After a wild playoff opener at Darlington that jumbled the standings, Cup drivers are at Kansas Speedway for the second race in the opening round.
Daniel Suarez holds the final transfer spot to the second round. He leads Austin Cindric by two points, Austin Dillon by four points, Chase Briscoe by 10 points and Kevin Harvick by 13 points.
Chase Elliott won the regular season title but finished last at Darlington. That dropped him from first to ninth in the points. He’s 14 points ahead of Cindric.
Details for Sunday’s Cup race at Kansas Speedway
(All times Eastern)
START: The command will be given by University of Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self at 3:08 p.m.. ... The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:18 p.m.
PRERACE: Cup garage opens at noon. ... Driver introductions are at 2:30 p.m. ... The invocation will be given by Monsignor Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College, at 3 p.m. ... Whiteman Air Force Base Staff Sergeant Alexander Ross will perform the anthem at 3:02 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 267 laps (400.5 miles) on the 1.5-mile speedway.
COMPETITION CAUTION: Lap 25
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 80. Stage 2 ends at Lap 165.
TO THE REAR: Aric Almirola (engine change) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (unapproved adjustments)
STARTING LINEUP: Kansas Cup starting lineup
TV/RADIO: USA Network will broadcast the race at 3 p.m. ... Countdown to Green airs at 2 p.m. on USA Network. .. The post-race show will air on USA Network. ... Motor Racing Network coverage begins at 2 p.m. and also will stream at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the MRN broadcast.
STREAMING: NBCsports.com
FORECAST: According to wunderground.com, the forecast calls for sunny skies, a high of 72 degrees and wind gusts of up to 11 mph at the start of the race. There is no chance of rain.
LAST TIME: Kurt Busch passed Kyle Larson with nine laps to go to win in May. Larson finished second. Kyle Busch placed third.
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