KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The first sign that Kansas Speedway was going to be a heartbreaker for Hendrick Motorsports should have come during qualifying when Jimmie Johnson inexplicably spun and earned one of his worst starting spots since 2005.

Even that couldn’t prepare the organization for the trouble it encountered during Sunday’s race.

Johnson was involved in an early accident and finished 40th, which dropped the six-time and defending NASCAR champion to last in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings. It was Johnson’s worst Chase finish since the 2005 season finale.

It only got worse from there for the Hendrick cars. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a tire problem while leading and hit the wall, causing him to finish 39th. Then Kasey Kahne also hit the wall — he too believed it was caused by a tire problem — and finished 22nd.

Even Jeff Gordon, who finished a team-best 14th, had a problem. A tire got away from his pit crew during a stop, earning a penalty for the four-time series champion.

“A lot of people had trouble, so today was a real survival day,” Gordon said.

But Kahne, Earnhardt and Johnson are now at the bottom of the 12-driver field, and four will be eliminated in two weeks after Talladega. It means they’ve got to be above average Saturday night at Charlotte to avoid having their championship hopes depend on Talladega.

A win earns a driver an automatic berth into the next round, and on Sunday it went to Joey Logano, who picked up his fifth victory of the season.

Johnson wants to also earn that automatic berth.

“It just means we’ve got to be on our game at Charlotte and Talladega,” Johnson said. “Certainly need W’s, I would assume, going forward.”

With his win on Sunday at Kansas, Logano once again proved he’s going to be tough to beat in this race for the Sprint Cup.

He’s won in both rounds of the Chase to stay alive in the elimination format, and his career-best five wins this season is tied with teammate Brad Keselowski for most in the series.

“Getting us to the next round, that’s awesome,” Logano said.

“I’m having a blast this year, and we’ve got a real shot to win this championship.”