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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will race 400.5 miles over 267 laps in the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 16th at 2:15 pm ET at Kansas Speedway. Television coverage begins at 1:30 pm ET on NBC with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

What to Watch For: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway for its second race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 12. Jimmie Johnson leads the Chase Grid due to his win at Charlotte. He is followed by Matt Kenseth (31 points above Austin Dillon on the cutoff line), Kyle Busch (+27), Brad Keselowski (+25), Kurt Busch (+24), Carl Edwards (+20), Martin Truex Jr. (+19), Denny Hamlin (+3), Austin Dillon (three points behind Denny Hamlin on the cutoff line), Chase Elliott (-3), Joey Logano (-6) and Kevin Harvick (-8). Continue reading →

Martin Truex Jr Eyes Breakthrough Victory at Kansas Speedway

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Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota, holds a press conference prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo - Josh Hedges/Getty Images

Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota, holds a press conference prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Josh Hedges/Getty Images

As well as Martin Truex Jr. has run at Kansas Speedway, it’s nothing short of remarkable that the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota has never won at the 1.5-mile track.

Truex has led laps in seven of his 16 starts at Kansas—in some cases, lots of laps. In the spring of 2012, while driving for Michael Waltrip Racing, Truex was out front for 173 circuits before finishing second to Denny Hamlin.

Most recently, Truex won the pole and led 172 laps at Kansas in May, only to finish 14th after a late-race pit road snafu. But with a berth in the Round of 8 of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on the line in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (on NBC at 2:15 p.m. ET), Truex couldn’t think of a better time to get a breakthrough victory. Continue reading →

Brad Keselowski has Good Reason for Optimism

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Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, and crew chief Paul Wolfe talk in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 15, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas Photo - Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty Images

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, and crew chief Paul Wolfe talk in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 15, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas Photo – Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty Images

Like Truex, Brad Keselowski has a formidable history at Kansas Speedway.

It’s the track that gave the driver of the No. 2 Ford his first victory in a Team Penske car, the year before his 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship season.

Keselowski will start eighth in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, his worst qualifying position in the last seven races here. In his last six events at Kansas, Keselowski has led laps, averaging 24 per race. Continue reading →

Stewart Haas Cars have Issues in Final Practice

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Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet, stands by his car after an on-track incident during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 15, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo - Jeff Curry/Getty Images

Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet, stands by his car after an on-track incident during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 15, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Jeff Curry/Getty Images

Kevin Harvick, who needs a strong finish on Sunday to climb out of the Chase cellar, brushed the outside wall ever so slightly in Saturday’s final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Kansas Speedway. But the No. 4 car sustained some appreciable damage after recording the fastest ten-lap average in the session at 183.740 mph.

Kurt Busch, Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, wasn’t as fortunate. After posting the third fastest single lap in happy Hour (185.797 mph), Busch blew his right front tire on the final lap of his closing run and dug the front of his No. 41 Chevrolet into the infield grass. Busch had to go to a backup car and will start Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 with no practice laps in the backup.

Pole winner Matt Kenseth was fastest in final practice at 186.361, an indication his car is equally stout in race trim.

Matt Kenseth Edges Teammate Kyle Busch for Kansas Pole

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KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 14: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, KS – OCTOBER 14: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

To learn how to master the track that continued to jinx him, Kyle Busch paid close attention to the way Matt Kenseth drove Kansas Speedway.

Though Kenseth was helpful, he apparently kept a thousandth of a second in his pocket. That was the margin by which Kenseth edged Busch in Friday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series knockout qualifying session at the 1.5-mile track.

Touring Kansas in 28.112 seconds (192.089 mph) to Busch’s 28.113 seconds (192.082 mph), Kenseth earned the top starting spot for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (at 2:15 p.m. ET on NBC), the fifth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the second race in the Chase’s Round of 12. Continue reading →