The 16 drivers in the Cup Series playoffs are looking to secure a spot in the next round with a win at Kansas Speedway in the Hollywood Casino 400.  Last week at Darlington Raceway Kyle Larson secured his spot in the next round of the playoffs with a win.

Already in danger of being cut, the 23XI Racing number 23 car driven by Bubba Wallace was dealt a blow when the car failed the inspection process twice.  As a result the car chief has been ejected for the weekend and the team loses their chance to make a pit stall selection. 

A pit road penalty last week at Darlington put Kevin Harvick below the cut line.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Michael McDowell are also below the cut line going into Kansas.

The 36 cars have been divided into two groups for a 20 minute practice session and will each make a qualifying run.  The top five drivers rom each group will move on to a second round of qualifying to make a run for the pole.

The Hendrick Motorsports number 24 car driven by William Byron has a bad start to practice with an issue to the car.  There is an issue with the suspension.  The crew will be able to qualify for the race but will have to start the race from the back of the field.

Kyle Busch gets into the wall and has some damage to the right rear of his car.  The crew believes Busch blew a tire prior to getting into the wall.  A frustrated Kyle Busch says that it never ends as he will likely have to start the race from the back of the field for a second week in a row.  Kyle Busch did not make a qualifying run and will be starting the race from the back of the field.

Ty Gibbs blows a tire and gets into the wall hard.  He said that there was no warning before the tire blew.  Gibbs will not be making a qualifying run and will have to start the race from the back of the field.

Craftsman Truck Series playoff driver Carson Hocevar returns to drive the Legacy Motor Club 42 car this week.

The first car on the track to make a qualify run is Sheldon Creed making his debut in a Cup Series car.  He posts a time of 31.165 seconds around the track.

Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr, and Chase Elliott will all move on to round two of qualifying from Group A.

Cole Custer is behind the wheel of the number 51 Rick Ware Racing car this week and is the first driver from Group B on the track.  He posted a time of 30.724 seconds.

AJ Allmendinger’s wife finally had the baby this week – Aero James.  The baby was “due” about three weeks ago.

Ross Chastain is the only driver to make a qualifying run and break the 30 mark with a time of 29.925 seconds.

Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Larson will all move on from Group B to a second round of qualifying.

Chase Elliott is the first of the top 10 drivers on the track and posts a time of 30.227 seconds.

Posting a time of 29.594 seconds Christopher Bell puts his number 20 car on the pole with Kyle Larson starting along side on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Hollywood Casino 400:
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Martin Truex Jr
Chase Elliott
Tyler Reddick
Ross Chastain
Michael McDowell
Austin Dillon
William Byron
Bubba Wallace
Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
Denny Hamlin
Daniel Suarez
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
Erik Jones
Kevin Harvick
Carson Hocevar
AJ Allmendinger
Alex Bowman
Corey LaJoie
Aric Almirola
Chase Briscoe
Cole Custer
Ryan Preece
Harrison Burton
Justin Haley
JJ Yeley
Todd Gilliland
Ty Dillon
Sheldon Creed
Kyle Busch
Ty Gibbs

NASCAR has determined that the issue with William Byron’s car was a part issue, not a team issue and has allowed him to retain his number nine starting spot instead of starting the race from the back of the field.

Stages one is 80 laps, stage two is 85 laps with stage three lasting 102 laps for a total of 267 laps around the mile and a half track.  The drivers can run 65 to 70 laps on a single load of fuel.

Erik Jones’ crew had to change a gear box at the last minute.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Kyle Larson alongside.  Bell edges out in front for the lead with Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr in a battle for second.  The drivers spread out across the track three and four wide going into turn one.

Lap two, Christopher Bell has the lead with Kyle Larson in second; Chase Elliott, Martin Truex J, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Martin Truex Jr reports that he is very tight.

Today is Brad Keselowski’s 500th race and it is race start 100 for 23XI Racing.

Lap five, Martin Truex Jr reports that he has a tire going down on the radio and hits the wall the bring out the first caution flag of the race.  There is significant damage to Truex’s car and he is the first driver out of the race.

Complaining of a very tight condition, Kyle Busch comes down pit road for adjustments.  He was already at the back of the field so an early pit stop will not harm the driver.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane on lap 10 with Kyle Larson alongside.  Kyle Larson gets the lead in turn one after a push from teammate Chase Elliott.

Lap eleven; Kyle Larson has a third of a second lead on Christopher Bell; Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Bubba Wallace passes Chase Elliott for fourth.

Lap 13, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Christopher Bell; Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and William Byron round out the top five.

Chase Elliott reports a very tight condition in his car.

