Chase Elliott celebrates in victory lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on October 21, 2018. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Playoff hopes and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup championship dreams are on the line this weekend as the series heads to Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400.
The outcome of this race will determine which eight of the current 12 Playoff contenders will advance to the next round.
Only Dover International Speedway race winner Kyle Larson and Talladega Superspeedway winner Ryan Blaney show up in Kansas City calmed by the knowledge they’ve earned an automatic bid to the Round of 8. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin – a four-time winner this season – holds an eight-point advantage over his JGR teammate, six-race winner Martin Truex, Jr.
A third JGR teammate, regular season champion Kyle Busch, is third in the standings, 15 points behind Hamlin. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, a three-time winner this season is next followed by Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski (seventh) and Joey Logano (eighth).
Logano currently sits in the eighth and final transfer position with an 18-point advantage over ninth place Alex Bowman. Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott is 10th, 22 points behind Logano. Clint Bowyer is 11th, 24 points back. And Hendrick Motorsport’s driver William Byron is 12th, 27 points beyond the cutoff.
Alex Bowman was runner-up to race winner Brad Keselowski in the May Kansas 400-miler, with Chase Elliott and Kansas-native Clint Bowyer finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Elliott is the defending winner of this Playoff race
It all presents dramatic possibilities at the 1.5-mile high banks in the country’s Heartland.
Eight current Playoff drivers are among the top-10 in Driving Rating, led by three-time winner Harvick. Logano, Truex and Keselowski are the only other multi-time winners among the current Playoff field with a pair of Kansas trophies each. Hamlin and Kyle Busch are the only other former Kansas winners among the 12 Playoff drivers.
Three-times the winner of this race was not among the Playoff contenders – Joe Nemechek in 2004, Tony Stewart in 2006 and Greg Biffle in 2007.
Historically-speaking, there is good motivation among those drivers who are trying to race into the Round of 8. Three Hendrick Motorsports drivers are in that group of four still vying for a chance to advance and the organization is the winningest at Kansas Speedway with seven wins. Elliott won this race last year and three-time Kansas winner Jimmie Johnson – who is not part of the Playoff mix for the first time in his seven-championship career – won last in 2015.
In recent years, Kansas has truly been a venue featuring parity among teams and manufacturers. In the last decade, Team Penske has three wins and Stewart-Haas, and Hendrick Motorsports have two apiece. Truex won twice in this time period with Furniture Row Racing – the only season sweep (2017) ever at Kansas. And Joe Gibbs Racing, which currently features the top-three drivers in the standings, has only one win in that time – Kyle Busch in Spring, 2016.
That’s five Ford wins (Penske and Stewart-Haas), three Toyota wins (Truex and Joe Gibbs Racing) and a pair of Chevy wins from Hendrick.
It all makes for what could be a suspenseful race filled with highly-motivated competitors. And drama to come.
“I can’t wait to get to Kansas this weekend,” said Bowman. “I feel like I gave that one away in the Spring. I know that the car we are taking there is really good. That’s one of my favorite tracks, regardless of everything.
“I am looking forward to getting there and it definitely is a race that puts on a great show. This track is probably the best place to showcase the current rules package.”
Xfinity Series Playoff’s Round Of 8 Begins At Kansas
Eight drivers begin the three-race, NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff’s Round of 8 in this Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.
The series returns to Playoff action after an off-week and will compete at a unique venue in that the past two years, the Kansas Speedway race has been won by a non-Playoff driver. Current championship leader Christopher Bell won this race in 2017 when making only a handful of starts. And current series rookie John Hunter Nemechek won this race last year as part of a limited Xfinity schedule. The two join Nemechek’s father, veteran Joe Nemechek, as the only three previous Kansas winners entered this week.
The eight drivers who advanced to this round – in order of their points positions – are Bell, fellow seven-race winner Cole Custer, defending series champion Tyler Reddick, two-race winner Austin Cindric, veteran Justin Allgaier, rookie Chase Briscoe, veteran Michael Annett and rookie Noah Gragson. Bell holds a 12-point edge over Custer. Defending champ Reddick is third, 18 points back.
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Of those, only Bell and Gragson have hoisted trophies in Kansas Victory Lane. Bell won the 2017 Xfinity race and Gragson won last year’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race from the pole position.
Bell would certainly like to regain that 2017 winning form. He suffered the first of two consecutive Playoff DNFs at Kansas last year, completing only two laps on the Kansas 1.5-mile high banks. Bell arrives at the track with an admirable 2019 Playoff track record already, however. Of the eight Playoff drivers, he has easily led the more laps (257) in the previous Playoff races than any of his current competitors. Next on the list is the rookie Briscoe, who has led 92 laps.
Defending series champion Reddick boasts the best average finish at the track – 3.5 in two starts, followed by Allgaier who has averaged an 11.6 finish in eight Kansas starts. Among the eight Playoff drivers Reddick also has the best average finish (5.0) on 1.5-mile tracks like Kansas this season. Gragson (6.7), Annett (7.0) and Custer (10.7). Bell’s average finish on 1.5 milers this season is 12.9, ahead of only Allgaier (13.1) among the Playoff eligible.
