Past champions lead charge at Kansas

This weekend, the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway plays host to the second NASCAR Cup Series playoff race. With Erik Jones’ victory at Darlington Sunday, no playoff driver is currently guaranteed a pass to the Round of 12.

Six of the 16 playoff drivers are past Cup Series winners at the 1.5-mile Kansas track.

Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano (3 wins)

Harvick, the 2014 series champion, is the only driver entered in this weekend’s race who has competed in every Kansas Speedway Cup Series race. The track was added to the schedule in 2001.

Harvick has earned 19 Top-10 finishes in 32 starts. His 9.1 average finish is the best among the current competition.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s victories at the track came in October 2013, October 2016 and May 2018.

Hamlin has 28 starts at Kansas, posting 10 Top-5 finishes and 11 Top-10 finishes. His victories at the track came in April 2012, October 2019 and July 2020.

Hamlin has two Top-5 finishes in his last two starts at the track.

In 26 starts, Logano has posted three wins, eight Top-5 finishes, 10 Top-10 finishes and 500 laps led.

With his first win at the track coming in October 2014, Logano has posted all his victories driving for Team Penske. His other first-place finishes came in October 2015 and October 2020.

Kyle Busch (2 wins)
It took until his 12th full-time season for Busch to earn his first victory at Kansas, as he finally pulled one off in the May 2016 race.

In 29 starts, Busch has posted two wins, 10 Top-5 finishes, and 14 Top-10 finishes at the speedway. His most recent win came in May 2021.

Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson (1 win)
The Hendrick Motorsports teammates are the only current drivers from the Chevrolet team to roll into Victory Lane at the Kansas track.

Elliott picked up a win in the Fall 2018 event, while Larson won this race last year.

The rest of the field (in order of points)
William Byron has raced in nine Kansas events, posting one Top-5 finish and five Top-10 finishes. All of his Top-10 finishes came consecutively between 2019 and 2021.

Christopher Bell has earned one Top-5 finish and three Top-10 finishes in five starts. His highest finish at the speedway was in May, finishing fifth after starting from the pole.

Tyler Reddick has finished inside the Top-10 twice in six starts, including his first career Cup Series Top-10 finish in 2019. His highest finish was seventh in the Spring 2021 race.

Ryan Blaney, the lone winless points-awarding race winner in the playoffs, has 15 Kansas starts. Making his Cup Series debut there in 2014, Blaney has posted three Top-5 finishes, six Top-10 finishes and a best finish of third in the Fall 2017 race.

Ross Chastain has raced at Kansas seven times, posting one Top-10 finish: a seventh-place finish in the Spring race this year.

Alex Bowman has made 14 starts at Kansas, posting two Top-5 finishes and six Top-10 finishes. His highest finish was a second-place finish in the Spring 2019 race.

Daniel Suarez has raced at Kansas 11 times, posting one Top-10 finish. That result came in his first start at the track in the Spring 2017 race.

Austin Cindric has made two starts at the track, the least amount of starts among the playoff drivers. Cindric’s highest finish came in the Spring race this year: 11th.

Austin Dillon has made 18 starts at the track, including his Cup Series debut in 2011. Dillon has posted five Top-10 finishes with his highest finish of sixth-place, twice.

Chase Briscoe has three prior starts at Kansas. His highest finish is 19th, in last year’s Fall race.

OUTLOOK
The Hollywood Casino 400 is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 11. USA Network will have live television coverage and MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have live radio coverage.


SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info