Fans who came to Kansas Speedway on Sunday thought they were attending a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Instead, they witnessed the latest episode of "Survivor."
Matt Kenseth won a wild war of attrition, otherwise known as the Hollywood Casino 400, beating Martin Truex Jr. to the checkered flag by .495 seconds to claim his third victory of the season, his first at Kansas and the 24th of his career.
Paul Menard ran third, followed by polesitter Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart, who rallied from a 33rd-place starting position and spin on the backstretch during the race.
The slick, new racing surface at the 1.-5 mile track produced a track-record 14 cautions for 66 caution laps, and no one was immune from disaster -- not even a five-time champion.
Jimmie Johnson's quest for a sixth Cup title appeared to have suffered a severe setback on Lap 135, when the No. 48 Chevrolet spun in heavy traffic and backed into the Turn 4 wall. After leading 44 laps, Johnson had just taken a wave-around for a restart on Lap 128, having been trapped a lap down when Aric Almirola smacked the Turn 2 wall, and the resulting caution interrupted a cycle of green-flag pit stops.
Johnson, however, stayed on the lead lap through a succession of pit stops under the yellow, and a liberal application of BearBond kept the No. 48 competitive. Astoundingly, Johnson and his team salvaged a ninth-place finish on a day that could have been much worse and remained seven points behind eighth-place finisher and series leader Brad Keselowski with four races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Here are the results from today's NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway:
- Matt Kenseth
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Paul Menard
- Kasey Kahne
- Tony Stewart
- Clint Bowyer
- Regan Smith
- Brad Keselowski
- Jimmie Johnson
- Jeff Gordon
- Kevin Harvick
- Marcos Ambrose
- Denny Hamlin
- Carl Edwards
- Jamie McMurray
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Travis Kvapil
- Landon Cassill
- Joey Logano
- David Ragan
- Trevor Bayne
- Timmy Hill
- David Gilliland
- Mark Martin
- Kurt Busch
- Sam Hornish Jr.
- Greg Biffle
- Jeff Burton
- Aric Almirola
- Ryan Newman
- Kyle Busch
- Danica Patrick
- Bobby Labonte
- Scott Speed
- AJ Allmendinger
- Mike Bliss
- Casey Mears
- Kelly Bires
- Dave Blaney
- Joe Nemechek
- Reed Sorenson
- JJ Yeley
- Michael McDowell