Lap 15, Kyle Busch has moved up to 29th after starting the race at the back of the field and making a pit stop during the caution.

Martin Truex Jr said that he wasn’t sure how the tire blew and that he is disappointed for the crew; adding that they had a good car for today’s race.

Lap 16, Kyle Larson has a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and William Byron round out the top five.

Lap 19, Kyle Busch has moved upt to 24th place; Kyle Larson has a near one second lead on Christopher Bell.

Lap 22, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and William Byron round out the top five.

William Byron passes Ross Chastain for fourth.

Lap 23 Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell battle for second with Wallace taking the spot.

Lap 24, Kyle Larson has a lead of over two seconds on Bubba Wallace; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 29, Kyle Larson continues to increase his lead and is now three seconds in front of the field and second place driver Bubba Wallace.  Kyle Busch has entered the top 20.

Lap 32, Kyle Larson has a lead of over two seconds on Bubba Wallace; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.  Kyle Busch is up to 18th.

Lap 36, Kyle Larson’s lead is down to under three seconds on Bubba Wallace.

Lap 36, Joey Logano is the first driver to come down pit road for a green flag pit stop to start the cycle of stops.

Lap 38, pit road is filled with drivers making their green flag pit stops.

Lap 39, leader Kyle Larson makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Kyle Busch briefly.

Kyle Busch makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Aric Almirola.

With some drivers still to make a pit stop, Aric Almirola leads the race on lap 43 with Ryan Preece in second; Kyle Larson, Harrison Burton, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Lap 44 Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski battle for 16th with Blaney taking the spot.  Blaney had an angry rant on the radio after losing a couple of spots after his pit stop.

Lap 47, Kyle Larson is back in front and has a two second lead on Bubba Wallace; William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 51,, running the fastest laps on the track Bubba Wallace has closed the gap to leader Kyle Larson to just one second.

Goodyear reports that they found a puncture in the tire of Martin Truex Jr’s car that blew.

Lap 53, the top five are Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick.

Lap 56, Kyle Busch has entered the top 15.

Leader Kyle Larson is approaching slower traffic.  There are only 25 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 58, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second and a half on Bubba Wallace; William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 61, both of the 23XI Racing cars are in the top five as 23XI run race number 100.

The caution flag comes out on lap 63 after Austin Dill hits the wall and spews debris everywhere and then in almost the same spot, Wiliam Byron spins out but manages to keep from hitting the wall hard.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Bubba Wallace winning the race off of pit road and Kyle Larson coming out second.

Justin Haley was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Daniel Suarez was charged with an uncontrolled tire on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Chris Buescher had to make a second trip down pit road for a loose wheel.

Sparks caught spilled fuel on fire in William Byron’s pit.  One of the crew members has some burns on his arm as a result of the fire.

Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with eleven laps remaining in stage one; but it is Kyle Larson who gets out in front for the lead.  Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell battle for second place.

Lap 71, the top five are Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Ryan Blaney.  There are 32 drives on the lead lap after sever laps down drivers took the wave around.

Six laps remain in stage one, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Bubba Wallace with Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top five.

Three laps remain in stage one, Kyle Busch is just outside the top 10 and stage points in eleventh place.

Kyle Larson wins stage one for his fourth stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Kyle Larson
Bubba Wallace
Christopher Bell
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Brad Keselowski
Chase Elliott
Kevin Harvick

Drivers come down pit road for fuel and fresh tires; as well as, adjustments to the cars.  Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road with Bubba Wallace coming out second.  Prior to the race at Darlington last week, Joe Gibbs Racing made a pit stop change, swapping the number 20 and 54 crews since the 54 crew had consistently had better pit stops.  But over the past two weeks, Christopher Bell’s pit stops have not reflected the stops the crew had with the 54 team.

Ryan Blaney also had a slow stop when the jack man had to jack the car up a second time to tighten a lug nut.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 88 with Bubba Wallace alongside.  Larson gets a push form teammate Chase Elliott to get out in front.  Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace battle to second.

Lap 89, the top five are Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Tyler Reddick.

Lap 90, Bubba Wallace passes Chase Elliott for second; Kyle Larson has a lead of over half a second.

Lap 92, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski battle for sixth with Keselowski taking the spot.

Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick battle for fourth with Reddick getting the spot.

Lap 94, Denny Hamlin passes Brad Keselowski to retake sixth place.

Lap 95, there are 33 cars on the lead lap; Martin Truex Jr is the only car out of the race.

Lap 96, Kyle Larson has a near one second lead on Bubba Wallace; Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr gets into the wall but the track stays green.

Lap 100, Chase Elliott is the only driver in the top 10 not in the playoffs.

