NASCAR: 2021 Kansas playoff race – Full starting lineup, odds

The starting lineup is set for the middle race of the round of 8 of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Who is the early favorite?

The round of 8 of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs got underway this past Sunday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway with a race that took one, not four, days to complete like it did last year, and it is set to continue this Sunday afternoon.

Now the track which hosted last year’s round of 8 opener is set to host the second of three races, the Hollywood Casino 400, in the final pre-Championship 4 round of the postseason.

Where is the Hollywood Casino 400?

The Hollywood Casino 400 is a 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas Speedway oval in Kansas City, Kansas. This track hosted a race back in May, a race which was won by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch.

Kansas broadcast information

NBC Sports Network is set to broadcast the Hollywood Casino 400 live from Kansas Speedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 24. Start your free trial of FuboTV today if you have not done so!

Who is on pole at Kansas?

For the second-to-last time in 2021, NASCAR has utilized the starting lineup formula to determine how the cars will line up to start this Sunday’s race.

As a result of that formula, it is Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, who won this past Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway to clinch the first Championship 4 berth of his career, who is set to start from the pole position behind the wheel of his #5 Chevrolet.

Larson is set to be joined on the front row by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, who ranks highest in the standings among the seven remaining championship contenders who have not solidified a spot in the Championship.

Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Starting Lineup
1st – Kyle Larson
2nd – Ryan Blaney
3rd – Brad Keselowski
4th – Kyle Busch
5th – Chase Elliott
6th – Denny Hamlin
7th – Martin Truex Jr.
8th – Joey Logano
9th – William Byron
10th – Christopher Bell
11th – Kevin Harvick
12th – Tyler Reddick
13th – Kurt Busch
14th – Austin Dillon
15th – Matt DiBenedetto
16th – Daniel Suarez
17th – Erik Jones
18th – Michael McDowell
19th – Chase Briscoe
20th – Aric Almirola
21st – Chris Buescher
22nd – Cole Custer
23rd – Corey LaJoie
24th – Ross Chastain
25th – Alex Bowman
26th – B.J. McLeod
27th – Bubba Wallace
28th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
29th – Anthony Alfredo
30th – Josh Bilicki
31st – Ryan Newman
32nd – Ryan Preece
33rd – Justin Haley
34th – Ryan Ellis
35th – Quin Houff
36th – Cody Ware
37th – Chad Finchum
38th – David Starr
39th – Joey Gase
40th – Parker Kligerman

Kansas betting odds

Take a look at the updated betting odds for the eight remaining championship contenders in Sunday afternoon’s race, courtesy of WynnBET.

• Kyle Larson: +200
• Denny Hamlin: +550
• Kyle Busch: +550
• Chase Elliott: +600
• Ryan Blaney: +750
• Martin Truex Jr.: +750
• Brad Keselowski: +1200
• Joey Logano: +1300

Kansas betting prediction

It’s hard to bet against Kyle Larson right now, and given how strong he was at Kansas Speedway in May before a late issue cost him a shot at the win, that makes it even harder. Plus, his success on 1.5-mile tracks has been off the charts in his first year at Hendrick Motorsports.

But with the #5 team having locked themselves into the Championship 4 with their win at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon, their focus has shifted to the winner-take-all season finale at Phoenix Raceway in early November.

Make your pick now on WynnBET.

Don’t rule out another three-race winning streak for Larson, but it’s not as likely as +200 odds would make it seem.

So who else has attractive odds heading into Sunday’s race?

The easy answer is Kyle Busch at +550. Busch won the May race at the track, and unlike last year, he enters the round of 8 race there in contention to win the championship. He scored 59 of a possible 60 points there in May, despite leading only 20 of 267 laps.

But given Busch’s frustration with the intermediate track package and a rather boring eighth place finish for him on Sunday at Texas, it might be wise to look elsewhere.

Three drivers who stand out are Chase Elliott at +600, Brad Keselowski at +1200 and Denny Hamlin at +550. With Larson already in the Championship 4, Hendrick Motorsports can turn their focus to getting Elliott to join him.

Larson has shown that Rick Hendrick’s team have exceptional pace at the intermediate tracks, and Elliott is a former winner at Kansas Speedway. He finished in fifth place there in May, and he finished in seventh at Texas Motor Speedway despite having to overcome a tire issue.

As for Keselowski, he seems to have masked Team Penske’s struggles on such tracks. He led 72 laps en route to a third place finish at Kansas Speedway in May, and he finished in fourth at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. He is also a former winner at Kansas Speedway, having won twice. He has just one finish outside of the top four in his last five starts there.

As for Hamlin, he has three wins at Kansas Speedway, including one last season and one in the playoff race there in 2019. He also has a win in each of the first two round of this year’s playoff races, and the other driver who can say that, Larson, has already won in the round of 8.

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