The second round of the Cup playoffs begin. Two drivers switch rides beginning this weekend. And NASCAR is back at the track that provided the closest finish in series history earlier this year.
Much is happening at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway heading into Sunday’s race (3 p.m. ET on USA Network).
Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams going to Kansas.
23XI Racing — Good news: Bubba Wallace’s third-place finish at Bristol marked his sixth top-five finish of the season and 11th top 10 of the year. Both are career highs. … 23XI Racing has won three of the last five races at Kansas, getting a victory each from Kurt Busch, Tyler Reddick and Wallace. … Reddick has scored the most points among all drivers at races on 1.5-mile speedways this season. He has 154 points. Bad news: Reddick has scored 11 stage points in the playoffs. That ranks worst among the remaining 12 playoff drivers. … Reddick has scored 69 points in the playoffs. That also ranks worst among the remaining 12 playoff drivers.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Michael McDowell has finished 11th or better in each of the last two races this season. … McDowell has started in the top 10 in the last two races at Kansas. Bad news: Todd Gilliland has not started better than 25th in five career Cup starts at Kansas.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Bristol winner Kyle Larson has a series-best eight finishes in the top three this season. … Larson won at Kansas in the most recent Cup race there. He beat Chris Buescher by .001 seconds in the closest finish in series history. … Larson is the only repeat winner in the last eight Cup races at Kansas. … Alex Bowman scored the most points in the first round of the playoffs. He had 120, including a series-best 41 stage points. … Chase Elliott finished third t Kansas in May. Bad news: William Byron has two top-10 finishes in the last eight races.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Denny Hamlin’s four Cup wins at Kansas are the most all-time. … Hamlin’s pit crew had the fastest four-tire pit stop at Bristol at 9.3 seconds, according to Racing Insights. … Christopher Bell has won the pole for the last two races at Kansas and three of the last five races there. Bad news: Hamlin has been the leader with 10 laps to go in the last two Kansas races but has not won either. He finished second in September 2023 and fifth in May. … Martin Truex Jr. has finished 20th or worse in the last eight races. … Ty Gibbs has finished no better than 15th in the last four races.
JTG Daugherty Racing — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finished 14th or better in six of the last 13 races. Bad news: Stenhouse has failed to finish five of the last 11 races due to an accident.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: Ty Dillon is in the No. 16 car this weekend. It is his seventh start of the year and his 245th career Cup start. … Daniel Hemric has three top 20s in the last five races. Bad news: Hemric has started 30th or worse in 15 of 29 races this season.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Erik Jones finished third at Kansas last September. He was the only non-playoff driver to finish in the top nine in that race. … Jimmie Johnson is back in the No. 84 this weekend. This will be his seventh start of the year. Bad news: John Hunter Nemechek has not started better than 10th in a race this season.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch has two Cup wins at Kansas, along with four Xfinity wins and three Truck wins there. Bad news: Busch has finished 25th or worse in each of the past two races. He has finished 25th or worse 12 times this year. … Busch’s career-long winless streak has reached 50 races. … Austin Dillon has had six consecutive finishes of 15th or worse since his Richmond victory.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Corey LaJoie makes his debut with the team this weekend. … He will have Kaz Grala as a teammate this weekend. Bad news: The organization has not had a car qualify in the top 25 in eight of the last nine races.
RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski has finished second in two of the last three races on a 1.5-mile speedway. Bad news: The organization’s last win at Kansas was in October 2012 by Matt Kenseth. … Keselowski has no top 10s in the last four races. … RFK Racing drivers were passed for the win in the last two races on 1.5-mile tracks. … Chris Buescher was finished 15th or worse in four of the last five races at Kansas. The exception was in May when he placed second, losing by .001 seconds to Kyle Larson in the closet finish in series history.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Justin Haley makes his debut with the team this weekend. … Two of the team’s cars qualified in the top 10 at Bristol, marking the first time the organization had accomplished that feat. Carson Hocevar started seventh. Corey LaJoie, in his final race for the team, started ninth. … The team has had at least one car finish in the top 20 in the last 15 races. Bad news: Zane Smith has six pit road speeding penalties this season.
Stewart-Haas Racing — Good news: Ryan Preece has had three top 20s in a row, which is tied for his longest streak of the season. … Chase Briscoe has three top 10s in the last four races. … Briscoe overcame a 21-point deficit to the cutline after Atlanta, the opening race in the first round, to advance. That’s tied for the largest margin overcome to make it to the second round without a win. … Josh Berry has started in the top 10 in seven of the last 13 races. ... Noah Gragson has scored back-to-back top-15 finishes. Bad news: Berry has finished 20th or worse in 10 of the last 11 races.
Team Penske — Good news: Joey Logano has won three playoff races at Kansas, the most among all drivers. … Austin Cindric has had two of his five top 10s this season in the playoffs. Bad news: Austin Cindric and Logano are tied with Daniel Suarez with 13 finishes of 21st or worse. That the is most among any of the remaining playoff drivers. … Ryan Blaney has failed to finish three of the last five races. … Blaney has one top-10 finish in the last seven Kansas races.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain has three top 10s in the last four races. Bad news: Daniel Suarez has two top 10s in 15 Cup starts at Kansas.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Harrison Burton has four top-25 finishes in the last six races . Bad news: Burton was eliminated from the playoffs after Bristol. … He has finished 30th or worse in four of his five Cup starts at Kansas.
