Asterisk Mark Report – Kansas

Kevin Harvick – Last fall at Kansas, I thought Kevin Harvick had the best car but he finished an asterisk mark 12th. In the race he finished 2nd in Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 76 laps but while he was leading with 51 laps to go he was caught speeding on pit road and that problem dropped him back to the teens. If his race would’ve been incident free, I don’t think anybody was going to beat him.

Paul Menard – Paul Menard was a top ten contender last fall at Kansas, but he finished an asterisk 32nd. On lap 124 during green flag pit stops he made a second pit stop after damaging the front of his car after contact on pit road. Just ten laps before his problem he was running in 7th. In Stage #1 he finished 5th. If his race would’ve been incident free I think he would’ve had a good chance to finish in the top ten.

Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson had a good car last fall at Kansas and was a top ten contender, but he finished an asterisk mark 22nd. While he was running in the top ten with 21 laps to go he got into the wall hard and then made an unexpected pit stop. Shortly before his problem he was running in 9th. In the race he finished 9th in Stage #1 and 8th in Stage #2.

Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin was likely a top ten contender last fall at Kansas, but he didn’t have an incident free race and finished 14th. Late in Stage #1 during a restart he damaged his nose during an “accordion effect.” During the Stage caution he had a long pit stop to repair damage to his nose which dropped him from just outside the top ten to the high-twenties. On lap 53 which was prior to his problem he was running in 9th.