FYI WIRZ: NASCAR Elimination Playoffs Ramp Up Going into Kansas

NASCAR’s new elimination playoff scheme is now a functional operation after four drivers were eliminated during three Chase for Sprint Cup championship races. With seven payoff races remaining, the emphasis now is on the next three events for Chase contenders.

Another four Chase drivers will be eliminated soon enough, but for now, they all face the competition Sunday in Kansas City. 

When the Hollywood Casino 400 cranks up at Kansas Speedway, 12 contenders may want a win even more than their normally enormous drive to get checkers. They all know four more will be gone soon.

NASCAR’s playoff scenario has changed. Drivers are keenly aware of the adjustments now that consequences are happening in real time. Fans might take to the present setup over past championship ways as well. Their driver can dodge woes and keep going without counting points.

Point buffers are a monger’s dream, and it looks like drivers and teams that cherished points in the bank in the past are out of deposits.

That’s what NASCAR wants for fans as it attempts to ramp up the intensity of playoff scenarios.

Six top contenders share their thoughts about rolling into Kansas and beyond, well before the green flag.

Brad Keselowski is riding a momentum sweep that could carry him near another championship. He spoke of his situation.

“The team has been working diligently on enhancing our platform for this race, and we should be good this weekend,” Keselowski said. “We are going into Kansas with the confidence of our recent successes, and having a win here adds to that as well.”

Joey Logano and his team have made Penske Racing proud all season. Logano shared his confidence.

“We need to keep doing what we are doing” Logano said. “No reason to reinvent the wheel. The things we have been doing all year long have been working, so we just need to keep doing things the same way. We can make a few tweaks here and there.”

Jeff Gordon is having stellar results late into his career. He expressed caution about the next few races.

“The rounds will just get tougher and tougher,” Gordon said. “In this round, I think everyone hopes to get to Talladega without having to worry about posting a good finish. Since that race is very unpredictable, a big wreck could shake things up.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s great season may need a boost in the Chase playoffs. He voiced his concerns.

“We have had fast cars all season, but it hasn’t been a good couple of weeks,” Earnhardt said. “We are bringing the chassis that won both Poconos over the summer. I’m looking forward to getting on track and seeing what kind of speed we have.”

Matt Kenseth has finished up front all year without winning. He may need some checkers to continue.

“I enjoy the racing at Kansas and was lucky enough to get a few wins there since the track was repaved,” Kenseth said. “We were able to get all three of our JGR cars to advance into this next round of the Chase. The goal is to continue.”

Kyle Busch has kept a good focus on the next event all year. He spoke about Kansas. 

“Once you kind of get it figured out, or get the right situations kind of lined up, you can have a shot,” Busch said. “I look at this place a lot like Michigan. That’s a place where I struggled for a long time, but we finally were able to break through.”

Fans with tickets to The Hollywood Casino 400 on October 5 will overlook fast action on the 1.5-mile Kansas track with 15-degree banking. Fans not in the stands can view coverage on ESPN at 2 p.m. ET.

Credit: Dwight Drum

FYI WIRZ is the select presentation of topics by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com. Unless otherwise noted, information and all quotes were obtained firsthand or from official release materials provided by sanction and team representatives.