This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series enters the Heartland for its first of two visits in 2022 to Kansas Speedway (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on FS1).
From our friends at Racing Insights, here’s a handful of drivers who are hot going into Sunday’s race - and a handful of drivers who are not and need to make a turnaround.
WHO’S HOT
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
- Finished 5th at Darlington (crashed in practice and went to backup car without making qualifying run; spun coming off pit road on Lap 240)
- 5 straight Top 10s (won at Dover)
- 7 Top 10s in last 8 races (1 win)
- Last 10 races: 8 Top 10s (1 win) and 2 finishes of 11th or worse
- 12 starts in 2022: 9 Top 10s (1 win) and 3 finishes of 11th or worse
- Scored stage points in 17 of 24 stages in 2022 (2 stage wins)
- Led laps in 5 of last 11 races (349 laps led in span)
- 6 finishes of 6th or better in last 7 Kansas races, including October 2018 win
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)
- Won last week’s race at Darlington
- 3 Top 3s in last 5 races (1 win)
- Last 5 races: 3 Top 3s (1 win) and 2 finishes of 29th or worse (1 DNF)
- Last 7 races: 3 Top 3s (1 win) and 4 finishes of 17th or worse (1 DNF)
- 12 starts in 2022: 6 finishes of 9th or better (1 win) and 6 finishes of 14th or worse (1 DNF)
- Scored stage points in 17 of 24 stages in 2022 (1 stage win)
- Led laps in 8 of 12 races in 2022 (142 laps led in span)
- Three-time winner at Kansas... but has finished 15th or worse in four of last six Kansas races
Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
- Engine failure at Darlington (finished 36th) snapped streak of 3 straight finishes of 6th or better
- 4 finishes of 6th or better in last 6 races
- 12 starts in 2022: 6 finishes of 6th or better (won at Auto Club) and 6 finishes of 19th or worse (4 DNFs)
- Scored stage points in 16 of 24 stages in 2022 (1 stage win)
- Led laps in 9 of 12 races in 2022 (167 laps led)
- Four finishes of 8th or better in last six Kansas races, including 2021 Playoff win
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
- 33rd-place finish at Darlington (DNF-Crash) snapped streak of 5 straight Top 10s (won on Bristol Dirt)
- Last 8 races: 5 Top 10s (1 win) and 3 finishes of 28th or worse (2 DNFs)
- 12 starts in 2022: 8 finishes of 9th or better (1 win) and 4 finishes of 14th or worse (2 DNFs)
- Scored stage points in 11 of 24 stages in 2022
- Led laps in 8 of 12 races in 2022 (225 laps led in span)
- Two-time winner at Kansas (won last year’s spring race)... 11 top-10 finishes in last 14 Kansas races
Alex Bowman (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
- 29th-place finish at Darlington (DNF-Crash) snapped streak of 3 straight Top 10s
- 6 Top 10s in last 8 races
- 7 Top 10s in last 10 races (won at Las Vegas)
- 12 starts in 2022: 7 Top 10s (1 win) and 5 finishes of 12th or worse (1 DNF)
- Scored stage points in 9 of 24 stages in 2022 (1 stage win)
- 18 laps led in 12 races this season
- 4 top-10 finishes in last 7 Kansas races
WHO’S NOT
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
- Finished 21st at Darlington (involved in crash, Lap 261), his fifth straight finish of 18th or worse
- 12 starts in 2022: Won at Richmond, 11 finishes of 13th or worse (4 DNFs)
- 24.3 average finish in 11 starts other than win
- Scored stage points in 8 of 24 stages in 2022 (2 stage wins)
- Led laps in 7 of last 10 races (158 laps led in span)
- Three-time winner at Kansas... Five top-5 finishes in last nine Kansas races (including two wins)
Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Team Penske Ford)
- Finished 17th at Darlington, his third straight finish of 11th or worse following 4 straight finishes of 7th or better
- 5 finishes of 7th or better in last 9 races
- 12 starts in 2022: 6 finishes of 7th or better and 6 finishes of 11th or worse (1 DNF)
- Scored stage points in 14 of 24 stages in 2022 (4 stage wins)
- Led laps in 10 of 12 races in 2022 (370 laps led
- Five finishes of 20th or worse in last six Kansas races
Bubba Wallace (No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota)
- Finished 27th at Darlington (DNF-Crash), his 11th straight finish of 13th or worse (two DNFs) after runner-up in Daytona 500
- Scored stage points in 6 of 24 stages in 2022 (1 stage win)
- Has never finished better than 14th in eight Kansas starts
Kurt Busch (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota)
- Finished 28th at Darlington (DNF-Crash; wheel came off in pit box earlier in race at Lap 32)
- 4 straight finishes of 16th or worse (2 DNFs)
- 6 finishes of 16th or worse in last 7 races (2 DNFs)
- Last 10 races: 3 finishes of 6th or better and 7 finishes of 13th or worse (2 DNFs)
- 12 starts in 2022: 4 Top 10s and 8 finishes of 13th or worse (2 DNFs)
- Scored stage points in 5 of 24 stages in 2022
- 9 laps led in 12 starts in 2022
- Four top-10 finishes in last six Kansas races
Cole Custer (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford)
- Finished 26th at Darlington (DNF-Crash)
- 12 straight finishes of 11th or worse to start season (4 DNFs)
- Scored stage points in 3 of 24 stages in 2022
- 1 lap led in 12 races in 2022
- Has never finished better than 7th in four Kansas starts (three straight finishes of 14th or worse)