Track: Kansas Speedway
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Track length: 1.5 miles
When: 3 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $
11,233,037
Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles
Stages: 80 | 165 | 267
Sunday's starting lineup | Pit stall assignments
Intermediate-sized tracks, big-sized pressure in Chase
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Times have radically changed in the roughly five months since the NASCAR Cup Series last visited Kansas Speedway. Since then, the prevailing conventional wisdom that was accepted as gospel looks a little less trustworthy.
It's also been 12 weeks since the most recent 1.5-mile track appeared on the Cup Series schedule: Independence Day weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. Three intermediate-style tracks now loom ahead during a crucial moment in The Chase presented by Mobil 1, and the timing comes front-loaded with pressure to perform.
That's the thought, at least.
"You guys overstate a lot of things, so what's new?" 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace said during a midweek availability, offering a smirk and a playful jab at the NASCAR media. That said, Wallace also lent credence to the importance of this stretch: "I think the next three races is a good indicator of who your champion will be."
Answering that weighty question may hinge on the happenings in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the fourth of 10 races in this year's postseason. Races at 1.5-milers in Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway will follow before a variety pack of four races closes out the year.
MORE: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Kansas
But the first order of business awaits in the heartland, where recent history may not make the picture much clearer. Two drivers who qualified for this year's Chase illustrate the point.
Back in April,
Tyler Reddick converted with a furious overtime charge that sealed his fifth victory in the season's first nine races, capping one of the hottest starts in recent memory. Meanwhile, Joey Logano struggled to a pedestrian 30th-place finish, his No. 22 Team Penske Ford two laps down at the end and his postseason hopes in limbo. Logano said revisiting that result was an unwelcome part of the preparation for Sunday's race.
"
I didn't want to, but I did," Logano said with a laugh. "
Yeah. We try to learn as quickly as possible and move on. Think about the good stuff again."
The good stuff has come in bunches for the No. 22 team since, with three wins in the last nine weeks -- including a victory in last weekend's showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway. Though Logano's record this year on intermediate ovals is subpar -- his average finish of 20.4 on this track type ranks last among the 16 Chase drivers -- there's something to be said for his well-timed head of steam.
"I mean, momentum is confidence, so you hope to ride that as long as you can," said Logano, a three-time Kansas winner who will start from the pole position Sunday after a qualifying washout. "
We're on a good little hot streak here over the last 10-plus weeks, where we've really scratched and clawed from 20th in points to third, so proud of that. Proud of that effort, and got ourselves close. There's a long ways to go in the season, though."
On the flip side of the "where are they now" coin from the last Kansas race to this one is Reddick, who could do no wrong at the season's start but has faded with finishes of 25th and 18th the last two weeks. The 23XI Racing driver entered as the Chase's third seed, but his 35-point deficit has grown to 61 points since the postseason began -- a continuation of a troubling midseason skid.
Five wins came in quick succession at the outset of the 2026 campaign, but Reddick hasn't visited Victory Lane in the 20 races since. His most recent Kansas triumph, he said, provides a reason not to panic.
"We'll go do what we need to do, and I don't think desperation will get me anywhere," Reddick said. "
We'll just go about our business and make the most out of this weekend. ... That's just where I want my mindset to be. I think desperation is reckless, careless, and it won't do us any good, if that makes sense. I don't think we're quite at that point yet."
Panic or not, Kansas is expected to set the tone for the trio of intermediate tracks that make up the heart of The Chase's schedule.
"Yeah, I mean they're all unique in their own way, but at the same time, I think the guys who are going to be fast this weekend, it's going to carry over to Vegas and Charlotte -- just the
certain speed of a race track and things like that," said Ryan Blaney, who made his Cup Series debut here in 2014. "
So they get, like, progressively rougher each track, which is kind of fun. Vegas is rougher than here. Charlotte's rougher than Vegas. But I think your guys who are going to run good here this weekend are probably going to run up toward the front at Vegas and Charlotte. I mean, I could be wrong. I don't know, but usually that's kind of a trend."
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images[/caption]
Setting the intermediate pace
If time out front at the 1.5-mile tracks this season is any indicator, Chase-eligible drivers have a leg up on capturing Sunday's laurels. Tops among them are the current lead pair in the Cup Series standings.
With a crucial stretch of intermediate-sized tracks looming in the heart of the postseason, here's a look at the lap leaders on the 1.5-mile circuits so far this year:
[table id=843 /]
Speed reads
Race-day essentials:
• Kansas hub: Weekend information, pit stalls, additional results
| Read more
• Sunday Setup: Revisiting 1.5-mile tracks, more keys from Kansas crew chiefs
| Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs for the Sunflower State
| View gallery
• Neil Paine: Pivotal three-race stretch of intermediate tracks on tap
| Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Rewind with full-race replays from Kansas Speedway
| Watch now
• Power Rankings: Joey Logano makes a post-Bristol leap
| This week's ranks