The AdventHealth 400 became a historic NASCAR race. It was an eventful race that ended with hits on and off the track.
Sunday’s (5/7) race at Kansas Speedway goes into the NASCAR record books as the 400-mile race on a mile-and-a-half track with the most lead changes in NASCAR history. There were 12 drivers that exchanged the lead 37 times.
There were also 11 caution periods including the two for the end of the first two stages of the race. Denny Hamlin was the winner in stage one. Joey Logano won in stage two. There were plenty of beating and banging between cars that did not bring out a caution as well. It was one of those non-caution incidents that led to the off-track hit at the end of the race.
Noah Gragson and Ross Chastain came together on the track during the race. Noah apparently felt the contact was the fault of Ross. While discussing tit after the race things heated up. Noah shoved Ross. Ross hit Noah. We’ll see what happens moving forward with this situation.
As the race was coming to the end Kyle Larson was leading Denny Hamlin. Denny could get to Kyle and even next to him. He just couldn’t get past him. In the final turn on the final lap Denny hit Kyle’s car to make it nearly spin out so he could pass for the win. Kyle’s car hit the wall which kept him from completely spinning out.
Many would call what happened just good hard racing. Most of the time I would agree with that. He is my problem with it. Denny has complained recently about other drivers racing him hard and making contact like he did. If you are going to complain about others doing it to you, don’t do it to others. That just my opinion. Many at Kansas Speedway must agree since Denny got a lot of boos when he climbed out of his car after winning.
The win is Denny’s fourth at Kansas Speedway and his first in 2023. Kyle Larson was able to hold on to finish in second-place. After being down by two laps for more than 50 laps, William Byron fought back to finish in third-place. See the complete race results for the AdventHealth 400 here.
Leaving Kansas Speedway Ross Chastain remains the leader in the point standings. Christopher Bell holds steady in second-place. Martin Truex Jr. moves up to third-place. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to a track that can be a location for “pay back” next week. The Goodyear 400 takes place Sunday, May 14th at Darlington Raceway.
(Feature photo credit: YouTube)
By: Buck Stevens
