Any of these 10 could write their Masterpiece at Kansas Speedway Saturday night

Here are 10 drivers to watch in Saturday night's KC Masterpiece 400 NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Toyota

After a few years of heartbreak, Truex, the reigning Cup series champion, dominated Kansas Speedway last year, sweeping both races by impressive margins. Truex, 37, won at California’s Auto Club Speedway, almost assuring him a chance to defend his title in the playoffs.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota

Busch, the 2015 Sprint Cup champion, has been a dominant driver at Kansas Speedway during the past five years, with an average finish of 4.8 in his last six starts, including his first win at the track in May 2016. Busch, 33, has won seven races at Kansas Speedway across all three national series — one Cup, four Xfinity and two trucks — the most by any NASCAR driver.

Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Ford

Harvick, the 2014 Cup champion, already has won four times in 11 starts this season, giving him a leg up in the playoff seeding. Harvick, 42, won at Kansas in 2013 and 2016, finished third in last May’s race and eighth in 2017. He has won three poles at Kansas and set the qualifying record speed of 197.772 mph in October 2013.

Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford

Logano, 27, won back-to-back races at Kansas Speedway in 2014-15 and has nine top-10 finishes in 2018, including a win at Talladega that should return him to the playoffs after missing the post-season last year when his lone win was negated because of an inspection failure.

Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Ford

Bowyer, of Emporia, Kan., comes to his home track with a victory in hand, six weeks ago at Martinsville, and is coming off a second-place finish to teammate Kevin Harvick at Dover. But Bowyer, 38, is still looking for his first win at Kansas. He finished ninth and 19th in the two races last year.

Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford

Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, won the fall race at Kansas Speedway in 2011 and is still looking for his first win of 2018. Keselowski, 34, finished second in last year’s spring race. He finished second in the second race of the season at Atlanta, like Kansas a 1.5-mile track.

Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet

Larson has some bad memories from last fall, when he came to Kansas third in the standings, but an engine failure dropped him to a 39th-place finish and eliminated him from the playoffs. Larson, a four-time winner last year, finished sixth in last May’s race at Kansas.

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet

Johnson, the seven-time Cup champion, is tied with former teammate Jeff Gordon for the most wins at Kansas Speedway with three. And his average finish of 9.7 in 23 starts is the best in track history. But Johnson, 42, has not won in his last 34 starts, the longest drought of his Hall of Fame career.

Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford

Blaney, son of longtime NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney, has taken to Kansas Speedway, earning the pole position and finishing fourth in last May’s race and finishing third in the fall. Blaney, 24, has three top-five finishes in six career starts at Kansas.

Matt Kenseth, No. 6 Ford

Kenseth, 46, will make his first start of 2018 having rejoined Roush Fenway Racing after his contract was not renewed by Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the 2017 season. Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, is a two-time winner at Kansas. Kenseth’s 2012 win was his last for Roush (and also the last time a Roush driver has won on a 1.5 mile track), and he won his next Kansas start in 2013 for Gibbs.

This story was originally published May 11, 2018 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Any of these 10 could write their Masterpiece at Kansas Speedway Saturday night."