The NASCAR Cup Series will start its Round of 12 this weekend back in the Midwest.
They will be racing at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, a 1.5-mile tri-oval intermediate speedway that opened in 2001.
The Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET will air beginning at 3 p.m. EDT Sunday on the USA Network and live stream on fubo TV (FREE trial), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) or Sling TV (discount).
The track is adjacent to the Hollywood Casino, which opened in 2012 and is a joint venture by Penn Entertainment and the track, along with a retail outlet complex that was built during the track’s construction. Within the track also exists an infield road course that is used with the oval to make a “roval.“
Kyle Larson owned the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend, winning both stages and rolling to his series-best fifth victory this season by more than 7 seconds. Chase Elliott was second in a Chevy, followed by the Toyotas of Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell. Wallace, Ryan Preece (seventh) and Ross Chastain (10th) were the only non-playoff drivers in the top 10.
Larson took a big step toward his second title and leads the 12 remaining drivers into the second round with 3,047 points, ahead of Bell (-15), Reddick (-19), William Byron (-25) and defending champion Ryan Blaney (-28). The remaining contenders: Hamlin (3,015), Elliott (3,014), Logano (3,012), Austin Cindric (3,008), Daniel Suárez (3,006), Alex Bowman (3,005) and Chase Briscoe (3,005). Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton were eliminated.
- WATCH: USA Network and live stream on fubo TV (FREE trial), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) or Sling TV (discount)
Larson won the spring race at Kansas in the Cup Series’ closest finish ever, nipping Chris Buescher at the line by one one-thousandth of a second, leading 64 laps after starting fourth. He has five top-five finishes in his past six starts there.
Among the more surprising of the survivors is Bowman, who spent an entire afternoon right before the playoffs began insisting that rumors he’d be out of the car next season were untrue.
Then he finished fifth in the playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway, moved into the top 10 in points, and received a public endorsement from boss Rick Hendrick.
Alex Bowman is sprayed by teammates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)AP
“The team is really happy, the sponsor is really happy, so we’re good to go,” said Hendrick, who answered “yes” when asked if Bowman would “unequivocally” be in the HMS lineup next year.
- WATCH: USA Network and live stream on fubo TV (FREE trial), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) or Sling TV (discount)
Bowman was then 18th at Watkins Glen and ninth Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he started on the pole and advanced into the second round of the playoffs. His 120 points scored in the three races was the most among the 16 drivers, and unlike former Cup champions Keselowski and Truex, Bowman avoided playoff elimination.
The reseeding process has him ranked 11th out of 12 drivers and below the cutline as NASCAR heads to Kansas.
The weather forecast looks outstanding, with sunny skies and temperatures just a degree or two above 80 forecast for Sunday afternoon.
