{"id":40198,"date":"2022-09-11T18:45:36","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T23:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=40198"},"modified":"2022-09-11T22:31:21","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T03:31:21","slug":"bubba-wallace-streaks-to-convincing-nascar-cup-victory-at-kansas-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/11\/bubba-wallace-streaks-to-convincing-nascar-cup-victory-at-kansas-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"Bubba Wallace streaks to convincing NASCAR Cup victory at Kansas Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

KANSAS CITY, Kan. \u2013 Driving the same car number that carried teammate Kurt Busch to victory in the May race at Kansas Speedway, Bubba Wallace claimed a dramatic win at the same track in Sunday\u2019s Hollywood Casino 400, the second event in the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.<\/p>\n

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Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Wallace regained the lead on Lap 225 after the final cycle of green-flag pit stops at the 1.5-mile track and stayed out front for the final 43 circuits as his car owner, Denny Hamlin, chased him to no avail.<\/p>\n

Wallace crossed the stripe exactly one second ahead of Hamlin, as a driver not competing for the drivers\u2019 champion won for the second straight week. Hamlin finished second for the second straight Playoff race, have trailed Erik Jones to the line last Sunday at Darlington.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, just so proud of this team, so proud of the effort that they put in each and every week,\u201d said Wallace, who won for the first time this season and the second time in his career. \u201cJust thankful for the opportunity, right? Took this jump from an idea two years ago from a text from Denny before it all even happened. He was ready to get the deal done\u2026<\/p>\n

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Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cJust so proud. Pit crew was awesome today. We had one loose wheel. Just thankful. Thanks for the opportunity, and thankful to shut the hell up for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wallace is competing for the Cup Series owners\u2019 championship in the car Kurt Busch drove for the first 20 races of the season before suffering lingering concussion-like symptoms after a wreck in qualifying at Pocono. With his win, Wallace qualified for the Round of 8 in the owners\u2019 competition.<\/p>\n

Christopher Bell, who ran third, is the first driver to lock himself into the Playoffs\u2019 Round of 8 on points. The other 15 championship contenders will have to establish their positions in the final 12\u2014or suffer elimination\u2014next Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

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Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, congratulates Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

During the final run, Hamlin passed Bell for the second position on Lap 252 of 267. With 10 laps left, Hamlin trailed by 2.066 seconds but could get no closer than the final one-second deficit the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

Hamlin clearly had mixed feeling about his pursuit of the No. 45 23XI Toyota he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been a good overall day,\u201d said Hamlin, who recovered from an equipment interference penalty\u2014his 34th pit road infraction of the season\u2014on Lap 27 under a competition caution. \u201cStill frustrated about the first half of the race. We just aren’t executing all that well\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cReally happy for our 11 Toyota team. They fought hard. They really stepped up that last half. We made the car quite a bit better. Just really happy about the outcome and really happy for that 45 team and Bubba Wallace and (crew chief) Bootie (Barker). Bubba has just really worked hard on his craft, and we’ve just given him fast race cars, and now he is showing what he has got.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Alex Bowman finished fourth, followed by non-Playoff driver Martin Truex Jr. Championship contenders William Byron, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10.<\/p>\n

Other Playoff drivers weren\u2019t as fortunate.<\/p>\n

A sudden disaster knocked Kevin Harvick out of the race before the end of Stage 1. Racing side-by-side, Chastain and Wallace steered up the track in front of Harvick\u2019s No. 4 Ford as the cars sped through Turn 4.<\/p>\n

Harvick\u2019s Mustang snapped loose and the right front of his car pounded the outside wall. With damage too severe to repair, Harvick retired from the race in last (36th) place.<\/p>\n

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Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, and Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWhen those two cars came up in front of me, I just got super tight,\u201d Harvick said after a visit to the infield care center. \u201cWhen I lifted, it grabbed and got loose. I just wasn\u2019t expecting them to come up and my car getting that tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harvick entered the race 16th in the Playoff standings. The last-place results puts him in a must-win situation next Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it is what it is,\u201d Harvick said. \u201cWe were racing to win anyway today, so that\u2019s what we will do again next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harvick wasn\u2019t the only casualty of the first stage. Pole winner Tyler Reddick blew a right rear tire while leading on Lap 65 and slammed into the outside wall in Turn 2. He brought his No. 8 Chevrolet to pit road, but attempts to repair the car proved futile, and Reddick was eliminated in 35th place.<\/p>\n

