The 2018 Winston Cup Series: Harvick wins, Kenseth returns

Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning the KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas.

     What was mostly a wide-open snoozefest at Kansas, got interesting in the final 30 laps, before Harvick made it memorable with his victory in the KC Masterpiece 400. After the final restart, Harvick was a full second behind Martin Truex Jr. with five laps to go, but somehow managed to reel him in and take the lead coming to the white flag. Harvick led five times for 79 laps, leading to his 5th win of the season. The #4 car was the weekend favorite, but it appeared circumstance would take away his chance, when several cars did not make a late-race pit stop, including Truex. In the end, four fresh tires wound up being the difference...
     The win solidifies where Harvick is this season, as well as Stewart Haas Racing, and Ford in general. SHR now has a combined six wins in 2018. If we're going off the 'classic' standings I calculate here, the team has all four drivers in the top-8... In his 18th Cup season, Harvick is setting himself up for his best year ever.

Matt Kenseth practices the #6 Ford ahead of Saturday's race at Kansas. Kenseth was involved in a late race wreck, finishing 36th.

     The big storyline heading into Kansas was the return of 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth... It was Kenseth's first Cup race since the season finale last November, when he was released by Joe Gibbs Racing in favor of Erik Jones. For longtime fans, Kenseth's return brought a slight amount of normalcy to the track. He was one of my favorite drivers growing up, and following the departure of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and others, Kenseth on-track was a welcome sight. The #6 car ran around 25th place most of the night, before being involved in a late-race crash, finishing 36th. It wasn't the return most people anticipated, but having Kenseth behind the wheel will certainly be of some help to Roush Fenway Racing.
     Not counting part-time driver Derrike Cope, Kenseth now retakes the title of oldest driver, at 46 years old. Jimmie Johnson and Harvick are both 42... Kenseth will drive the #6 in the All-Star race, and the points-paying races at Charlotte, Pocono, and Michigan (which I can't wait to attend).

     Taking a look at the classic standings after Kansas, Harvick continues to gain ground on the leaders, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch... Even with only one win, Logano's consistency has proven to be important so far... Clint Bowyer drops back a bit, after a 20-point penalty from Dover, and Ryan Blaney drops from 6th to 10th, after finishing 37th at Kansas. Meanwhile, Aric Almirola continues his impressive run this season, scoring his 5th top-ten of the year...
     11th through 20th looks like this: Bowman, Keselowski, Jones, Johnson, Austin Dillon, Stenhouse Jr., Elliott, Byron, Menard, and Newman... Jamie McMurray has had a lackluster start for Chip Ganassi, currently sitting 23rd.

William Byron's car is destroyed following a multi-car crash on lap 253, which saw Byron hit the wall head-on. Byron walked away from the accident.

     The Cup series now heads into the All-Star weekend at Charlotte, meaning we won't have another points event until the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27th. This is a track that has historically benefited Jimmie Johnson, who has 8 wins there, the last coming in 2016... Kyle Busch has surprisingly never won at Charlotte, posting 16 top-tens in 28 starts. Harvick and Logano both have victories at the track, so does Matt Kenseth, who won the 2000 Coke 600 with Roush Racing...

Harvick leads the field early in the KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas.