NASCAR at Kansas: Schedule, watch info, picks for Hollywood Casino 400

And then there were 12.

Four drivers were eliminated from the NASCAR playoffs last week, as the second round is set to get underway Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

Kansas has hosted a playoff race every year since 2004, when the first postseason was held. The 1.5-mile oval produced the closest finish in NASCAR history earlier this season, when Kyle Larson edged Chris Buescher at the finish line by 0.001 seconds.

So, who is racing in Kansas? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And what drivers could contend for the win? Here’s everything you need to know for 2024 Hollywood Casino 400:

When is the NASCAR race in Kansas?

The Hollywood Casino 400 is set for Sunday, Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. ET.

Before the race, there were practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday. The 38 drivers were split into two groups (found here) with each group getting 20 minutes of free practice and then competing in two-round qualifying. Here’s how it worked:

• Each driver will make one lap in the first round, with the five fastest drivers in each group advancing.
• In the final round, the remaining drivers each get one lap to set the top 10 starting order. The fastest driver overall will start on the pole, the fastest driver in the other group will start second.
• Positions 3 through 10 are set on final round times – Group A filling the even-numbered positions (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th), Group B filling the odd-numbered positions (3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th).
• Positions 11 through 38 are set based on first round times – Group A filling the even-numbered positions, Group B filling the odd-numbered positions.

You can find the full starting lineup here, with Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs starting on the front row.

What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?

Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC Sports all weekend. Marty Snider, Kim Coon, and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters. Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:

Saturday, Sept. 28 (streaming)

• Practice: 1 p.m. ET, NBC Sports app
• Qualifying: 1:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports app

Sunday, Sept. 29 (USA Network and streaming)

• Countdown to Green: 2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
• Hollywood Casino 400: 3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
• NASCAR Cup Series Post Race: 6 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app

NASCAR Kansas entry list, drivers

Thirty-eight drivers will race at Kansas – the 34 full-timers, plus four others.

The headliner is seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who will drive the No. 84 for his seventh of nine starts this season. Then there’s Ty Dillon and Kaz Grala, who will continue their part-time schedules for Kaulig Racing and Rick Ware Racing, respectively. Elsewhere, J.J. Yeley will make his fifth start of the season for NY Racing Team.

Also of note, Justin Haley and Corey LaJoie will swap rides after a trade was announced last week between Spire Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing. Haley takes over the No. 7 for Spire, LaJoie will finish the season in the No. 51 for RWR.

Here’s the full entry list for Kansas:

Car number	Driver	Team	Sponsor
1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Kubota Tractors
2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Menards
3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Bass Pro Shops
4	Josh Berry	Stewart-Haas Racing	Bed Bath & Beyond
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	HendrickCars.com
6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Solomon Plumbing
7	Justin Haley	Spire Motorsports	Gainbridge
8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	BetMGM
9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	UniFirst
10	Noah Gragson	Stewart-Haas Racing	Bed Bath & Beyond
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	FedEx
12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Wurth
14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Mahindra Tractors
15	Kaz Grala	Rick Ware Racing	Remixers.com
16	Ty Dillon	Kaulig Racing	FitRx
17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Fastenal
19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Bass Pro Shops
20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Rheem
21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Menards
22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Shell/Pennzoil
23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Columbia Sportswear
24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Valvoline
31	Daniel Hemric	Kaulig Racing	South Point Hotel & Casino
34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Horizon Hobby
38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Rasmussen Air & Gas Energy
41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Haas Tooling
42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Pye-Barker
43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	AdventHealth
44	J.J. Yeley	NY Racing Team	Urban Racing School
45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	DraftKings
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Dillons/NOS Energy
48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Ally
51	Corey LaJoie	Rick Ware Racing	Children's Mercy Hospital
54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Monster Energy
71	Zane Smith	Spire Motorsports	Focused Health
77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Premier Security
84	Jimmie Johnson	Legacy Motor Club	Family Dollar/Dollar Tree
99	Daniel Suarez	Trackhouse Racing	Worldwide Express

NASCAR Kansas predictions, picks, favorites

Two drivers have ruled this track in recent years: Larson and Hamlin.

Since 2022 at Kansas (five races), the two have combined for two wins, nine top-fives, 10 top-10s and 444 laps led – ranking first or second in all four categories. Larson won there in May, while Hamlin won the spring race last year.

Beyond Larson and Hamlin, many of the other playoff drivers are set up for success at Kansas. Elliott leads all drivers with a 10.2 average finish in 17 starts, with top-12 finishes in 13 of his last 14 races. There’s also Reddick, who won the Kansas playoff race last fall for 23XI Racing.

The Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing and the Chevrolets of Hendrick Motorsports are typically leading the pack at Kansas. Aside from Hamlin, JGR has Bell (four Kansas poles, including 2024) and Truex (12.6 average finish). Wallace is a past Kansas winner for 23XI, and the duo of Byron (seven top-10s) and Bowman (four straight top-10s) have strong Kansas history to match their HMS teammates Larson and Elliott.

Aside from the powerhouse Toyota and Chevy drivers, Ford teammates Logano and Blaney expect to make some noise. The former is a three-time Kansas winner, though he hasn’t found victory lane since 2020. Blaney is a two-time stage winner at Kansas, but the defending champion hasn’t quite had the finishes there recently (one top-10 in last seven starts). 

NASCAR Kansas winners list, race history

Ten of the 38 drivers in the field are past winners at Kansas, including seven with multiple victories.

Hamlin leads all drivers with four Kansas wins, followed by Johnson and Logano with three apiece. Busch, Truex, Larson and Keselowski have two wins each, and the one-time winners are Elliott (2018), Wallace (2022) and Reddick (2023).

NASCAR playoff standings entering Kansas

The standings are reset for the Round of 12, with each driver getting 3,000 points plus their playoff points earned in the first 29 races. Cindric, Suarez, Bowman and Briscoe are below the cut line, but they have three races to either win or put themselves into the top eight.

You can find a full explanation of NASCAR’s playoff format right here.

Here’s the playoff standings entering Kansas:

Rank	Driver	Points
1.	Kyle Larson	3,047
2.	Christopher Bell	3,032
3.	Tyler Reddick	3,028
4.	William Byron	3,022
5.	Ryan Blaney	3,019
6.	Denny Hamlin	3,015
7.	Chase Elliott	3,014
8.	Joey Logano	3,012
9.	Austin Cindric	3,008
10.	Daniel Suarez	3,006
11.	Alex Bowman	3,005
12.	Chase Briscoe	3,005