The focus was on the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Kansas Speedway, but Ross Chastain rose above and played spoiler, ending up in Victory Lane when the checkered flag waved.

It was the second time over the last month a non-playoff driver won a playoff race, with Chris Buescher doing so at Watkins Glen, as well. Additionally, Chastain won at Phoenix last season during the Cup Series Championship race. All things considered, Denny Hamlin believes this is something we’re going to see more and more in the Next Gen era.

“You’ll see this, you know, just in the Next Gen era, specifically. You’re going to see more of this, you’re going to see more non-playoff winners win races, simply because, you know, there’s things that teams would do back in the day to make their playoff cars faster. I mean, I don’t think there’s any secret to that, but it’s just, you know, the parity in Next Gen itself, you know, again, track position means so much in our sport now that all it takes is for you to hit the right strategy and you to have some competent pace and you can win a race,” Hamlin said, via the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast. “So, I think that, you know, what we saw at the end, I think it was shaping up to be a great battle between five or six guys.

“Seeing Kyle Busch, someone that you know is really hungry for a win. Ross Chastain, always hungry for a win. It was going to be a great battle to the finish. But regardless, you know, having that non-playoff winner is certainly something very gratifying for those teams to do, and he’s not racing for points, so they can roll the dice. That’s the advantage that they’re going to have. The non-playoff drivers don’t care about the stage points. You’re going to see us at the Roval and all these racetracks selling out for stage points. Well, then what happens is all the cars that flip, they’re just going up front. They’re going to be the ones that are racing for a win, not the playoff cars. That’s the downside.

“Playoff teams become more conservative in the playoffs. I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but it’s totally true. Kyle Larson actually mentioned it on Dirty Mo Live, ‘Kansas one, we were all out, but I feel as though people get more conservative in the playoffs,’ because you are. You have to be more aware of the points once you get in there.”

NASCAR is unique in that their non-playoff contenders will still compete through the playoffs, and they’re competing hard, looking for a win to cap their season on a high note. That’ll surely continue at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval, especially if playoff drivers continue to race conservatively at the two volatile race tracks.

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