This week the NASCAR Cup Series travels to the Midwest plains to Kansas for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Thirty-seven teams brought cars to the track as the playoffs continue with the second race in the round of 12.

Last week Ryan Blaney broke the spell of Joe Gibbs Racing with the win at New Hampshire; can the streak continue?

The cars have been divided into two groups for 25 minute practice sessions.

Chris Buescher quickly put his number 17 car at the top of the leaderboard with a 30.672 second lap around the mile and a half track.

AJ Allmendinger tops the leaderboard in multiple lap runs.

Last week during the race, there was an encounter between JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs that sent Gibbs into the wall and out of the race.  Denny Hamlin said during the press session that the issue had been resolved but gave no details.  Whatever decisions were made will have to wait until the race on Sunday with Gibbs in group one practice and Hamlin in group two with the playoff drivers.

Goodyear has brought a new right side tire to the track.

Cody Ware’s 51 car had inspection issues again this week and failed twice; as a result, the car chief has been ejected for the weekend and Ware has lost his ability to make a pit stall selection.

The 71 car driven by Michael McDowell also had inspection issues.  The crew was observed making an unapproved adjustment to the splitter after passing inspection and had to go through inspection again…and failed.  As a result, McDowell had his crew chief ejected, loses his pit stall selection chance, and will have to serve a passthrough penalty once the race starts.

Ryan Blaney gets into the wall during practice with a blown tire.  He will start the race on Sunday from the back of the field in a backup car.

 Joey Logano has a flat tire and is smoking but keeps the car off the wall.  He slowly works his way to pit road.

The first driver to make a qualifying run is JJ Yeley who posted a time of 32.280 seconds.

Austin Cindric brushed the wall on his qualifying lap.

Chase Briscoe was the first driver to break the 30 second mark with a time of 29.987 and put his number 19 car on the pole with teammate Denny Hamlin alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Hollywood Casino 400:
Chase Briscoe – playoffs
Denny Hamlin – playoffs
Kyle Larson – playoffs
Chase Elliott – playoffs
Christopher Bell – playoffs
Carson Hocevar
Bubba Wallace – playoffs
Ty Gibbs
Ross Chastain – playoffs
Erik Jones
William Byron – playoffs
Tyler Reddick – playoffs
Josh Berry
Noah Gragson
Chris Buescher
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
AJ Allmendinger
Michael McDowell
Justin Haley
Todd Gilliland
Shane van Gisbergen
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Cindric – playoffs
Cole Custer
Zane Smith
Kyle Busch
Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski
Riley Herbst
Ty Dillon
Cody Ware
Joey Logano – playoffs
JJ Yeley
Ryan Blaney – playoffs

Stage one is 80 laps, stage two is 85 laps, and stage three is 102 laps for a total of 267 laps around the mile and a half track.

Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Cindric will be starting the race from the back of the field after crews made some unapproved adjustments to the cars.  Van Gisbergen will have to serve a stop and go penalty.

On a hot Sunday afternoon, Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with teammate Denny Hamlin alongside.  Briscoe gets out in front for the lead.  Drivers are already spread out through the field; driving all over the track.

Lap three, the top five are Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Tyler Reddick.

After having to serve stop and go penalties on race start, Michael McDowell and Shane van Gisbergen are already one lap down.

Lap six, Chase Briscoe leads the race but teammate Denny Hamlin is only a tenth of a second behind; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap eight, Kyle Larson has caught up to Denny Hamlin and is challenging for second.

Lap 10, Chase Briscoe has pulled out to a half second lead on Denny Hamlin.

Lap 13, Chase Briscoe continues to lead the race with the drivers spread out all over the track from apron to fence.Lap 19, Chase Briscoe has led every lap so far but Denny Hamlin is battling for the lead.

Lap 20, Denny Hamlin takes the lead.

Bubba Wallace reports that his car is “plowing” and he can’t hit his marks.

Lap 24, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Chase Briscoe; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 27, leader Denny Hamlin has begun lapping slower cars.

Denny Hamlin has increased his lead on Chase Briscoe to a second and a half; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 31, Kyle Larson battles with Chase Briscoe for second and takes the spot.

Lap 33, Bubba Wallace is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop.

Lap 34, more drivers come down pit road for their green flag pit stops as the cycle begins.

Lap 37, pit road has become very busy.

Lap 38, leader Denny Hamlin makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over the Josh Berry.

Josh Berry makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Brad Keselowski.

Lap 42, Denny Hamlin begins to battle Kyle Larson.  Drivers are three wide in a battle for third.

Denny Hamlin passes Kyle Larson for second and will take the lead when Brad Keselowski makes his pit stop.

Lap 44, the top five are Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick.

Lap 45, Brad Keselowski makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Denny Hamlin.

There are 29 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 48, Denny Hamlin has a near one second lead on Kyle Larson; Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 53, Denny Hamlin has just a tenth of a second lead on Kyle Larson; Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Kyle Busch has just been put a lap down in 27th place.

