After opening the Cup playoffs at Darlington Raceway, the series heads to Kansas Speedway for the middle race in the first round.
Christopher Bell holds the final spot to advance to the next round. Bubba Wallace, Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell trail Bell.
The May race at Kansas had 37 lead changes, including one on the last lap. The race also featured 11 cautions.
Sunday’s race airs at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. Countdown to Green begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
FRONTRUNNERS
Denny Hamlin
Points position: 5th
Best finish this season: 1st (Kansas I, Pocono)
Past at Kansas: He won in May, beating Kyle Larson in a last-lap duel that included contact. Since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022, Hamlin has finished fourth, second and first in the three Kansas races. Hamlin, who made his first career Cup start in October 2005 at Kansas, has four wins at this track.
Kyle Larson
Points position: 2nd (Secured spot in next round)
Best finish this season: 1st (Richmond I, Martinsville I, Southern 500)
Past at Kansas: Finished second in May. He started second, was spun by Tyler Reddick on the fifth lap, came through the field, led a race-high 85 laps and finished second after contact with Denny Hamlin on the last lap. Since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022, Larson has finished second, eighth and second at Kansas
Bubba Wallace
Points position: 13th (1 point from cutline to advance to next round)
Best finish this season: 4th (Las Vegas I, Kansas I, Coca-Cola 600)
Past at Kansas: He won this race a year ago. Wallace finished fourth in May. It’s no surprise his best finishes have come at 1.5-mile tracks. Toyotas have been strong on those tracks. In his last three Kansas races, Wallace has finished 10th, first and fourth.
William Byron
Points position: 1st
Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I, Phoenix I, Darlington I, Atlanta II, Watkins Glen)
Past at Kansas: His third-place finish in May was his best at Kansas. He has seven top 10s at the track — the most top 10s he has at any Cup track.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Kevin Harvick
Points position: 14th (two points below cutline to advance to next round)
Best finish this season: 2nd (Darlington I)
Past at Kansas: He has failed to score a top 10 in his last three Kansas starts. Harvick has three wins, 12 top fives and 19 top 10s in 35 career starts at this track.
Chris Buescher
Points position: 4th
Best finish this season: 1st (Richmond II, Michigan, Daytona II)
Past at Kansas: He has one top 10 in his last eight Kansas starts. His best finish at this track is sixth in October 2017. In his last four Kansas races, he’s finished 12th, 27th, 15th and 17th.
Joey Logano
Points position: 11th
Best finish this season: 1st (Atlanta I)
Past at Kansas: Since his win in the 2020 playoff race at Kansas, Logano has three 17th-place finishes and results of sixth and ninth.
Brad Keselowski
Points position: 8th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Atlanta I, Daytona II)
Past at Kansas: He has failed to finish in the top 10 in each of the last four races. It was here in the playoffs in 2019 that Keselowski entered the cutoff race 24 points above the cutline and was eliminated after a 19th-place finish.