William Byron is reporting some major handling issue with his car.

Lap 108, battling with Chase Briscoe for position Ricky Stenhouse Jr gets into the wall again.

The caution flag comes out on lap 109 when Bubba Wallace gets a flat tire.  He was just reporting a very loose condition – “wrecking loose” – in the car.    There is another issue with the car – the toe link is broken after he scrapes the wall with the flat tire.

Again this week, some half of the playoff drivers have had some sort of issue with their cars.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road.

Bubba Wallace is back on the track four laps down.

Ty Gibbs was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race form the back of the field.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with Chase Elliott on the inside.  Larson gets out in front on lap 114 but Chase Elliott comes up to battle for the lead.  Tyler Reddick makes it a three way battle and takes the lead.

Austin Cindric spins out and brings the caution flag out after some contact with Michael McDowell.  Bubba Wallace is the “lucky dog” and gets one of his laps back.

Bubba Wallace is back on pit road for more service.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with Tyler Reddick alongside on lap 119 but it is Chase Elliott who gets out in front for the lead.

Lap 121, the top five are Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, and Ross Chastain.  Bubba Wallace returns to the track five laps down.

Drivers are getting three wide in a battle for position.

Lap 123, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola are in a battle for position.

Lap 124, Chase Elliott has just a tenth of a second lead on Kyle Larson with Brad Keselowski a half second back; Tyler Reddick and Kevin Harvick round out the otp five.

Chase Briscoe and Corey LaJoie get into the wall but the track stays green.  Briscoe works his way to pit road on the apron reporting that everything has shut off.  The sixth caution flag of the race comes out on lap 128 for Chase Briscoe.  He finally gets the engine cranked back up and going.

In second place when the caution flag came out, Kyle Larson reports that they are “better than everybody”.

Some of the drivers come down pit road for fresh(er) tires but the crews were given only seven sets of tires plus the qualifying tires for the race.  Some of the teams are putting on scuffs to save the new tires for later in the race.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr comes down pit road and the crew lifts the hood.  He is back out on the track.

Michael McDowell also comes down pit road for repairs after contact on the track

Kyle Larson has led 98 of the 130 laps run so far.

Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson on the outside on lap 133.  Drivers are three and four wide back in the field.  Chase Elliott gets out in front for the lead.

Lap 134, the top five are Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Kevin Harvick and Christopher Bell.  Kyle Busch is in the top 10 in eighth place after staying out on the track.

Kyle Larson has fallen out of the top 10 after restarting the race on the front row.  He got loose on the restart.

Lap 138, Chase Elliott has a quarter of a second lead on Ryan Blaney; Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 140, Chase Elliott has pulled out to a half second lead on Kevin Harvick; Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 142, there are 32 cars on the lead lap.

Kevin Harvick has closed the gap on leader Chase Elliott to under a quarter of a second;  Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 145, Chase Elliott has increased his lead to a third of a second on Kevin Harvick.  Harvick reports a loose condition in his car.

Lap 150, Brad Keselowski passes Kevin Harvick for second.

The top five are Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney.

Lap 155, Chase Elliott has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Brad Keselowski; Kenny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Just five laps remain in stage two; Chase Elliott has a third of a second lead on Brad Keselowski with Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Tyler Reddick rounding out the top five.

Brad Keselowski battle with Chase Elliott for the lead and takes the lead with just three laps remaining in stage two.

Brad Keselowski wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Brad Keselowski
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Kevin Harvick
Tyler Reddick
Erik Jones
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Chris Buescher
Christopher Bell

Drivers come down pit road for service.  Kevin Harvick says that he is “waaaayyyyy” too loose.  Brad Keselowski wins the race off of pit road with Denny Hamlin coming out second.

Todd Gilliland has a fire in his pit stall. 

William Byron has a slow stop after the crew made some adjustments and repairs to the car.

Ross Chastain was charged with a crew member pitting too soon and will have to restart the race form the back of the field.

Brad Keselowski brings the filed down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 172 and goes side by side with Denny Hamlin.  Erik Jones comes up looking ot make it a three way battle.  Keselowski gets out in front for the lead.

Lap 174, the top five are Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, and Keivn Harvick.

Harrison Burton brings out the eighth caution flag of the race on lap 175 when he gets into the wall after contact with Carson Hocevar.  He has a flat tire and toe link issue.

A few drivers come down pit road for service.  William Byron was back on pit road saying that the car has not been good since he spun out.

Kyle Larson is convinced that with a new set of tires he could pass the field.  He is currently in 26th place.

Brad Keselowski brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 180 with Denny Hamlin alongside. 
Keselowski jumps out in front for the lead with Denny Hamlin in second; Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Erik Jones blocks Tyler Reddick from taking third.

