NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Come in Clutch with Round of 12 Kansas Win?
A Heartland haymaker is up next for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs this weekend. The Round of 12 opens its mini-series on the ever-racy Kansas Speedway. May’s race here lives on as the closest finish ever. Can September see similar highlights? Here are a few drivers who stand out from the herd for the Hollywood Casino 400.
Kyle Larson
One man will rightfully be the center of attention this weekend as the defending Kansas victor and the most recent winner–Kyle Larson. The No. 5’s run at Kansas in May will go down in history as the narrowest winning margin in Cup. Just a mere 0.001 second separated Larson’s nose from Chris Buescher. Larson recapped what he remembers from this dazzling run to the line.
“I had a great run off [turn] two and down the backstretch and was able to get to [Chis Buescher’s] outside getting into three,” Larson said. “It was so tight at the line and I guess TV showed us second. I was fine with that because it was a great battle at the end. But then to hear we won was incredible.”
Perhaps no team has seen more Playoff momentum this season than Kyle Larson right now. Fresh off of leading 462 laps in a Bristol Night Race beatdown, Larson enters Kansas as the favorite once again. Larson owns a pair of past Kansas victories, and eyes a hat trick along with a season sweep.
Denny Hamlin
In lockstep with Larson atop the Kansas odds sheet is Denny Hamlin. Driver 11 has an all-time record four Kansas triumphs, most recently in May 2023. The last six Kansas races have also seen Hamlin earn a top-five, a streak only matched by Larson. Hamlin is well aware that Kansas is a prime chance to get back in the win column. Sunday could significantly ease the 11’s Playoff path ahead.
“It’s game on from here,” Hamlin said. “We need to be on the offensive from the start of practice this weekend and put ourselves in position to get stage points and have an opportunity to win the race or get a solid finish to set ourselves up for Talladega and the Roval. Kansas has historically been one of our better tracks, maybe our best honestly, so we are more than capable.”
Hamlin was in position to take this win a year ago, until an overtime restart. Despite this error, Hamlin still has laps led in the last three trips to Kansas City. If anyone can halt Larson’s march through the Playoffs this weekend, keep an eye on the 11.
Tyler Reddick
The defending Hollywood Casino 400 winner, a year ago saw Tyler Reddick give 23XI Racing their third Kansas trophy. Even with this team’s apparent domination here in the Next Gen era, Reddick only led the last two laps in overtime. Aside from the win, Reddick’s Kansas stat line only has three other top-10s across 10 starts.
If not a win, the regular season champion is aiming for another front-running day and padding his points buffer before Talladega. Reddick’s winning pace at Michigan in August should be a good omen for team 45 on another intermediate this weekend.
Christopher Bell
Toyotas have won four of the five Next Gen Kansas races, but surprisingly none have gone in Christopher Bell’s favor. Driver 20 has three poles and six top-10s across nine starts here. This alone proves Bell knows how to make time around this track. The three-time 2024 winner expects an above-average shot at a fourth checkered flag in Kansas.
“The thing that stands out about Kansas is the restarts,” Bell said. “The track is so wide, and on top of the track being wide you have the apron that adds real estate where you can get four or five wide pretty easily down the front stretch. Then all of a sudden you get to the corner and don’t have the grip to be four or five wide. So the restarts are always crazy there and there’s a lot to be gained and there’s a lot to be lost. The reward is really high to be aggressive on restarts.”
Ripping the fence is the fast way around Kansas, and few have perfected this art as well as Bell. Reset to second in points following two Round of 16 top-fives, Bell is shaping up to be a true contender. Team 20 will likely find victory lane again in the next few weeks.
Alex Bowman
Another driver who’s done everything but win at Kansas is Alex Bowman. The Hendrick driver boasts nine top-10s here, including each of his last four starts. This is Bowman’s most top-10s at any track. Kansas only kickstarts a Round of 12 slate that sets up nicely for driver 48.
“It’s been a really good place for me,” Bowman said. “It’s probably my favorite mile and a half, I enjoy racing there a lot and have certainly been close to winning there before. So, I’m looking forward to it. Statistically, it’s been a really good place for us so hopefully we can put together a really good race this weekend.”
Coming off a Bristol top-10 run, Bowman may just be a sleeper pick for the Round of 8. The three stops in this round are among Bowman’s best statistical tracks. In short, a a yellow brick road may be paved ahead for the 48.
Joey Logano
It’s still an even numbered year, and Joey Logano is far from a stranger to Kansas Speedway’s victory lane. Driver 22 has three wins here, most recently in fall 2020. The seven races since have seen Logano earn three top-10s. Starting off this round as the last man above the cut line, Logano knows he must chase every point possible.
“It’s just the same stuff,” Logano said. “You’ve got to get some points to survive. Kansas will be important. You’ve still got Talladega in there, which is quite the wild card, and then the Roval. It’s a fairly similar round to what we just went through. So you’ve got to be able to score some points. We just have to go back to Kansas this weekend and run good. We need to go up there and run in the top-five and score stage points and position ourselves solid into the next two races after that.”
Logano is the only active driver looking to tie Denny Hamlin’s all-time Kansas record of four wins. With how little speed the 22 has shown on intermediates this year though, Sunday may be an uphill battle. Strategy did see Logano eek out a top-five here a year ago, however.
Plenty of drivers both Playoff-eligible and otherwise are all hungry to find victory lane, and capable in the Sunflower State. The Hollywood Casino 400’s green flag will fly Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. A Playoff driver taking home the Kansas checkers would be two short steps away from hoisting the Bill France Cup.
Written by Peter Stratta
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