NASCAR at Kansas 2015: Race Schedule, Live Stream Info and Drivers to Watch
With a trip to Talladega looming, Sundayโs Hollywood Casino 400 might be the most important race of the season for NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series.
The second round's second leg of the Chase for the Sprint Cup stands as a rather straightforward event, especially in comparison with what's to come in the round's final race when the field gets reduced from 12 to eight.
Joey Logano sits in the driver's seat after taking the checkered flag last weekend at Charlotte, but everything else is up for grabs. Drivers will do whatever it takes to shoulder their way into favorable position going into Talladega, so don't miss out on Sunday's major event.
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Viewing Details
Where: Kansas Speedway
When: Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2:15 p.m. ET
Watch: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Live Extra
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Sprint Cup Standings
| 1 | Joey Logano | 3048 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 3042 |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 3041 |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | 3040 |
| 5 | Kurt Busch | 3039 |
| 6 | Carl Edwards | 3039 |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 3037 |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | 3035 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 3029 |
| 10 | Kyle Busch | 3025 |
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 3016 |
| 12 | Matt Kenseth | 3003 |
| 13 | Jamie McMurray | 2130 |
| 14 | Jimmie Johnson | 2092 |
| 15 | Paul Menard | 2083 |
| 16 | Clint Bowyer | 2082 |
Drivers to Watch
It almost seems like a miracle Kyle Busch is still around in the Chase.
Busch once again looks elimination in the eye sitting in 10th place. Of course, he did in the first round, too, before a second-place showing at Dover. The problem is those in-between performances, as he finished 37th at New Hampshire and 20th at Charlotte last week despite starting second.
Gone are the days Busch is a shoo-in for a spot in the top 10. His post-injury form that saw him make the Chase after a medical exemption seems years ago, not months.
For Busch, a return to form is just one race away, though, as he brought up his third-place finish in this event last year when speaking withย Rick Peterson of theย Topeka Capital-Journal: โThe way our race cars are right now, I can take a lot of confidence from last year and just how our stuff is now and know we can bring home a good finish.โ
If he's going to avoid heading into Talladega on shaky footing, Busch will have to make good on his word and rediscover the form that helped him make the Chase in the first place.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits in much of the same boat as Busch.
The No. 88 car has been rather quiet this season, with just two wins. He placed 25th at New Hampshire, improved on a 12th-place start at Dover to finish third, then started in the same slot at Charlotte last weekend before falling to 28th.
He too looks elimination in the eye, but Junior doesn't have past results to lean onโhe finished 39th in this event last year.ย
Despite the inconsistency and history, Earnhardt sounds confident going into the event, as he shared on Twitter:ย
It's a good sign for Earnhardt, who wants to avoid another early elimination from the Chase.
While not as reliable as it sounds, he did win at Talladega earlier this season. It's not something to lean on, but it takes a little pressure off Earnhardt to place well this weekend knowing he's bested the most unpredictable race once already this season.
Kevin Harvick
When it comes to turning it on in the face of elimination the most, though, nobody comes close to Kevin Harvick.ย
Observers know the deal by nowโHarvick overcame a putrid start to the Chase by seizing the checkered flag at Dover. This past weekend, he started 11th but wound up just behind Logano to sit second on the leaderboard.ย
Even more impressive? Harvick overcame car issues to record the strong finish.
"We never were able to get the balance right on our car all weekend and just never really got comfortable in the car but kept grinding away, and it got better throughout the day today, and that's a good thing on race day," Harvick said, per Fox Sports' Tom Jensen.
It's bad news for the rest of the Chase hopefuls considering Harvick stands tall as one of the best drivers on 1.5-mile tracks. It wouldn't be a shock at all to see him post another strong performance and go into Talladega with an ease of mind few others would dream of having ahead of an elimination race at such an unpredictable event.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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