Lap 182, Tyler Reddick passes Erik Jones for third.  Denny Hamlin is stalking leader Brad Keselowski in an effort to take the lead.

Harrison Burton was on the “crash clock” after hitting the wall and is now out of the race after the clock expired.

Lap 185, Brad Keselowski has just a tenth of a second lead on Denny Hamlin but Hamlin comes up on the inside to take the lead.  Tyler Reddick moves up to passe Brad Keselowski for second.

Lap 188, Denny Hamlin has a tenth of a second lead on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 189, Kyle Busch enters the top 10.

With 77 laps remaining in the race, the drivers must still make at lead one more pit stop for fuel.

Lap 192, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott.

Lap 196, Kyle Larson has moved up over a dozen spots since the restart and is just outside the top 10 in 12th place.

Lap 198, Kyle Larson is back in the top 10.

Denny Hamlin has a third of a second lead on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 203, now back in the top 10, Kyle Larson is slowly working his way forward; he is currently in ninth place.  Denny Hamlin has a lead of over half a second on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.  There are 30 cars on the lead lap.

Lapa 207, Kyle Larson rode the wall going into the corner.

Lap 212, Denny Hamlin has increased his lead to over a second on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.  Kyle Larson is up to eighth place.

Lap 214, the cycle of green flag pit stops begins with Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney.

Lap 216 leader Denny Hamlin comes down pit road for service and gives the lead over to Christpher Bell.

Lap 221, the top five drivers have yet to make a pit stop.

Lap 222, leader Christopher Bell comes down pit road and gives the lead to Daniel Suarez.  Once again Bell has a slow stop with a jack issue.

Michael McDowell’s crew reports that they are going to wait as long as possible before bringing McDowell down for fresh tires in hopes of a caution flag coming out.

Lap 228, on fresher tires, Denny Hamlin has moved up to second place with Tyler Reddick in second.  Daniel Suarez leads the race, still needing to make a pit stop.

Lap 231, Daniel Suarez makes his pit stop giving the lead back to Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.

Lap 236, Kyle Larson passes Ryan Blaney for sixth.

Lap 237, on fresher tires, Daniel Suarez unlaps himself by passing Denny Hamlin.

With 29 laps remaining in the race, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

With 26 laps to go, Denny Hamlin has increased the lead to a second and a half on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

With 22 laps to go, there are 24 cars on the lead lap.

Twenty to go, Denny Hamlin has a two second lead on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Chase Elliott battles with Erik Jones for fourth place.

With 17 laps to go, Michael McDowell finally makes his green flag pit stop.

In the longest green flag stretch today, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of two and a half seconds on Tyler Reddick.

Again this week, half of the playoff drivers have had a number of issues form penalties to hitting the wall.

Twelve to go, Denny Halin’s lead is now over two and a half seconds on Tyler Reddick; Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Ten to go, Tyler Reddick has closed the gap on leader Denny Hamlin to under two and a half seconds.

Chris Buescher brings out the caution flag with a flat tire; there are seven laps remaining in the race.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with Erik Jones winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires.  Kyle Busch and Joey Logano also took only tow tires. 

The race goes into overtime.

Daniel Suarez stayed out on the track and leads the race.

Daniel Suarez brings the filed down for the tow lap overtime shootout from the inside lane with Erik Jones on the outside.  Joey Logano comes up to make it a three wide battle.  Erik Jones and Joey Logano battle for the lead with Tyler Reddick coming up on the inside to take the lead.

Tyler Reddick takes the white flag.

Tyler Reddick wins the race!  He is now locked in to the round of 12.

The 45 car has won a race at Kansas with three different drivers – Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick.

Reddick is up against the wall to “burn it down” and sticks his upper body out of the window while doing the burnout.

The unofficial results of the Hollywood Casino 400:
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Erik Jones
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Kyle Busch
Christopher Bell
Brad Keselowski
Alex Bowman
Kevin Harvick
Ryan Blaney
Ross Chastain
Ty Gibbs
Wiliam Byron
Daniel Suarez
Aric Almirola
Ryan Preece
Chase Briscoe
Carson Hocevar
Justin Haley
Corey LaJoie
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cole Custer
Todd Gilliland
Michaael McDowell
Chris Buescher
Ty Dillon
Sheldon Creed
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric
AJ Allmendinger
Bubba Wallace
Austin Dillon
JJ Yeley
Harrison Burton
Martin Truex Jr


Playoff standings:
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Brad Keselowski
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Ross Chastain
Chris Buescher
Christopher Bell
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr
Bubba Wallace
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Michael McDowell