KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Anyone willing to wager on Chase Elliott with just one lap remaining in overtime during last September’s race at Kansas Speedway on the 28th would have faced incredibly long odds.
When the white flag waved, Elliott sat in fifth position, trailing four Toyota drivers: Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and Christopher Bell. Wallace had pulled ahead by half a car length with Hamlin giving chase.
In a move that would prove costly, Hamlin drove his No. 11 Camry to the inside of Wallace’s vehicle, pushing Wallace wide through the track’s final two turns. This created an opening that Elliott exploited, diving inside both Toyota cars to capture victory for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet.
Speaking Saturday ahead of practice for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Hamlin acknowledged the broader implications of that moment. “It certainly played a factor, kind of in the manufacturer battle as well, right?” Hamlin said. “I mean, you go from winning one to now your competition actually won.
“There were definitely a lot of negatives to the way that race ended, but it certainly was I just, I feel like, I was trying to go for it, certainly, and used a little bit too much aggression, for sure, in Turn 3.
“But overall, you’re going to have that in racing. When you have teammates, manufacturer guys that you all share information with, we’re going to always be right around each other. So sometimes those racing incidents happen in one out of 20 times.”
Despite holding the record for most Kansas victories with four wins, Hamlin expressed amazement at his recent inability to reach Victory Lane at the track.
“For the last six years, if someone else wins a Kansas race, I’m just trying to figure out how we didn’t win, because we’re always just so fast here,” Hamlin said.
“We found 10 to 12 different ways to not win here, and I thought I saw the stat this week that there has only been. … I think (Kyle) Larson’s been the only repeat winner here in the last 11 races, and it was like, the fact that we haven’t is just criminal. So, hopefully we can change that.”
Gibbs Advocates for More Physical Racing
Fresh off his inaugural NASCAR Cup Series triumph, 23-year-old Ty Gibbs believes the sport should become more demanding and physically challenging for drivers.
“I think we should rip all the cool suits out of everyone’s cars and make it a more physical sport,” Gibbs said Saturday. “I think that would be very entertaining and bring out more emotion, obviously…
“I think no cool suits — rip ’em all out. I think, honestly, people would be pumped with that, ’cause half the time they break on everybody and make it worse. I think we should rip all of it out, make it more physical.”
Cool suits are designed to regulate temperatures inside the car’s cockpit when functioning correctly. However, when these systems fail, the circulating water can become overheated and actually increase driver discomfort.
Several drivers, including Gibbs’ teammate Denny Hamlin, opt not to utilize cool suits during competition.
Jones Optimistic About New LEGACY Leadership
LEGACY Motor Club’s newly appointed president brings more than administrative experience to the organization, according to driver Erik Jones, who spoke Saturday at Kansas Speedway before Sunday’s AdventHealth 400.
Michael Guttilla arrives with extensive experience as chief operating officer at Joe Gibbs Racing and previous roles as vice president of engineering, R&D, global sales and marketing at automotive supplier Multimatic, providing LEGACY with diverse expertise.
“I didn’t know him beforehand, but I had a chance to sit down and spend some time with him in the last week and a half,” Jones explained Saturday. “I think he’s a super impressive guy. His resume’s really strong, and he’s done a lot of things, in motorsports and in manufacturing and production cars.
“He has a pretty broad range of skills, and I think he has a lot of managerial skills. I think the role he’s in is great, obviously, but I think he can bring a lot to the table and a sense of understanding the engineering side as well. I don’t think he’s a guy that is just well-versed in business, but I think he’s well versed in competition and performance.
“I’m excited to have him. We’ve been kind of waiting to fill that role and find the right guy, and that’s been a role that wasn’t just randomly filled when Michael became available. It was something that’s been in the works, and we’ve been trying to find the right fit for a while. I was excited to do that, excited to have him, and see what he can bring. It’s still super early. It’s been a couple of weeks, but I really, I think his influence is already starting to be felt a bit.”
Women Drivers Shine in ARCA Competition
While Gio Ruggiero claimed victory in Saturday’s Tide 150 ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway, several compelling storylines developed throughout the field.
Three of four female competitors secured top-10 finishes, with Lanie Buice placing fifth, Jade Avedisian finishing seventh, and Dystany Spurlock earning 10th place. The race marked Avedisian’s debut on a 1.5-mile intermediate track.
Isabella Robusto, the fourth female driver and a former Kansas pole winner, was competing just outside the top 10 when Cleetus McFarland’s car experienced engine failure, spreading oil across the racing surface.
Robusto lost control in the fluid, crashed into the outside barrier, and was eliminated from competition.
Daniel Dye secured second place in his first race following reinstatement from a suspension related to inappropriate remarks directed toward IndyCar driver David Malukas.
