Kenseth KO'd by pit crew miscue

Matt Kenseth was doing everything he needed to on the racetrack to advance in the playoffs. A mistake by his team on pit road negated the effort.

Involved in an accident off Turn 2 on Lap 198 at Kansas Speedway, the No. 20 team had too many men over the wall working on Kenseth's battered Toyota. Under the damaged policy vehicle and the five-minute clock, only six crew members can repair a car on pit road.

Under the subsequent red flag, NASCAR disqualified Kenseth from the race.

"We're done," crew chief Jason Ratcliff radioed after initial confusion on what had taken place.

"Someone is going to have to tell me what's going on," replied Kenseth, who admitted he was confused.

"Seven guys. Seven guys over the wall," said Ratcliff.

Kenseth: "What does that mean? Can't race anymore?"

Ratcliff: "That's right. Can't race anymore."

Kenseth: "So we sent one too many guys over to start working on it and we're not going to have a chance to race for a championship, that's what you're telling me?

Ratcliff: "Nope, I'm telling you I sent six over and somebody can't count. That's what I'm telling you."

Kenseth finished 37th and was eliminated from the playoffs. Ratcliff told NBC Sports either someone missed the call or he didn't communicate it well.

"I don't know what any of the rules are. Seems like we got a lot of stuff that kind of gets changed so often I honestly can't keep up with it," said Kenseth after climbing from the car. "My head kind of spins from putting lug nuts on out of pit boxes to too many guys over the wall, you're not allowed to race anymore. I just don't get it, to be honest with you. I really don't have a lot good to say right now. I'm more than disappointed.

"I'm just going say thanks to [sponsor] DeWalt. They've been a sponsor of mine off and on for 20 years. Awesome guys there, they deserve better than this. We showed some flashes of brilliance this season, been off and on, been fast at times, had great pit stops at times, just haven't been able to put it all together like a championship team needs to. Unfortunately, this is an example of that. I hope that I can do a better job here the next four weeks and hopefully go get a win."

Still winless on the season, Kenseth will look to end his tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing on a high note. He has victories at three of the remaining four tracks.