Team Penske had a dream start to the round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, with Ryan Blaney earning his fifth consecutive ticket to the round of 8 with a dominant victory as the team continue to aim for their fourth consecutive championship.
Additionally, reigning champion Joey Logano elevated himself from below the round of 8 cut line to well above it with a fourth place finish.
The race weekend at Kansas Speedway has not gone nearly as smoothly thus far.
All three of the team's drivers, including Austin Cindric, are set to start Sunday's 267-lap Hollywood Casino 400 around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas City, Kansas oval from the rear of the field.
Cindric, who is 19 points below the cutoff, was added to the list due to repairs, while Logano was already on it for that reason; Blaney is on it after moving to a backup No. 12 Ford following his practice crash, which left him unable to qualify.
Logano initially qualified 35th, so with Blaney already in 37th (last) after not qualifying, neither one of them is actually set to drop "to the rear", since they are already set to line up in the last two rows of the inside lane.
In fact, both of them are actually set to move up two spots as soon as the race starts, all things considered.
Two other drivers, Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell and Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen, are set to drop to the rear and serve stop and go penalties after the green flag flies, as their teams made unapproved adjustments to their cars before practice.
McDowell, who initially qualified 21st, is set to drop to the tail end of the inside lane and start 33rd before serving his stop and go penalty. Van Gisbergen, who initially qualified 24th, is set to drop to the tail end of the outside lane and start 34th, ahead of only Cindric on the outside lane in 36th.
Taking McDowell and van Gisbergen out of the equation, the Team Penske trio are effectively set to start from 33rd through 35th.
Here's an updated look at the starting lineup for today's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Updated NASCAR Cup Series playoff starting lineup at Kansas
1st - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2nd - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3rd - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
5th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
7th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
8th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
9th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
10th - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
11th - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
12th - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
13th - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
14th - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
15th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
16th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
17th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
18th - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
19th - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
20th - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
21st - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
22nd - Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
23rd - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
24th - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
25th - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
26th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
27th - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
28th - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
29th - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
30th - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
31st - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
32nd - J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
33rd - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
34th - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
35th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
36th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
37th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Tune in to USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET from Kansas Speedway. If you have not yet had a chance to begin a free trial of FuboTV, do so now and don't miss any of the action!