“Kansas is such a fun track to race on,” said the 21-year old Gragson, driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. “We were able to get the win there last year in the Truck Series after winning the pole and I feel really confident that we will unload with that same kind of speed this weekend.
“We’ve kept this momentum on our side through the first round of the Playoffs and hopefully we can keep that going on Saturday and put ourselves in a really good position as the Final Four gets closer.”
NASCAR Weekend Preview
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Hollywood Casino 400
The Place: Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS
The Date: Sunday, October 20
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
2018 Race Winner: Chase Elliott
What to Watch For: Chase Elliott won his first Kansas race last October and Brad Keselowski earned his second Kansas victory this May ending a four-race period of domination by Kevin Harvick (2016 Fall, 2018 Spring) and 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champion Martin Truex, Jr. (swept 2017).… Truex is the only driver to sweep a season’s races (2017) at Kansas. … Two of the last four races have been won from the pole position – Truex in Fall, 2017 and Harvick in Spring, 2018. … The pole position is the winningest spot on the starting grid, producing six winners. Twice it’s happened in consecutive races – Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick 2013 season; Truex and Harvick, 2017-18. … Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Harvick are the winningest active drivers at Kansas with three victories each. …Harvick is the all-time winningest polesitter with five pole positions, including three in a row from 2013-2014. … Harvick holds the top Driving Rating (109.5). Fellow three-time Kansas winner Jimmie Johnson is next at 103.2. Eight of the Top-10 rated drivers are currently in the Playoff field. …Only twice in the last 11 races has the driver who led the most laps gone on to win. (Truex in Spring, 2017 and Joey Logano, Fall, 2015). … There are nine former winners in the field this weekend. …. Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. lead all drivers with three runner-up finishes. …The deepest in the starting field a race winner has come is 25th on the grid – Brad Keselowski in Spring, 2011. …. Kyle Busch is the only driver with victories in all three NASCAR marquee series at Kansas Speedway. He has two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series trophies, four in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one in Cup. …Only one time in the last 11 races has a manufacturer won consecutive races – Truex’s Toyota sweep in 2017. … Parity has been evident at Kansas. Ford has four wins in the last 10 races. Chevrolet and Toyota have three each. … Chase Elliott is the youngest driver to win at Kansas. He took the last trophy at the track in Fall, 2018 at the age of 22 years, 10 months and 23 days. … Mark Martin is the oldest driver to win there – in October, 2005 at the age of 46 years, nine months. … Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with wins (12) and pole positions (10). …. Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team at Kansas with seven victories. … Kurt Busch has made the most starts at Kansas (27) without a victory. … Ryan Blaney and the late Jason Leffler are the only drivers to earn their very first Cup series pole position at Kansas. … No Cup driver has scored his career first race victory at Kansas Speedway. … Erik Jones (May, 2015), Ryan Blaney (May, 2014), Austin Dillon (October, 2011) and Denny Hamlin (October, 2005) all made their Cup debuts at Kansas Speedway.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Kansas Lottery 300
The Place: Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS
The Date: Saturday, October 19
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBC, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
2018 Race Winner: John Hunter Nemechek
What to Watch For: This is the first race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff’s Round of 8. Only one current Playoff contender has won this event before – Christopher Bell in 2017. John Hunter Nemechek, who qualified for the 12-driver Playoff lineup, but was eliminated after the first round, is the defending race winner. … Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and his father Joe Nemechek (2004) are the only previous winners of this race entered on Saturday. The Nemecheks are the only father-son due to ever win Xfinity Series races at Kansas. … The eight Playoff drivers who have advanced to this second three-race round include championship leader Bell, fellow seven-race winner Cole Custer, defending series champ Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, rookie Chase Briscoe, Michael Annett and rookie Noah Gragson. … Of those drivers, Reddick boasts the best average finishing position (3.5 in two starts). Allgaier is next – 11.6 in eight starts. … Bell won at Kansas in his first ever start at the track in 2017. … In the last three years, the winner of the Kansas race has not gone on to win the season championship. In 2016, Kyle Busch won the Kansas race and eventual season champion Daniel Suarez finished third. In 2017, Bell won the Kansas race and eventual season champion William Byron finished fourth. Last year, John Hunter Nemechek won the Kansas race and 2018 champion Tyler Reddick finished fifth …The largest Margin of Victory in this race is John Hunter Nemechek’s 5.300-second win over Daniel Hemric last October. … The closest finish came in 2005 between a pair of Washington state natives. Kasey Kahne beat Greg Biffle by .030-seconds. … Eight times in the last 10 races, the driver who led the most laps did not win the trophy. … In 2017, Erik Jones set the mark for leading the most laps in a race – 186 of 200. However, he did not win the race. Christopher Bell beat Tyler Reddick to the checkered flag and Jones finished 15th. …. Four times in the last 10 years, a driver has led at least 100 laps without winning. … This will be the Xfinity Series Kansas debut for championship contender Noah Gragson. He won the 2018 Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Kansas from the pole position. … Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson are the only two rookies still vying for the season championship. Briscoe holds an eight-point lead over Gragson in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. …Among those entered this week is popular driver Ryan Truex, who will drive the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Third-generation driver Bobby Earnhardt will be making his season debut in the No. 66 and Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver Harrison Burton will drive the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
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