NASCAR Kansas 2017 results: Martin Truex Jr. wins Hollywood Casino 400

Martin Truex Jr. closed the second round of the Monster Energy Cup Series playoffs the same way he started it: with a win. The Furniture Row Racing driver and current championship leader took the checkered flag in the Hollywood Casino 400 Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

Truex began the day on the pole, but he was penalized for an illegal lane change on a Lap 36 restart and later had to make an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel. Gradually, though, he made his way back toward the front, moving into the lead with 57 laps remaining and was unchallenged to the finish.

It was Truex’s series-best seventh win of the season, with his last coming two weeks ago in the Round 2 opener at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He will enter the eight-driver semifinal round as the top seed and is likely to advance onward to the four-driver championship finale Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kurt Busch finished second, with Ryan Blaney third, Chase Elliott fourth, and Denny Hamlin fifth.

Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse, and Jamie McMurray were the four drivers eliminated from the playoffs Sunday.

Jimmie Johnson, the defending Cup Series champion, overcame two spins to claim the final spot in the semifinals. He finished No. 11, advancing by nine points over Larson, the first driver below the cutoff.

Larson entered the knockout race with a 29-point cushion, but that margin vanished when an engine failure sent him to the garage four laps before the end of Stage 1. He finished No. 39 in the 40-car field.

Kenseth appeared poised to capitalize on Larson’s misfortune until he was caught in a 10-car crash on the backstretch on Lap 198. Although he was able to drive his Toyota to pit road and the damage was fixable, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing had too many crew members over the wall working on the car. That violated NASCAR’s damaged vehicle policy and Kenseth was parked for the remainder of the afternoon. He finished 37th, missing transferring by 30 points.