It took all 43 laps that he had the lead, but Chase Elliott crossed the finish line .903 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch on Sunday, Oct. 21 to win the Hollywood Casino 400 in Kansas City.

The victory is Elliott’s third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season and his second checkered flag in this year’s playoff races having won at Dover three weeks ago.

Elliott began his charge to the front after a pit-row speeding penalty cost Kevin Harvick his position on lap 214. Having moved into second place when Brian Keselowski decided to pit on lap 224, Elliott took hold of the front position and powered his No. 9 Chevrolet to three second lead over the rest of the field.

Busch, fueled by his last-lap disaster at Talladega, used the outer wall to his advantage to close the lead considerably as he narrowed the gap to a mere .3 seconds in the final laps. In the end, Elliott held on to cross the finish line for his third career victory.

Sunday’s results completed the round of eight for the next three races of the 2018 season. Alric Almirola and Elliott had already secured their spots and they will be joined by Busch, Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch.

The first race of the round of eight, the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway, takes place on Sunday, Oct. 28 as the field competes for the spot in the Final Four of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.