A playoff driver will have the chance to advance to next month’s championship race at Phoenix in Sunday’s Cup race at Kansas Speedway.
The Round of 8 begins Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC) for Cup teams. If any of the eight remaining playoff drivers win at Kansas, they’ll advance to the title race. Twice in the last fourth years, the winner of the opening race of this round went on to win the championship.
“I think it’s a big advantage to win the first race in this semifinal round of the playoffs,” Brad Keselowski said. “With respect to that, it gives you a lot of time to prepare for the final race, and I think that’s never a bad thing.”
The eight remaining title contenders are Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch.
Here is all the info for the Sunday Cup race at Kansas:
(All times are Eastern)
START: The command to start engines will be given at 2:36 p.m. by Lt. General James Rainey, Commanding General, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center & Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 2:45 p.m.
PRERACE: Cup garage opens at 8 a.m. Drivers report to their cars at 2:10 p.m. Driver intros are at 2:15 p.m. The invocation will given at 2:28 p.m. by Parochial Vicar St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish, Fr. Daniel Weger. The national anthem will be performed at 2:29 p.m. by U.S. Army Specialist Reanna Lloyd.
DISTANCE: The race is 267 laps (400.5 miles) around the 1.5-mile speedway.
COMPETITION CAUTION: Lap 25
STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 80Stage 2 ends on Lap 160.
TV/RADIO: NBC will televise the race. Coverage begins at 2 p.m Countdown to Green. Race coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on NBC. Motor Racing Network’s radio coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. and also can be heard at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the broadcast.
STREAMING: Watch the race on the NBC Sports App
FORECAST: The wunderground.com forecast calls for cloudy skies with a high of 47 degrees and an 10% chance of rain at the start of the race.
LAST RACE: Chase Elliott won at the Charlotte Roval for his fourth consecutive road course win last weekend. Joey Logano placed second. Erik Jones finished third.
LAST RACE AT Kansas: Denny Hamlin led 57 of 267 laps to win the July race. Brad Keselowski finished second. Martin Truex Jr. placed third.
TO THE REAR: Martin Truex Jr. (two inspection failures) and James Davison (two inspection failures).
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for starting lineup
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