More photos from the KC Masterpiece 400
Month: May 2018
Harvick’s late heroics win KC Masterpiece 400
by Brian Turrel
Kevin Harvick knew something had to change and he was willing to take some risks for the win in the KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday evening. When he pitted after a wreck and race stoppage with just a few laps remaining, he asked for four tires.
The extra time in the pits dropped him to sixth place when racing resumed, and Harvick “thought it was over.” However, the extra grip let him drive aggressively into the corners, so close that observers in the press box thought he scraped the wall.
Harvick’s daring driving moved him back to second after one lap, and he passed leader Martin Truex Jr. on the next to last lap.
“I said, ‘I’m going to drive it into the next corner. I’ve got five laps to go. I’m going to drive it in here and I’m either going to hit the wall or it’s going to turn.'”
The race was stopped on lap 253 when William Byron, Clint Bowyer, and Ryan Newman tangled in turn 4, creating a pileup that eventually collected seven cars.
The wreck was set up by a restart following contact between Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson that sent Blaney into the wall and out of the race.
Harvick started the race from the pole, but gave way in the early going. Blaney was in the lead at the end of Stage 1 (80 laps), and Larson took Stage 2 (160 laps).
Harvick now has five victories this season, the most ever after 12 races. This is his third victory at Kansas Speedway. He previously won the 2013 and 2016 Hollywood Casino 400.
The Monster Energy Cup series will return to Kansas Speedway on Oct. 21 at the Hollywood Casino 400.
Blue Devil rallies fall short in 12-4 loss to No. 8 Cowley
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College twice rallied from four-run deficits but couldn’t get a third comeback and fell to No. 8 ranked Cowley County 12-4 in second round NJCAA Central Division playoff action at Wichita’s Lawrence-Dumont Stadium Saturday night.
The loss, which ended a four-game winning streak, sends the Blue Devils (34-25) into the loser’s bracket against Johnson County (27-22) Sunday at 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to a 7 p.m. contest against the winner of the Hutchinson-Seward County game. The games can be seen on the KJCCC website.
The win for Cowley was the 11th in a row and 24th in the last 25 games for the Tigers (44-9), who ran away with this year’s Jayhawk championship with a 32-4 record and are the defending Central Division champions. Cowley will face Jayhawk West champion Barton County, a 7-5 winner over Seward County, in the winner’s bracket Sunday.
Cowley, which came into Saturday’s game with a team batting average of .348, rapped out 11 hits and scored in five of seven innings against five Blue Devil pitchers. Meanwhile, unbeaten Ryan Westeroff (7-0) and three relievers were holding KCKCC to just six hits.
Trailing 4-0 after two innings, the Blue Devils cut the deficit in half in the fourth inning on Tyler Pittman’s two-run home run to left-center. Josh Schumacher, who had half of the Blue Devil hits with a double and two singles, led off the inning with KCKCC’s first hit of Westeroff.
Cowley rebuilt its lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the fourth, scoring twice on a single and three walks in kayoing KCKCC starter Orlando Ortiz. KCKCC again got back to within two runs at 6-4, scoring twice in the sixth on a double by Schumacher, wild pitch, a single by Brandon Still that knocked Westeroff out of the game and Kevin Santiago’s run-scoring ground ball.
However, any Blue Devil hopes of another comeback were crushed by a four-run Cowley uprising in the sixth that ballooned the lead to 10-4. Cross Factor and Dalton Dinkel each delivered two-run singles after the Tigers had loaded the bases on a single, hit batsman and a walk.
KCKCC tried to rally in the seventh with back-to-back singles by Brigham Mooney and Schumacher before Cowley ended it on the 8-run rule in the bottom of the inning, Kea’von Edwards singling in the final two runs after a pair of walks..
Cowley jumped in front 2-0 in the first against Ortiz, scoring both runs on three straight two-out singles. Alex Petersen made it 4-0 with a two-out, two-run single in the second and the Tigers sent Ortiz to the sidelines in the third, scoring twice on a single and three walks, one with the bases-loaded.
Bret Snider retired the next five hitters but was lifted in the sixth after a single and walk to start the inning. Julian Rivera and Gunner Vestal each gave up two runs in relief and Hunter Paxton was touched for the game-ending single.