WEEKEND HOT LAPS - Round of 12 Turmoil Ahead?
ROUND OF TWELVE TURMOIL?
Kansas, Talladega, The Roval. So much for folks thinking the opening round of the Cup Series Playoffs was full of unknowns.
The dozen drivers that have moved on to Round Two now face a trio of tracks that have generated their own challenging reputations. But before the potential superspeedway vulnerability at Talladega and the new configuration of the already chaotic Roval, Kansas gets things started with Sunday’s Hollywood Casino.
Much like the conversation heading into the post-season opening race at Atlanta, drivers and teams would like to get as much heavy lifting out of the way this weekend to at least somewhat alleviate the pressure to follow in the rest of the round.
However, Kansas has not been a cakewalk by any means, especially in the Playoff schedule. The fall race at the 1.5-mile track has been a Waterloo for a number of drivers’ championship hopes, something that is not lost on competitors.
“You can’t take anything for granted in this sport and that includes Kansas,” said Joey Logano on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “You think it’s a typical mile-and-a-half and kind of a straightforward race compared to the other two in this round but Kansas can bite you. For whatever reason the Playoff races there have been wild. So we’re looking for a calm race on our end and hopefully, the same result we got in the first round when we won the opening race.”
The May Kansas race was an instant classic. Delayed by more than three hours for rain, drivers were swapping spots and racing for position at the drop of the green flag. The intense competition came to a crescendo in what turned out to be the closest finish in NASCAR history as Kyle Larson edged Chris Buescher by .001 seconds.
It was the polar opposite of Larson’s win last Saturday at Bristol when he led 462 laps to dominate the field. The Hendrick Motorsports driver would love to make it back-to-back trips to Victory Lane on Sunday, albeit in a lot less dramatic fashion than in the spring.
“It was wild for sure,” Larson said. “I’d love a Kansas sweep.”
NEXT GEN NIRVANA
Kansas has become the poster child track for the NextGen Cup car. Intermediates have created the best racing since the car came online three years ago and Kansas has pretty much delivered every time.
Sunday will be the sixth Gen 7 race at Kansas and there has not been a repeat winner since Kurt Busch took the checkered flag in 2022. Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Larson have all followed to Victory Lane.
What is the secret sauce for Kansas being so competitive in the NextGen era?
“The leader is typically at a disadvantage on these mile-and-a-halfs, because it seems as though you abuse your right rear tire more, so it’s hard to get away,” Larson said after his May win. “It just keeps the field bunched up. With the old car, we’d probably get out to like an eight-second lead here. The couple-second lead I got in the second stage was as big as you’d probably see in the Next Gen Era on a mile-and-a-half.”
PICKS TO CLICK
Not surprisingly Larson is the favorite to win Sunday’s race opening at +350. It will be interesting to see if that number shrinks as the green flag gets closer once practice and qualifying are in the books. Denny Hamlin, the active Kansas win leader with four, is next in the pecking order at +450. But then there’s a pretty significant jump to Tyler Reddick (+750), William Byron (+1000), Christopher Bell, and Chase Elliott (+1100).
XFINITY SERIES SHOWTIME
It took a while but finally, all three of NASCAR’s top three divisions are into the Playoffs. The Xfinity Series regular season ended last Friday at Bristol and Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 kicks off the post-season. Twelve drivers will battle for the championship with Justin Allgaier the top seed despite his disastrous Bristol night that cost him the regular season title to ole Custer.
There is an interesting flavor around the dozen Playoff drivers, Most will either not be back in the series next year or will move on to another team in 2025. Custer, Shane Van Gisbergen, and AJ Allmendinger head to the Cup Series next season while Riley Herbst is still hopeful to join 23XI in a third ride, pending sponsorship and the team’s charter situation being resolved. Parker Kligerman announced he was stepping away from full-time driving at season’s end. Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer will transition to the Haas Factory Team next year.
So take a good look at this year’s Playoff field be because you literally will need a scorecard to keep track of everyone when the final checkered flag flies in Phoenix.
SHORT TRACK ATTACK
The most prestigious Late Model Stock Car race in the country takes place at Martinsville Speedway this weekend with the Valley Star Credit Union 300. The entry list swelled to 79 entries for the race, which has been reduced to a one-day show Saturday due to the rains heading up the East Coast. The winner of Saturday’s 200-lap main event will take home $32,000 and a Ridgeway Grandfather Clock.
The ASA Southern Super Series will crown its Super Late Model champion Saturday night at Five Flags Speedway. The Sunshine State will also have short track action at Auburndale Speedway on Saturday with the UARA Sportsman.
Pete Pistone is a veteran motorsports and general sports reporter/journalist with nearly 30 years experience. During his career he has worked for media outlets such as WGN Radio, The Chicago Sun-Times, Chicagoland Television (CLTV), CBS Sports, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM. Pistone has been with SiriusXM since 2008 and co-hosts “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) with Mike Bagley, which airs Monday through Friday at 7 am ET. He is also the host of “Fantasy Racing Preview,” a weekend show focusing on NASCAR gambling and fantasy racing, which is part of the channel’s NASCAR Cup Series pre-race programming. Additionally, Pistone is a member of the SiriusXM College Sports team as an on-air personality and contributor on Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372). He is one of the hosts of “Big Ten Today” and can also be heard on “Big Ten Whip Around,” a weekly hour-long program spotlighting a variety of sports around the conference. Pistone is also the host of several specials as well as providing a range of digital content for both the NASCAR and Big Ten channels. A Chicago native, Pistone resides in the northern suburbs of the city with his wife and daughter.