After struggling early in the season, Denny Hamlin started to show the form that brought him to the position of Vice-Champion Chase last year.
The third was in Kansas on Sunday, Hamlin won a 11 point standings, one point behind Ryan Newman for 10, the last Chase position in the championship points awarded. Hamlin cites three distinct reasons for the improvement of his team.
"I think the ratings will help us," said Hamlin. "We're improving to qualify. When you call us on 15, is best for us. So that's an improvement. I think my team of mechanics who improved in the last two or three weeks. It was a great improvement. We have not lost points today. We won points. And the cars get faster.
"This is pretty much all you can ask for now, [but] we can not be happy if any. We know that we are a bit 'behind the Ford now. So we must continue to work."
A hot one in Kansas
Carl Edwards joked with his crew on the radio want a cup of coffee to warm up, but his companions are not the Cup drivers to buy into the afternoon heat.
"Nobody loves him," race winner Brad Keselowski said. "Some people will tell you they seem to like it so difficult."
The temperature hovered in the mid 90's during the afternoon at Kansas Speedway, according to the National Weather Service. Even with ice packs, isolation and cooling systems, high technology, who owns a business in hot cars.
Keselowski for example, came to Victory Lane with the cabin temperature of 140 degrees.
Hamlin likened the experience to sit in a sauna.
"All these cars are completely closed," Hamlin said. "We have a window of our network in a time when they are rather the seal on the left side of the car, so there is always air in or out of the car. This is just hot. Your feet are just boil all day .
Heat toll is likely to present, followed by President Pat Warren said, but the first two races in Kansas this year attracted an audience yet.
NASCAR said 80,000 fans were presented to the runway which can accommodate 73,000 in the stands with seats for 10,000 in the infield. A number of no-show, are people who had bought tickets.
"It was a bit 'hotter than we wanted the fans," said Warren. "In every stage race, when I was grandstands were several thousand people trying to escape from the stands warming. This is not ideal. As someone who runs track, is that people are able to enjoy the race and they sit in their seats. "