NASCAR insiders react to disastrous Toyota Kansas result after final restart: 'Completely let it get away'

Two NASCAR insiders believe the NASCAR Playoff Toyota drivers missed a big opportunity to get a big win at Kansas on Sunday. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic shared their thoughts on the Toyota drivers letting Chevrolet driver Chase Elliott win the race after the final restart.

“They are going to be kicking themselves more over this race than any in recent memory,” Gluck said. “They absolutely had this, and completely let it get away. They lined up in overtime one, two, three, four, five. They had the top five cars in overtime on a day they completely dominated.”

Gluck then said that Denny Hamlin led the race for 159 laps. He added that Christopher Bell had led 43 laps, and two other Toyota drivers, Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace, had double-digit laps led. None of those drivers won, as “they let the guy who was technically starting eighth, and actually lined up 10th in a two-lap overtime shootout, win the race when they were all going for it.”

‘A huge missed opportunity’ for the NASCAR Toyota drivers at Kansas

Bianchi agreed with Gluck, saying what Toyota did on Sunday reminded him of the famous GIF of Kevin from the TV series The Office walking in with a pot of chili and spilling it all over the office floor. “They crafted these beautifully fast race cars, they did everything right, they’ve got five drivers up there, two of which, [Tyler] Reddick and Wallace, have not been good at Kansas in a few years, and they were coming in optimistic,” Bianchi said.

“Both of them were, I wouldn’t say they’re in must-win positions, but they were certainly in kind of in must-win positions. It looked like they were going to have a potential to get one of these guys in. Plus, you’ve got Bell, Briscoe, and Hamlin up there, and they’re good on points. …This was a huge missed opportunity on a multitude of levels.”

During the final restart, Wallace had the lead, but Hamlin, Bell, and Briscoe were battling for the win so they could clinch a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs Round of 8. When the race ended, Hamlin finished second, Bell finished third, Briscoe finished fourth, Wallace finished fifth, and Reddick earned a P7 finish.