Playoff drivers Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. all found trouble early Sunday in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
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Busch‘s No. 18 Camry was the first with an issue after contacting the outside wall exiting Turn 2 on Lap 22, cutting down the right-front tire of the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and sending him off the pace.
Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, found himself mired in traffic shortly after the ensuing restart and slid up into the outside wall off Turn 2 directly in front of Truex, who also scrubbed the fence. Keselowski was forced to pit at Lap 38 with a flat right-rear tire as a result of the contact while Truex‘s No. 19 car lasted until Lap 53 when his right-rear also went down.
All three drivers are in the Round of 8 and remain well in playoff contention. Busch entered Kansas fourth in the standings eight points above the elimination line. Keselowski, meanwhile, entered sixth 15 points outside a position to advance, while Truex entered seventh and 22 points out. Those teams will try to rebound and aim to advance to the Championship 4 following next week‘s race at Martinsville Speedway.