NASCAR Xfinity Series at Kansas 2015: Full Schedule, Standings and Preview

Chris Buescher carries the NASCAR Xfinity Series points lead into Kansas Speedway for this week's Kansas Lottery 300. While the 22-year-old rising star maintains a comfortable 26-point edge, there's still enough time for the other championship contenders to close the gap.

Chase Elliott, Regan Smith and Ty Dillon are all within 40 points of the top spot with four races left in the 2015 campaign. Along with a strong finish, they are all going to need a little help in the form of a poor outing from Buescher during the stretch run in order to win the title.

Let's check out all of the important information for the 30th race of the season. That's followed by the weekly schedule, an updated look at the standings and a preview for Saturday's battle in Kansas.

Kansas Lottery 300 Details

Where: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas

When: Saturday, Oct. 17, at 4 p.m. ET

Watch: NBC Sports Network

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Full Schedule

Date	Start Time (ET)	Event	TV
Friday, Oct. 16	2:30 p.m.	Practice	NBCSN
Friday, Oct. 16	4:30 p.m.	Final Practice	NBCSN
Saturday, Oct. 17	12:45 p.m.	Qualifying	NBCSN
Saturday, Oct. 17	4 p.m.	Race	NBCSN

Current Standings

Rank	Driver	Points
1	Chris Buescher	1055
2	Chase Elliott	-26
3	Regan Smith	-34
4	Ty Dillon	-38
5	Darrell Wallace Jr	-112
6	Elliott Sadler	-113
7	Daniel Suarez	-128
8	Brian Scott	-154
9	Brendan Gaughan	-162
10	Ryan Reed	-257

For complete Xfinity Series standings, visit NASCAR's official site.

Preview

One factor that always adds an extra layer of uncertainty to the Xfinity Series championship chase was on full display last week. Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, two Sprint Cup Series stars, dominated in Charlotte, with Dillon capturing the checkered flag.

Seeing those big names in the lower division isn't uncommon, of course. That said, since they aren't racing for individual points, their only focus is winning the race, and when you have title contenders worried about positioning, it can create some extra drama.

It's more of a concern for the chase pack than Buescher heading into the final weeks. He's done exactly what he needed to do over the past couple of months, racking up seven consecutive top-10 finishes. That gives him more margin for error and ensures he doesn't lose much ground in any given week.

Meanwhile, the likes of Elliott, Smith and Ty Dillon need to really push their limits over the final four races to have a chance to raise the trophy at season's end. And that's a tougher task when you have drivers from the Sprint Cup controlling races.

The situation provides a little boost to Buescher, but it doesn't take all of the pressure away. He must still continue to earn those solid finishes—his worst result this season is 20th—because one bad day is all it will take to tighten the race right back up.

In addition to racing for the title, he's also trying to prove himself. In August, team owner Jack Roush said during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he felt the Texas native is “ready” for the Sprint Cup, but he wasn't sure on a timeline, via Daniel McFadin of NBC Sports.

"

I stop short of saying it's 2016, but there is a consideration, discussion going on about the prospect of getting him in a car. If not one of my cars, one of the other Ford cars that would be competitive and competing in 2016. He may very well be in one of my Sprint Cup cars. It's just a matter of sponsorship and business considerations.

"

Becoming champion would probably go a long way in helping him receive the necessary support.

While Buescher is held in high regard by Roush, some of his closest competition clearly have high-profile support of their own:

All told, Buescher is in firm control of his championship hopes as he arrives to Kansas. All he needs to do is continue driving smart, limit risk and hope he doesn't catch any terrible breaks along the way. If that happens, he'll be celebrating next month.

In the meantime, Elliott, Smith and Dillon are all waiting in the wings, hoping for that one mistake or a bit of bad luck to at least give them a chance.