NASCAR race at Kansas: Sizing up the playoff field, starting lineup, how to watch

It turns out that a comment one of the top drivers made over a week ago remains true: No one is safe.

Yet.

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue with the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway at 3 p.m. Sunday. You can watch the race on USA Network and listen to it on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. And what’s there to watch? Among the biggest story lines: Can Cup regular-season champion Chase Elliott rebound after a last-place finish at Darlington? And will a playoff driver notch a win and thus cement his spot in the next round — and, at least for this first round, be safe?

Sizing up the Cup playoff field is a difficult task at the moment: With Erik Jones’s redemptive Southern 500 win, last weekend marked the first time that a non-playoff driver won the first playoff race of the Cup Series postseason (which began in 2004).

But the short of it is this: This year’s playoff field, at the moment, is largely wide open.

Elliott, who will start 22nd at Kansas, told local media on Tuesday that he hopes he and his team “puts together another solid weekend” and gets “going in the right direction” after wrecking uncharacteristically early at Darlington. The last time he was in Kansas? Elliott finished 29th after a left-rear tire fell off his No. 9 Chevrolet while he was running sixth.

Daniel Suarez, starting in P15, will be another intriguing character to watch. The No. 99 car was remarkably fast at Darlington — using that speed (and a bit of luck) to rise up the field after starting a lap down because of pre-race penalties. The TrackHouse Racing driver’s run was ultimately stunted after being penalized for speeding on pit road. (Another note that might make Suarez a compelling driver Sunday: Suarez told reporters that Christopher Bell “owes” him one after Bell hit him into the wall hard in Stage 2 at Darlington, adding, “I’m not saying that it’s going to be in Kansas or Bristol, but it’s definitely... he owes me one, and I’m gonna save that for later.”)

Another swath of attention should probably be directed to Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe and Kevin Harvick — the four guys who, at the moment, are the playoff drivers below the 12-driver cutoff line. (These guys either need to notch a win at Kansas or Bristol, which will cement their spots in the Round of 12, or need to somehow squeak up in the top-12 on points.)

They each will start from decent positions Sunday. Harvick, who has notched 24 Cup Series wins at intermediate-style tracks like Kansas, will start in P14. Cindric (8) and Briscoe (13) will start in the top-15, and Dillon will start 11th.

Tyler Reddick will start on the pole, with Joey Logano occupying the second front-row position for Sunday’s race.

Kurt Busch, who took himself out of Cup Series championship contention last month after missing a handful of weekends of racing due to a brain injury, was who won at this racetrack in May. Other active drivers who’ve won Cup races at Kansas: Denny Hamlin (3), Joey Logano (3), Harvick (3), Brad Keselowski (2), Kyle Busch (2), Martin Truex Jr. (2), Kyle Larson (1) and Chase Elliott (1).

Sunday will mark the first time in NASCAR Cup Series playoff history that the second race of the playoffs will be hosted at Kansas.

Here’s what else you need to know heading into Sunday.

How to watch NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway

• Race: Hollywood Casino 400

• Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps)

• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165), Final Stage (Lap 267)

• Where: Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kansas)

• When: Sunday, 3 p.m.

• TV: USA Network, 2 p.m.

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

• Purse: $8,338,881

Starting lineup: Hollywood Casino 400