NASCAR at Kansas City 2017: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule, More
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series takes a sense of unpredictably into Saturday night underneath the bright lights of Kansas Speedway at the Go Bowling 400.
After the usual suspects dominated Victory Lane for a few weeks, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. crashed the party less than a week ago with a checkered flag in Talladega.
On a short turnaround, this night race feels like it could be another borderline random affair in which someone nobody expects could swoop in and steal an automatic bid. It certainly wouldn't be a massive shock, though regulars such as Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have won this event in recent years.
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Likely still reeling from the surprise in Talladega, fans have something else to look forward to on Saturday night as NASCAR once again trots out its best in an exciting new format.
Viewing Details
Where: Kansas Speedway
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
Watch: Fox Sports 1
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Go Bowling 400
| 1 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 3 | Brad Keselowski |
| 4 | Matt Kenseth |
| 5 | Trevor Bayne |
| 6 | Kevin Harvick |
| 7 | Daniel Suarez |
| 8 | Chase Elliott |
| 9 | Paul Menard |
| 10 | Kyle Busch |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 12 | Joey Logano |
| 13 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 14 | Erik Jones |
| 15 | Kurt Busch |
| 16 | Ryan Blaney |
| 17 | Clint Boyer |
| 18 | Austin Dillon |
| 19 | Kasey Kahne |
| 20 | Ryan Newman |
| 21 | Kyle Larson |
| 22 | Aric Almirola |
| 23 | Jamie McMurray |
| 24 | Michael McDowell |
| 25 | Landon Cassill |
| 26 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 27 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 28 | Ty Dillon |
| 29 | David Ragan |
| 30 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 31 | Danica Patrick |
| 32 | Brendan Gaughan |
| 33 | Reed Sorenson |
| 34 | Chris Buescher |
| 35 | Elliott Sadler |
| 36 | Corey LaJoie |
| 37 | Gray Gaulding |
| 38, 39, 40 | Cole Whitt, Joey Gase, Jeffrey Earnhardt |
Note: Qualifying to set lineup is Friday.
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Standings
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | 367 | 2 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 305 | 2 |
| 3 | Kyle Larson | 428 | 1 |
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 374 | 1 |
| 5 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 250 | 1 |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | 237 | 1 |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 227 | 1 |
| 8 | Chase Elliott | 353 | 0 |
| 9 | Jamie McMurray | 318 | 0 |
| 10 | Joey Logano | 318 | 1 |
| 11 | Kevin Harvick | 309 | 0 |
| 12 | Clint Bowyer | 289 | 0 |
| 13 | Kyle Busch | 277 | 0 |
| 14 | Denny Hamlin | 267 | 0 |
| 15 | Ryan Blaney | 240 | 0 |
| 16 | Trevor Bayne | 223 | 0 |
Drivers to Watch
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
It doesn't get much better than watching a driver get the first win of his career.
At one point, Stenhouse had many chatting about his status as the sport's next big thing thanks to wins on the Xfinity circuit. But the Roush Fenway Racing driver fell flat to start his career, going winless over his first 157 races.
Stenhouse came up clutch in No. 158, dueling down the stretch with the aforementioned Johnson before taking the checkered flag.
"I'd never been in that position," Stenhouse said, according to USA Today's Mike Hembree. "I didn't know what I needed to do. I had pushed (Jimmie) Johnson on the restart before and was hoping he'd return the favor, and he did. It's awesome to finally finish it off."
Now that he knows what to do, fans have to start wondering if Stenhouse can put on more strong performances. The proverbial monkey is off his back, but does the momentum in Talladega translate?
It's impossible to say, but Stenhouse has cobbled together three consecutive top-10 finishes, so maybe he's adapting to the new format better than some.
Joey Logano
Talk about a wild two weeks for Joey Logano.
Logano won in Richmond two weeks ago. Great, as he needed a win after only missing on one top-10 performance.
One problem—NASCAR hit him with a L1-level penalty and decided the win didn't count toward the Chase.
Logano then turned around and finished 32nd in Talladega last week, only his second finish outside the top 10 this year (both of which have been 30th or worse).
To top it all off, this is the place where Logano and Matt Kenseth kicked off one of the sport's most notable feuds, as noted by NASCAR on NBC:
This week feels like a turning point in Logano's season. He has a win that doesn't count, so he's going to need to shake off the sluggish ways and rebuild some of the impressive momentum he had to start the season.
If all this weren't enough, Logano slotted 38th in this event last year, the middle leg of a three-race trek in which he didn't place better than 22nd. He seems dangerous in the new format this season, but he has a lot to overcome if he wants to avoid another rough stretch.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from Logano is Kyle Busch, who seems on his way out of a slump.
Busch, the most recent driver to win this event, had finishes of 15th, 35th and 16th before landing third in Talladega. One of the sport's best stories over the past few years, Busch simply hasn't been able to find his footing in a consistency department so far, finishing outside of the top 10 three races in a row, in it for three more races, and now outside again for three more before last week.
Now would be a great time for Busch to get his first checkered flag of the year. He's certainly of the opinion he should have at least one to his name so far, as he told the Associated Press (via FoxSports.com).
"We legitimately had a shot to win five races this year, in my mind. We've been in a position or had a shot to win five different times this year and we just haven't been able to close the deal. That's the most frustrating thing for us. We haven't been able to get to victory lane," Busch said.
In a way, Busch getting a win would be great for the sport. All the unexpected names capitalizing on the new format this year is great, but the Chase needs normal heavyweights like Busch for the sheer entertainment value.
It's hard to imagine Busch fails to get a win this year—but this weekend might be one of his best bets.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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