The first caution flag of the race comes out on lap 56 when Cody Ware gets into the wall with a blown tire.  Kyle Busch is the “lucky dog”.

The drivers have only seven sets of sticker tires for the race plus a set of scuffs.

Tyler Reddick’s infant son Rookie has been diagnosed with a heart condition and is in the pediatric ICU.

Cody Ware’s 51 car has been towed to the garage.

Despite having just been on pit road, the drivers come down pit road for fresh tires and adjustments with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road.

Tyler Reddick had to make a second trip down pit road for a loose wheel.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 63.  Hamlin gets out in front to hold on to the lead.

Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano took only two tires. 

Drivers are spreading out three and four wide across the track.

Lap 64, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larosn, and Joey Logano.

Cody Ware is out of the race.

After having to make a second trip down pit road, Tyler Reddick is back in 25th.

Lap 68, Chase Elliott is just a tenth of a second behind leader Denny Hamlin with Kyle Larson less than half a second back.

Lap 70, Chase Elliott begins to challenge Denny Hamlin for the lead.

Lap 72, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to near half a second lead on Chase Elliott.

Kyle Larson moves up to battle Chase Elliott for second and takes the spot.

With six laps remaining in stage one, Ross Chastain passes Joey Logano for fifth.

Bubba Wallace reports there is no change in the handling of his car.

Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith are in a fierce battle for ninth place.

Just four laps remaining in stage one, Denny Hamlin has a near one second lead on Kyle Larson.

Denny Hamlin wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Ross Chastain
Chase Briscoe
Joey Logano
Chris Buescher
Zane Smith
Carson Hocevar

Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires.  Denny Hamlin came out in seventh place.

Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell nearly wrecked as Bell was coming out of his pit box and Reddick was trying to get to his.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 88.  Bell edges out for the lead.

The top five are Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliot, and Ross Chastain.

The caution flag comes out on lap 90 for a wreck involving John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Preece.  Both drivers end up running through the grass.  Austin Cindric barely squeezed through the wreck.

Denny Hamlin reports a possible sticking throttle.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 95.  Bell gets the lead with Kyle Larson in second; Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Bubba Wallace has worked his way back to his starting spot of eighth place.

Lap 98, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain have passed Chase Briscoe to put Briscoe in seventh.

Lap 101, Christopher Bell has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson; Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Chase Elliott has passed teammate Kyle Larson for second.

Denny Hamlin passes Kyle Larson for third.

Lap 106, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a near two second lead on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 109, Christopher Bell has a two second lead on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Denny Hamlin has passed Chase Elliott for second with Christopher Bell over two seconds out in front.

Lap 116, there are 35 cars on the lead lap with JJ Yeley the only driver not on the lead lap.  Cody Ware is out of the race.

Lap 117, Denny Hamlin has closed the gap on leader Christopher Bell and is now just over a second back; Chase Elliott Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

When asked how the car was, Bubba Wallace told the crew that it was neutral and not to bother him.

Lap 120, Ryan Blaney reports a bad vibration and comes down pit road to begin the cycle of green flag pit stops.

Lap 133, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin come down pit road and give the lead over to Josh Berry.

Lap 123, Josh Berry makes his pit stop and gives the lead over the John Hunter Nemechek.

Lap 124, John Hunter Nemechek makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Daniel Suarez.

Erik Jones was charged with an uncontrolled tire and will have to serve a pass through penalty.

Bubba Wallace battles with the boss Denny Hamlin for second.

Once Daniel Suarez makes his pit stop, Denny Hamlin becomes the leader of the race.

Lap 131, Daniel Suarez makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Denny Hamlin.

Lap 136, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Chase Elliott; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Christopher Bell passes Kyle Larson for third.

William Byron is reporting some major handling issues.

The top eight drivers are playoff drivers.

Lap 143, Christopher Bell passes Chase Elliott for second. 

Lap 145, teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson battle for third.

Lap 146, Denny Hamlin has a near two second lead on Christopher Bell.

Lap 149, Christopher Bell has closed the gap on leader Denny Hamlin to just over a second.

Riley Herbst gets into the wall but he keeps going and the track stays green.

Lap 155, Denny Hamlin has encountered slower traffic and is over a second and half ahead of Christopher Bell.

Alex Bowman reports a possible power steering issue.

Driving a backup car, Ryan Blaney has gone from the back of the field to the top 10.  There are 28 cars on the lead lap.

With just six laps remaining in stage two, Denny Hamlin has a near two second lead on Christopher Bell; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

With three laps remaining in stage two, Chrisotpher Bell is now just over half a second behind leader Denny Hamlin as he battles with Brad Keselowski.

Leading 92 laps, Denny Hamlin wins stage two for the stage sweep.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Denny Hamlin
Christophere Bell
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Joey Logano
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman

Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin edging out to win the race off of pit road.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Chase Elliott alongside on lap 173.  Drivers get three wide across the track with Chase Elliott getting out in front with Denny Hamlin in second.

