Kansas: Newman takes eighth win
Ryan Newman used his uncanny knack for stretching his fuel mileage to claim an eighth Winston Cup victory of the year at Kansas Speedway. The Penske ace stretched his final tank of fuel for 78 laps and held off a concerted charge from Bill Elliott over the closing laps
Elliott dominated the majority of the race, leading 115 laps, but Newman and Jeremy Mayfield grabbed the initiative on lap 189, when they topped up during a caution period required to clean up the mess from an oil fire in Kurt Busch's Ford. Another caution on lap 200 brought the bulk of the field into pit, giving Mayfield and Newman track position. Newman forced his way past Mayfield on a restart on lap 241, and held on until the end.
Reigning champion Tony Stewart finished fourth with Jeff Gordon, who had won both the previous races at Kansas, fifth. Kevin Harvick was sixth, ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who was forced to battle through the field after starting from the back of the grid.
It was another terrible weekend for championship leader Matt Kenseth. The Roush driver crashed while trying to avoid a spinning Michael Waltrip, causing heavy damage to his Ford. It took Kenseth's pit crew nearly three quarters of an hour to fix his car, relegating him to 36th at the finish, just the 47 laps behind the winner.
With Harvick's solid sixth, Kenseth's lead in the standings has been reduced to 259 points. While that may sound a comfortable margin (the Winston Cup pays 180 points for a win), Kenseth enjoyed a 436-point lead just two races to go. Suddenly his serene run to the title isn't looking quite so easy...
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