Eliminated Playoff drivers talk after Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan — Four drivers failed to advance to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 proceeding the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday, October 20.
No. 2 Brad Keselowski
Keselowski started fourth and led two laps en route to finishing 19th.
“We didn’t make it,” Keselowski said. “…We clawed as hard as we could, there were times where it looked where we were going to be fine, there were times we didn’t, and in the end, we didn’t.”
Keselowski entered the race 20 points above the cutline and missed the next round by 3.
No. 14 Clint Bowyer
Bowyer started 21st and finished eighth but failed to lead a lap, unlike the other three.
“Guys got 20, 30 points on you so to come within a fighting chance was good,” Bowyer reflected, “Had that deal not happened last weekend, we would’ve been right there.”
“We got a lot of racing left, so I ain’t worried about next year.”
Bowyer entered the race 24 points below the cutline and missed the next round by 21.
No. 24 William Byron
Byron started the race 25th and finished fifth with one lap led.
“We had to win, and we just didn’t win, that’s all we knew we had to do. Came close but not close enough. Pretty solid day still.”
Byron entered the race 27 points below the cutline and missed the next round by 16.
No. 88 Alex Bowman
Bowman started the race in 16th and led seven laps en route to finishing 11th with a damaged car.
“We got up to fifth or sixth there really quickly and obviously had a good car,” Bowman said, “Just got loose and saved it but the 6 tore the left rear off of it. We fought with it for the rest of the day and all but crashed it in the remaining laps.”
Bowman entered the race 18 points below the cutline and missed the next round by 20.
OVERALL
The highest any of the eliminated drivers can finish in driver’s standings is fifth place at season’s end.
Four points-awarding races remain in the MENCS season (Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami).
The next Cup Series race will be the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway, scheduled for Sunday, October 27 (TV: NBCSN, 3 P.M. EST)
SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com