-10s in 32 starts) to avoid elimination after entering the playoffs as the title favorite.
10. Ryan Blaney
Last week: 9
Blaney had a top-10 run going before a slow final pit stop. He ultimately finished 12th, which is better when you add on 10 stage points. The No. 12 team just can’t seem to challenge the leaders, with Team Penske lagging behind on speed. Blaney has a sizable 25-point lead and should avoid elimination at Bristol with just an average run.
First four out: Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott