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Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, Tyler Reddick, driver of the #8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet, and Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe right-rear tire just blew like we\u2019ve had a few times,\u201d said Reddick, who fell to 11th in the Playoff standings. \u201cAt Fontana (Auto Club Speedway), I was able to save it. But here, it snapped at the worst possible point, and we just killed the wall. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt broke the control arm on the right-front, so our day was over. We leave here with not a lot of points, so we\u2019ll have to fight hard at Bristol.\u201d<\/p>\n

Troubles continued for Playoff drivers when Kyle Busch, whose team already had incurred two equipment interference penalties on pit road, spun off Turn 4 on Lap 137. Busch\u2019s right-side tires went flat as he skidded toward the infield grass, and Busch lost a lap as he nursed his wounded car to pit road.<\/p>\n

Busch got his lap back as the beneficiary under caution at the end of Stage 2, but he lost two laps during the final 96-lap green-flag run. His 26th-place finish dropped him two points below the current cut line for the Round of 8, trailing Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric by that margin. <\/p>\n

Joining Busch and Harvick in the bottom four are Austin Dillon (14th Sunday) and Chase Briscoe (13th). The Playoff field will be cut from 16 to 12 drivers after next Saturday\u2019s race at Thunder Valley.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Race winning driver, Bubba Wallace; Crew Chief, Bootie Barker; and Co-Owner, Denny Hamlin (No. 45 23XI Racing) – <\/p>\n

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NASCAR Cup Series Race – 22nd Annual Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by Barstool Sportsbook<\/b><\/p>\n

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Kansas Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kansas City, Kansas<\/b><\/div>\n

Sunday, September 11, 2022<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (6)  Bubba Wallace (P), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                2. (25)  Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                3. (4)  Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                4. (3)  Alex Bowman (P), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                5. (12)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                6. (9)  William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                7. (5)  Ross Chastain (P), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                8. (7)  Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                9. (17)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                10. (15)  Daniel Suarez (P), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                11. (22)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                12. (8)  Austin Cindric # (P), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                13. (13)  Chase Briscoe (P), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                14. (11)  Austin Dillon (P), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                15. (10)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                16. (23)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                17. (2)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

                18. (28)  Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                19. (27)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                20. (21)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                21. (36)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

                22. (29)  Cole Custer, Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

                23. (32)  Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

                24. (31)  Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                25. (26)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

                26. (20)  Kyle Busch (P), Toyota, 265.<\/p>\n

                27. (30)  Cody Ware, Ford, 265.<\/p>\n

                28. (33)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 264.<\/p>\n

                29. (24)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 264.<\/p>\n

                30. (35)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 262.<\/p>\n

                31. (34)  BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 262.<\/p>\n

                32. (18)  Harrison Burton #, Ford, Accident, 115.<\/p>\n

                33. (19)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, Accident, 114.<\/p>\n

                34. (16)  Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, Accident, 90.<\/p>\n

                35. (1)  Tyler Reddick (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 67.<\/p>\n

                36. (14)  Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, Accident, 33.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  126.44 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 10 Mins, 3 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.000 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  9 for 43 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  16 among 12 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   T. Reddick (P) 0;J. Logano (P) 1-2;A. Bowman (P) 3-27;T. Reddick (P) 28-65;R. Blaney (P) 66-67;A. Bowman (P) 68;A. Dillon (P) 69-71;C. Bell (P) 72-83;A. Almirola 84-86;M. McDowell 87;M. Truex Jr. 88-111;W. Byron (P) 112-120;A. Bowman (P) 121-199;B. Wallace (P) 200-214;A. Bowman (P) 215-216;D. Suarez (P) 217-224;B. Wallace (P) 225-267.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Alex Bowman (P) 4 times for 107 laps; Bubba Wallace (P) 2 times for 58 laps; Tyler Reddick (P) 1 time for 38 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 24 laps; Christopher Bell (P) 1 time for 12 laps; William Byron (P) 1 time for 9 laps; Daniel Suarez (P) 1 time for 8 laps; Austin Dillon (P) 1 time for 3 laps; Aric Almirola 1 time for 3 laps; Ryan Blaney (P) 1 time for 2 laps; Joey Logano (P) 1 time for 2 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,12,19,47,45,9,18,1,22,3<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 48,20,24,45,9,11,5,22,12,1<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. \u2013 Driving the same car number that carried teammate Kurt Busch to victory in the May race at Kansas Speedway, Bubba Wallace claimed a dramatic win at the same track in Sunday\u2019s Hollywood Casino 400, the second event in the first round of the NASCAR […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":40205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[414,213,16],"class_list":["post-40198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-bubba-wallace","tag-kansas-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/GettyImages-1422907239-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-asm","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40198"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40216,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40198\/revisions\/40216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}