Racing Insights: Chase stars highlight Kansas projections

The heartland is the host of the next stop on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The fourth race of The Chase presented by Mobil 1 sparks a significant three-race stretch of the postseason that features consecutive races at 1.5-mile ovals, starting of course in The Sunflower State. The first trio of Chase races delivered a doozy of drama, particularly in the late stages of last week’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway as Joey Logano surged to the win while Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney had their own post-race … discussion.

RELATED: Starting lineup | Kansas race hub

While Kansas doesn’t have the same high banks as Bristol, it does have the tendency to produce some of the most memorable, Chase-shaking moments the sport has seen. Here are the drivers you should watch this weekend, along with Racing Insights’ full projected results for Sunday’s 267-lap feature.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

KYLE LARSON: Perhaps no team has looked more like a championship-caliber team than our defending champion himself. That’s easy to say about the man who’s now leading the points standings, but Larson has looked excellent in each of the three Chase races thus far, with a World Wide Technology Raceway win sandwiched between two additional top-five runs and a total average finish of 2.6 across the three races. His Kansas numbers have been excellent with three wins and two in his last five starts there. The all-time laps leader at Kansas (1,003), Larson should be up front again Sunday.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Is this the weekend that solidifies Bell as a championship contender? It’s likely the Southern 500 champion’s stock only rises after this weekend. Bell is a four-time pole winner at Kansas with a best finish of second (May 2023) but has led in each of his last nine Kansas starts. With runner-up results at each of the last two 1.5-mile tracks and five top 10s in his last six Kansas starts, Bell could whittle his 17-point deficit to Larson to nothing by the end of Sunday’s race.

BUBBA WALLACE: Sitting 10th in points, Wallace may be slightly surprising to see here … if you forgot how last year’s postseason race at Kansas ended. Wallace was in position for a critical victory entering the final set of turns on the final lap until contact with team co-owner Denny Hamlin put both in the wall and cost themselves the victory. Wallace is a 2022 winner at Kansas and has four top fives in his last eight Kansas starts. Couple that with four top 10s in his last five 1.5-mile races and Wallace could be a sneaky contender for a massive Chase shake-up.

FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400 (3 P.M. ET, USA)