Hollywood Casino 400
(⏰ Sunday, 3 p.m. ET | USA Network | NBC Sports App | MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
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Location: Kansas City, Kan. Track length: 1.5 miles Race purse: $9,222,964 Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles Stages: 80 | 165 | 267 -- Starting lineup: Christopher Bell rolls to pole position Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit Defending winner: Tyler Reddick, September 2023Key things to watch
Saturday sessions Trackhouse Racing teammates ruled the single-lap speed chart in Cup Series practice, with Ross Chastain (177.439 mph) and Daniel Suárez (177.177) topping the leaderboard. Chevrolet drivers accounted for seven of the eight fastest drivers. In the consecutive 10-lap averages category, Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman went 1-2. Come qualifying time, Christopher Bell led a 1-2 sweep by Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota drivers, putting his No. 20 Toyota on the Busch Light Pole and slipping by Ty Gibbs with a best lap of 179.336 mph. Playoff drivers took 10 of the top 12 starting spots, but Chase Elliott will start at the rear of the 38-car field after an engine issue developed on the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy in practice. | Full Saturday recapBig story line
Tight margins at Kansas will dictate tone of Round of 12 NASCAR's most recent visit to Kansas Speedway produced Cup Series history with the closest finish ever. That theme may persist Sunday afternoon. The 1.5-mile tri-oval just over the Kansas-Missouri border has delivered nail-biting drama over the years with dare-devilish moves sure to take your breath, whether it was Kyle Larson's dash to the high side in April to set up the 0.001-second triumph or Tyler Reddick's three-wide send in overtime last fall to propel him into the next round of the playoffs. It's those tight confines where opportunity lives -- inches away from the wall on the high line or rubbing fenders with your competition for each ever-important point. Expect more of the same this weekend. Only 39 points separate top-seeded Kyle Larson from the provisional elimination line, with past champions Chase Elliott and Joey Logano hovering just above it. And with Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course lingering ahead, those beneath the advancement line -- Austin Cindric, Daniel Suárez, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe -- know stacking points at Kansas will be pivotal if they wish to advance. To score maximum points means running at the front of the field all day, from the green flag to each stage finish and through to the checkered flag. To get there requires either an excellent qualifying run Saturday or brave moves through the pack to work forward. Daring moves will pay off -- unless disaster strikes. So who will be willing to put it all on the line when it matters most? Larson? Reddick? Or perhaps another contender lurking in the shadows waiting to strike Kansas gold? History tells us...Toyotas should be fast this weekend. Until Kyle Larson's Chevrolet and Chris Buescher's Ford hit the stripe in a near-dead-heat back in April, Toyota had won four straight races at Kansas, with three of those wins courtesy of 23XI Racing.
With one 23XI Toyota (Reddick) in the postseason chase and two from JGR (Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell), Kansas provides ample opportunity for the manufacturer's best weapons to strike first and land a spot inside the Round of 8. But couple that with the statistic that each of the past five Kansas races has featured a different winner and predicting success Sunday may not be as simple as it seems.
He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for... Alex Bowman. A strong showing through the Round of 16 has the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet moving in the right direction entering what has historically been a good track for Bowman. Opening at 35-1 odds on DraftKings, Bowman has three top fives and nine top 10s in 17 starts at the 1.5-miler with a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes there in his back pocket. In the fall of 2022, Bowman led 107 of 267 laps en route to a fourth-place finish, his most recent top five there. Surely it doesn't hurt that his Hendrick teammate Larson is the most recent winner either. Maybe the No. 48 Chevy works its way back to the front of the field Sunday in Kansas. | Kansas odds