The top five are Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Bubba Wallace.

Lap 175, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin battle for second.

Lap 178, Bubba Wallace passes Chase Briscoe for fourth.

Lap 181, Chase Elliott has just a quarter of a second lead on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Lap 184, Denny Hamlin begins to challenge Chase Elliott for the lead.

With 84 laps remaining in the race, the drivers must make another pit stop to make it to the end of the race.

With 80 laps to go, Chase Elliott has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

There are 27 cars on the lead lap with Cody Ware the only driver out of the race.

Lap 196, Denny Hamlin passes Chase Elliott for the lead and quickly pulls away.

Lap 198, Denny Hamlin has a one second lead on Chase Elliott.

Lap 199, Josh Berry comes down pit road for service after getting into the wall.

Lap 200, there are 68 laps remaining in the race; Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Christopher Bell; Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

With 64 laps to go, Christopher Bell has closed the gap on leader Denny Hamlin to just under a second; Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 207, Bubba Wallace passes Chase Elliott for third.

Lap 210, Christopher Bell is slowly closing the gap on leader Denny Hamlin and is now less than a second back.

JJ Yeley spins out and does some agricultural racing to bring out the caution flag on lap 211 after some contact from Carson Hocevar.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin wins the race off of pit road with Bubba Wallace coming out second.

Denny Hamlin is reporting some power steering issues.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with Bubba Wallace alongside with 51 laps remaining in the race.

The caution flag comes out for a big crash involving Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, AJ Allmendinger, Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson, Ross Chastain, and Austin Cindric.  Denny Hamlin misjudged the restart to cause the pile up.

Joey Logano was charged with speeding on pit road.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 222.  Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin brush against each other but the track stays green and Hamlin takes the lead.

With 43 laps to go Denny Hamlin leads the race with Christopher Bell in second; Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

AJ Allmendinger is out of the race.

Alex Bowman is slowed on the track after getting into the wall in a three wide battle.

Just 39 laps to go, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on Christopher Bell; Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Just 32 laps remain in the race; Denny Hamlin has a lead of a second on Christopher Bell; Bubb Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Kyle and Kyle – Busch and Larson ride the wall but the track stays green.

Hamlin reports that he doesn’t know how much longer he can hold on.

Just 25 laps to go, Denny Hamlin is still leading the race with Christopher Bell in second; Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

There are just 23 cars on the lead lap.

With 21 laps to go, Denny Hamlin has led 150 laps so far.  He is the winningest driver at Kansas with four wins.

Twenty to go!  Denny Hamlin holds on to the lead despite some steering issues; Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

If Hamlin holds on to win the race, it will be career win number 60, tying his with Kevin Harvick for 10th all time.

Fifteen to go, Denny Hamlin has a three-quarters of a second lead on Christopher Bell.

The caution flag comes out for debris on the track – tire carcass – from Kyle Busch’s car.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road with Bubba Wallace coming out second.  Denny Hamlin came out sixth.

Ty Gibbs and Ryan Blaney were caught speeding on pit road.

Michael McDowell was charged with vehicle interference.

Kyle Busch was penalized for pitting while pit road was closed.

Christoppher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Bubba Wallace alongside after taking only two tires.  With nine laps remaining in the race, Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell battle for the lead.

Carson Hocevar brings out the caution flag when he spins out and is stopped on the track after getting into the wall.

Bubba Wallace is listed as the leader.

Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside for an overtime shootout to the end of the race.  Bubba and Christopher go side by side.

The caution flag comes out when Zane Smith slides down the track drivers side down before flipping over on the roof and then the wheels.  Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, and John Hunter Nemechek were also involved.  Nemchek makes contact with Simth sending him up on the wall before tumbling on the track.  Zane Smith is out of his car and walked to the ambulance.

NASCAR has red flagged the race.

The engines crank and the drivers are moving again as they prepare for a second overtime shootout to the end of the race.

Zane Smith is out of the infield care center and fine!

Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag shootout to end the race.  Wallace and Bell battle back and forth for the lead.

Bubba Wallace takes the white flag with Denny Hamlin in second.  He sends Bubba into the wall.

Chase Elliott comes up on the inside to take the lead and wins the race on the last turn!  Elliott restarted the race in eighth.  Elliott has secured a spot in the next round of the playoffs.

The unofficial results of the Hollywood Casino 400:
Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin
Christopher Bell
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Brad Keselowski
William Byron
Shane van Gisbergen
Ross Chastain
Todd Gilliland
Ty Dillon
Michael McDowell
Chris Buescher
Erik Jones
Daniel Suarez
Justin Haley
Kyle Busch
Cole Custer
Joey Logano
Riley Herbst
Noah Gragson
Ryan Blaney
Ty Gibbs
Ryan Preece
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Carson Hocevar
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
John Hunter Nemechek
Josh Berry
JJ Yeley
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
AJ Allmendinger
Cody Ware

Next week is the Roval and the final race in the round of 12.