NASCAR at Kansas 2017 Results: Martin Truex Jr. Earns 7th Win of Season

Martin Truex Jr. earned his seventh win of the year and his third in six playoff races at the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday.

The No. 78 car had already clinched a spot in the next round before this final race in the Round of 12, but the Kansas Speedway competition featured plenty of other drama with several drivers jockeying for enough points to stay alive.

In the end, Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jamie McMurray were all eliminated from title contention as only eight drivers remain in the playoffs with four races to go.

Here are the full results from Sunday's race:

1. Martin Truex Jr. (78)

2. Kurt Busch (41)

3. Ryan Blaney (21)

4. Chase Elliott (24)

5. Denny Hamlin (11)

6. Chris Buescher (37)

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88)

8. Kevin Harvick (4)

9. Aric Almirola (43)

10. Kyle Busch (18)

Truex has been dominant all season, but this might have been his easiest win, as he controlled virtually the final third of the race. He led 89 laps, and there was no one within range to challenge him by the final one:

The 37-year-old was already heading to the Round of 8 and is the safest bet to earn a spot in the Championship 4 based on his number of playoff points earned. Still, nothing is guaranteed, and this was something we saw firsthand in this race.

One of the big shockers early on was the turn of events for Larson. He appeared set to easily advance to the next round thanks to his point totals, but a blown engine knocked him out of the race:

He was forced into the garage after only 73 laps for a finish of 39th. This was enough to push him down the standings and outside the top eight spots.

"It sucks to have an engine failure," Larson said after his departure, per Dustin Long of NBC Sports. "It is what it is."

Kaitlyn Vincie of Fox Sports 1 discussed the situation:

The race went on without him, however, with Kyle Busch coming through with a key Stage 1 victory ahead of Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. 

There was more drama in the second stage thanks to a caution shortly before the finish. This led to a one-lap shootout to decide Stage 2. After a lot of movement on the restart, Hamlin came through with the victory in front of Harvick and Brad Keselowski:

Busch maintained control as the race continued, but another huge shake-up for the playoffs came on Lap 197 when a major wreck affected several top drivers:

Matt Kenseth was then disqualified for having too many men over the wall, ending his pursuit of a championship:

Ricky Craven of ESPN provided his reaction:

The collision also signaled the end of the day for Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and playoff hopeful Jamie McMurray.

There was a lot of focus on the standings as the race progressed, with a caution in the final 30 laps creating a shake-up in strategy.

Truex pulled away from the field from there, while Busch climbed toward the front to finish ahead of Larson for the No. 8 slot.

NASCAR provided a look at the playoff grid following the race:

There are now just four races remaining in the season as we count down to the championship in Homestead. The next event is the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway set for Sunday afternoon.

With playoff spots now at a premium, the drivers remaining will be under a lot of pressure over the next few weeks.

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