How the NASCAR Cup race in Kansas was won and lost

Denny Hamlin was only half a lap away from winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas which seemed to be between him and Tyler Reddick. But then Cody Ware cut a tire and spun out.

Shake the globe of snow!

Hamlin kept the lead off pit road, but lost it on the restart because he didn't get the best launch. Most of the frontrunners only took the right side. Kyle Larson was able to take him and Tyler Reddick three-wide because of this. Reddick then blocked Christopher Bell and won the race after making up almost a second.

But Hamlin had the race won again, even after taking the lead back from Reddick, who had a fuel pump problem that made him sputter before the Ware spin that changed everything.

"I need Cody Ware to run dead last so he doesn't crash." - MRN

"It's Cody Ware, six laps down, crashing. I don't know, just add it all up." - FOX

Hamlin also said that the race was lost on the restart.

Hamlin told reporters on pit road after the race, "I know in my mind that restarting at the top was the right thing to do, but the (data) said the bottom." "You can throw the numbers out in these green-white-checkered situations because everything is so different."

Hamlin says he knew deep down that Larson was going to take them three-wide because that's how he plays aggressively and wins a lot.

Hamlin said I have to admit that I know (Larson) is going to make that move and I have to make sure that if it happens I do everything I can to let (Reddick) win." "I got beat by that a few years ago, and I knew in my mind that the top was where I wanted to be, but the numbers say the bottom." You can ignore the numbers in these green-white-checkered situations. I will definitely learn something there.

"It's a sword with two edges. I need the push, but I know that the first chance [Larson] gets, he's going to go bottom, so I have to do everything I can. If that happens then the 45 wins which he did.

Larson on the other hand had the race won and then lost it in equal parts but he didn't seem as upset as Hamlin. He said he knows he only had a chance because of the late restart so he'll take what he got on Sunday.

Larson said, "The restart was perfect for me." "Brad Keselowski tapped me on the shoulder and let me build up my speed again. I was able to make a later move and get to the inside of Denny into 1." He had to protect his outside, which made him go the long way. I was happy to get away from the lead.

But then I went down into [Turn] 3 and I couldn't keep the throttle and speed up I was really tight and didn't make it through there like I needed to. Tyler was right behind me and knew I would be in trouble no matter which lane I went into.

And that's how Reddick was able to close the gap so quickly, even after pushing Bell into the wall.

Reddick said of the contact, "I was trying to run as close to Christopher as I could." "It's not easy. I thought we might be side by side halfway through the corner. With Denny on my inside, it was pretty clear that I was getting tight. I knew Christopher was going to, like, probably let me go.

I don't know what's going on inside of Denny. He was closer to me than I thought he would be. I can't even remember if there was a connection. It sort of felt like that. But these cars do take off really badly.

"Where I was in relation to the 11, we were very close." My car kind of took off from two. As a driver, I wish you could say you could stop those things from happening. I was kind of helpless because these cars took off so quickly and tightly. "Couldn't do anything to stop the contact from happening."

He knew right away that he had done Bell wrong.

Reddick said That one hurts right now but you have to put it behind you quickly and go win the race. I'm glad we were able to get back to the 5. I was really surprised we could hold onto those right sides like that but I used it to my advantage and was able to make the move.