Excluding the upcoming non-points exhibition All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series is currently in the midst of a stretch of three consecutive points races at 1.5-mile ovals.
Race number two of that three-race stretch is unique, in that it is set to be contested at a track that is also on the playoff schedule. While the Texas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway ovals only appear on the regular season calendar, Kansas Speedway is also scheduled to host a race in the round of 12.
As a result, this Sunday afternoon's 267-lap AdventHealth 400 around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas City, Kansas oval is one that drivers and teams with championship aspirations will be particularly aiming to "get right".
Last year's race produced the closest finish in Cup Series history between Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher. Is something similar in store for 2025?
What is not similar is this year's qualifying format. When NASCAR visited Kansas last year, a two-round group qualifying format was used. This time around, there are no qualifying groups, and there is no second round.
Drivers simply line up in reverse metric order for their single-lap qualifying attempts, and even the metric has changed since last year. This year's two-variable metric is much more straightforward than the four-variable metric which was used from 2020 to 2024. A full breakdown of the new formula can be found here.
There are 38 cars on the entry list, including two non-chartered (open) cars. Those two cars are set to lead off the qualifying session.
Full NASCAR qualifying order at Kansas Speedway
1 - Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota
2 - Jesse Love, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
3 - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
4 - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
5 - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
6 - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
7 - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
8 - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
9 - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
10 - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
11 - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
12 - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
13 - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
14 - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
15 - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
16 - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
17 - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
18 - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
19 - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
20 - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
21 - Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
22 - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
23 - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
24 - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
25 - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
26 - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
27 - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
28 - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
29 - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
30 - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
31 - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
33 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
34 - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
35 - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
36 - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
37 - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
38 - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live coverage of the AdventHealth 400 from Kansas Speedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, May 11. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action!