NASCAR at Kansas recap: 3 winners, 2 losers from a wild and emotional playoff race

Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing go from heartbreak to victory lane on Sunday, winning a race in honor of a teammate who died the night before.

In Martin Truex Jr.’s preceding six Monster Energy Cup Series victories this season, only Furniture Row Racing’s No. 78 team would go to victory lane and celebrate.

On Sunday, both of Furniture Row’s teams joined Truex in the winner’s circle following hi triumph in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Alongside the No. 78 team were crew members from Erik Jones’ No. 77 team, a gesture made to honor the memory of fabricator Jim Watson, who collapsed and died of a heart attack Saturday night.

According to a tweet by Chris Gayle, Jones’ crew chief, Watson would asked why only the No. 78 team would go to victory lane when Truex won a race. It would seem that both teams should revel in the accomplishment considering both teams are intertwined and work closely together.

And they did just that on Sunday.

“It was terrific. It meant everything,” said Joe Garone, FRR general manager. “You get broke apart, everybody has their jobs, you separate. This was the time to come together. I'm glad we didn't do it before. It was to honor James, so it was perfect.

“To be able to get to victory lane is a silver lining, for sure. Still makes it a pretty tough day.”

The cars of Truex and Jones each carried “JW” stickers. Watson, 55, joined FRR before the season and previously had a long stint with Roush Fenway Racing and last year worked at HScott Motorsports.

Part of Watson’s duties included working on the Toyotas of Truex and Jones at the track, ensuring both passed technical inspection. Truex is the championship leader and leads the series in wins and laps led, while Jones is the top rookie.

“James was a friend to everybody, and a good worker,” Garone said. “He worked on both the 77 and the 78. His hands were on the 78 car going through inspection yesterday, preparing it.”

Watson was go-karting with FRR team members when he collapsed. Neither Truex nor his crew chief Cole Pearn were on the outing, though Pearn did go to the hospital was there until early in the morning.

When Truex crossed the finish line Sunday, an emotional Pearn embraced members of the team.

“I know they were just sitting there, and he had a heart attack and kind of keeled over when they were done,” Pearn said. “I know he just texted his wife not long before that telling her how good a time he was having. Take a little bit of solace in that, that he was happy in his last moments.”

Overcoming adversity has become a theme for Furniture Row in 2017, amidst a season which the organization is favored to win its first-ever championship.

Truex’s longtime girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, is undergoing chemotherapy for a reoccurrence of ovarian cancer. And in August, Pearn’s best friend, Jacob Damen, 35, died unexpectedly from a bacterial infection.

Through it all, the No. 78 team has been exceptional, never experiencing a dip in performance. Truex is among eight drivers who’ve advanced to the Cup Series semifinal playoff round, and with a sizable 27-point advantage over second-place Kyle Busch and up 57 points over the current cutoff line he’s likely to qualify for the championship finale barring a strange set of circumstances.

“It would be a lot nicer to have all the highs and not have the lows,” Pearn said. “That's just the way life is. We're getting the full circle of it right now.”

Here are the other winners and losers from a wild and emotional Round 2 elimination race at Kansas.

Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Not that there was any doubt, but Truex is the championship favorite. He reaffirmed that belief Sunday by rallying from questionable penalty for changing lanes on a restart that dropped him from the lead to the rear and later making an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel. Neither setback was enough to prevent him charging forward and leading the final 57 laps.

As if sheer speed and dominance weren’t enough, Truex’s path to the title was made easier with Kyle Larson’s surprising elimination Sunday. Larson was the only non-Toyota driver who’s proven capable of keeping pace with Truex and his ability to run the high groove gave him the distinct advantage in the championship-deciding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Now, Truex doesn’t have to concern himself with beating Larson in a situation where he would’ve been the underdog and required help in the form of misfortune striking down his chief rival.

Loser: Kyle Larson

There was nothing Larson could do about an engine not up to the task of completing the distance. Nonetheless, the mechanical failure stings, a bitter way to end a breakout campaign where looked every bit the talent who’s often been compared to Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.

One day Larson will win a Cup Series championship (and likely multiple), he’s shown that much. It just won’t be this season.

Loser: Matt Kenseth’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team

Although NASCAR gives the perception its rules are ever-changing, written in pencil rather than indelible ink, the rule that only six crew members can work on a damaged car has been in place since the start of the season. There have no modifications nor amendments since.

So when Matt Kenseth brought his damaged No. 20 Toyota to pit road needing repairs, his team should’ve had a game plan formulated on how it would get their driver back on the track. Instead in a Keystone cops moment, one too many crew members stepped over the wall. That’s an automatic disqualification, ending both Kenseth’s race and his championship hopes. A mistake that simple cannot happen considering the circumstances.

Winner: Jimmie Johnson

It was ugly. Really ugly. As evident by Jimmie Johnson twice losing control of the No. 48 Chevrolet and spinning himself out. Yet when it was all over with, the defending series champ still managed to finish 11th, which, accompanied with Larson’s and Kenseth’s troubles, was a good enough result to avoid elimination by nine points and secure a spot in the semifinals. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Winner: Ryan Blaney

After having his third-place qualifying time disallowed Friday when the No. 21 Ford failed technical inspection and dropped him to the rear of the 40-car field, it would’ve been easy for Ryan Blaney to think he needed to take it upon himself to salvage his tittle prospects.

But the second-year driver overcame the penalty by not doing too much and putting himself in a deeper hole, which at times has been an issue this season. Within 30 laps, Blaney deftly moved inside the top 20 and he ended the first stage in fourth, picking up seven immensely valuable points. He finished eighth in Stage 2 (three more points, and crossed the finish line in third to clinch a berth in the semifinals.