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Drivers to watch at Kansas Speedway

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Nate Ryan and Steve Letarte break down the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover, which Martin Truex Jr. won.

With the NASCAR Cup Series regular season nearing its halfway point, some key drivers remain winless.

In fact, five of the top 10 drivers in points, including points leader Ross Chastain, are winless. Joining Chastain in the goose-egg column are third-place Kevin Harvick, fifth-place Ryan Blaney, seventh-place Denny Hamlin and ninth-place Brad Keselowski.

Every driver in that group has been close to crossing into Victory Lane. Chastain has four top fives, Harvick and Blaney have three each, and Hamlin and Keselowski have two each. Blaney has six top 10s, the most in the group.

Next stop for those still looking is Sunday’s 400-mile race at Kansas Speedway.

A look at drivers to watch at Kansas:

FRONTRUNNERS

Martin Truex Jr.


  • Points position: 4th
  • Best seasonal finish: Win (Dover)
  • Past at Kansas: Two wins, seven consecutive top 10s

Truex finally broke through Monday at Dover, putting together a splendid final stage to win and end a 54-race winless streak. He jumped three positions in points to fourth entering Kansas.

Denny Hamlin


  • Points position: 7th
  • Best seasonal finish: 4th (Martinsville 1)
  • Past at Kansas: Two wins in past seven races, three wins total

Kansas could offer Hamlin another shot at his first win. Toyota has won five of the past seven races at the track, and Hamlin owns two of those victories.

Brad Keselowski


  • Points position: 9th
  • Best seasonal finish: 2nd (Atlanta 1)
  • Past at Kansas: Wins in 2011, ’19, three top fives in past six races

Keselowski’s second season as part owner of RFK Racing continues to impress. He has shown consistency and returns to a track this weekend where he has had success.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Bubba Wallace


  • Points position: 21st
  • Best seasonal finish: 4th (Las Vegas 1)
  • Past at Kansas: One win, two top 10s in 10 starts

Wallace won at Kansas Speedway last September but hasn’t visited victory lane since that day. With only two top-10 runs through 11 races this year, a strong run at Kansas would be a major lift.

Josh Berry


  • Points position: NA (not scoring points in Cup)
  • Best seasonal finish: 2nd (Richmond 1)
  • Past at Kansas: No Cup races, one top 10 in two Xfinity starts

Berry has sparkled in his role as Hendrick Motorsports “super sub” this year, replacing first Chase Elliott and now Alex Bowman after they suffered injuries. He has a second-place finish and three top 10s in six races and seems fully capable of reaching Victory Lane.

Chase Briscoe


  • Points position: 16th
  • Best seasonal finish: 4th (Talladega 1)
  • Past at Kansas: Four starts, top finish of 13th

Can Briscoe get back on track this week? He had three consecutive top-five finishes but had a bad day at Dover on Monday, finishing 30th, 22 laps behind.