Five to Watch: Key story lines for 2020 Kansas playoff race

WILL THE STREAK CONTINUE?: A playoff-eligible driver has won each of the the last 27 postseason races. Erik Jones is one who is looking to end that streak. Jones, who is 17th in the standings, is the only driver who has finished in the top 10 in the last five races at Kansas, along with the last four races this season. Jimmie Johnson is one of four non-playoff drivers in the field who has won at Kansas, joining Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman. Busch, who is eliminated from the playoffs, is still trying to keep his streak of consecutive seasons with a win alive (currently at 15). Plus, Cole Custer and Austin Dillon, who also have been eliminated from the playoffs, each have a win at a 1.5-mile track this season.
 
"I like Kansas a lot and with the momentum from the last few weeks on our side, I think we can go there this weekend and contend for the win," Jones said. "We've come close to winning in the past at Kansas, and it's a place I've always run well at over the years in Cup, Xfinity and Truck."

MILE-AND-A-HALF MASTERS: Kansas will mark the 10th race at a 1.5-mile track this season and the first of two straight in the Round of 8. Denny Hamlin, the only multiple winner in the nine races, is one of six drivers still eligible to run for the championship with a victory at a 1.5-mile track, a list that also includes Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Busch won the last race at a 1.5-mile track in the playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and joins Harvick as the only driver to finish in the top 10 in each of the last four 1.5-mile-track races dating back to Kentucky Speedway. The Vegas race debuted a new right-side tire that will be used for the second time Sunday and again next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin (121) and Elliott (73) were the top-two laps led leaders in the Vegas race.
 
"We need to display that our cars are fast and do a good job on pit road and do the things we did all year," said Harvick, who scored his last of three wins at Kansas in the 2018 spring race. "Definitely two good race tracks coming up for us with Kansas and Texas, and hopefully we can get a win at one of those two race tracks and go on with it."

ROUND OF 8 DEBUT: Alex Bowman is making his debut in the Round of 8 and the only playoff driver without a win at a track in this round. Bowman is having a career year in a number of statistical categories that includes laps led (396) and 12 top-10 finishes, which is tied for his most in a season. Kansas has been a great track for Bowman in his six starts with Hendrick Motorsports, posting a 9.2 average finish, 76 laps led and a runner-up in the 2019 May race.
 
"Making the Round of 8 was one of our team's goals for the 2020 season," Bowman said. "We are focused and ready to get through the Round of 8 and go for a championship in Phoenix next month. Going to Kansas this weekend is something I am looking forward to. We have had some strong results there in the past and Hendrick Motorsports' intermediate program is one of our best."

GOING FOR THREE-PEAT: Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart connected on something at Kansas starting last year in this event where he led a race-high 153 laps. Hamlin has won the last two Kansas races, and if he can pull off the three-peat, he would become the all-time win leader at the track with four.
 
"Once I create that good database for Chris to work off of it seems like when we go back to the track, he's made the proper adjustments for weather and conditions and things like that, car changes," Hamlin said. "He's dialed in. Hopefully, I have another really good handling car like I've had in the last few races."

WIN AND YOU'RE IN: A win by any of the playoff drivers will not only mean an automatic berth in the Championship 4, but it also opens up opportunities for the team to prepare to run for the title in the season finale Nov. 8 at Phoenix Raceway. Two times in the last four years a driver has won the opening race of the Round of 8 and went on to win the championship -- Jimmie Johnson in 2016 and Joey Logano in 2018. Martinsville Speedway held the Round of 8 opener those seasons but shifts to the final race of the round in 2020.
 
"I think it's a big advantage to win the first race in this semifinal round of the playoffs, but with respect to that it gives you a lot of time to prepare for the final race and I think that's never a bad thing," said Brad Keselowski, who begins the round as the third seed. "Whether that's allowing your team to kind of relax a little bit and focus on one car rather than three other cars to build or engineering."

The Round of 8 for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begins Sunday with the running of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Playoff drivers Denny Hamlin (3 wins), Kevin Harvick (3), Brad Keselowski (2), Martin Truex Jr. (2), Joey Logano (2) and Chase Elliott (1) are among the 10 previous Kansas winners in the field. The four playoff drivers who enter below the cutoff for the Championship 4 are Logano (minus-5), Truex (-10), Alex Bowman (-18) and Kurt Busch (-21).  
 
"We're in the elite eight," Busch said. "I like to reference it as the 'who's who.' We are a little bit behind in points and it's tough to gain points on a group of drivers like this towards the end of the year. Everybody is on their game; every position counts. I'm looking forward to the challenge."