Kyle Larson wrecks in practice lap at Kansas Speedway

Kyle Larson is in a must-win position Sunday at Kansas Speedway to keep his postseason alive.

This isn’t a good start.

Larson wrecked his car during a practice lap Friday, hitting the wall on a turn.

“I’m good. Just mad at myself,” Larson said. “I made a mistake and got loose and had it corrected, and then it was like the second time I corrected, I don’t know if I got it on the splitter or what, but then it didn’t turn and went straight. I just hate that we wrecked the primary car there.”

With the Hollywood Casino 400 serving as a postseason elimination race Sunday, when the remaining playoff field will be trimmed to eight, Larson sits 36 points behind the final spot. He was docked 10 points this week, NASCAR penalizing his team for a violation at last weekend’s race at Talladega.

But all drivers who pick up a win during this round of the postseason automatically advance to the next round. It gives Larson an option, but he will now be using his backup car.

“I’ve been in a backup car here before and been really fast,” Larson said. “I think we’ll still be fine. I wish, like I said, I wouldn’t have wrecked because the primary car is probably always better than the backup, but our backup should be plenty fine.”

Logano wins pole

It was harder to tell what excited Joey Logano more — taking his first pole of the season on Friday, or the prize that came along with it.

Kansas Speedway awards pole winners with a kid-sized pedal car. Logano and his wife welcomed their first child, Hudson, in January.

“The good thing is, now I have a little man to drive it, so that part’s kind of neat,” Logano said with a wide grin. “He’s going to wake up with a shiny new toy.”

As it turns out, Hudson is very much his father’s son.

“Honestly right now, he loves going on the golf cart. That’s his routine. We wake up, we wait until the sun comes up, and the first thing we do is get on the golf cart. And he’s angry until we get on it,” Logano said. “That’s the nightly routine too. Bath, golf cart ride, bed. That’s how it works. Maybe we’ll graduate to the pedal car here soon. Everything he gets he grabs the steering wheel. It’s hilarious.”

Logano ran a qualifying lap of 28.177 seconds, besting Kevin Harvick’s lap of 28.246.

Logano sits fifth in the point standings entering Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. The field of 12 drivers will be whittled down to eight on Sunday, so every little bit helps. Not that Logano is trying planning on keeping things low key.

“I have one gear. I’m not much of a play-it-safe guy. I’m not good at it, for one,” Logano said. “This race, I would say it’s a wild card. You don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a normal race for us.”

Harvick stays hot

Kevin Harvick entered this week in good position to survive the cut to eight. Starting in the front row alongside Logano is another good step toward advancing.

Harvick is third in the points race, and is 63 points clear of the cut line. His path to advancement is somewhat clear.

For the drivers hovering below the cut line, the scenario is bleak but straightforward: win or go home.

“Sometimes that’s easier. There’s only one way out,” Harvick said. “When your only way to advance is to win, that’s what you plan your strategy, your preparation, that’s what you plan everything around. All of those scenarios you deal with when you’re on the bubble are harder to deal with than a must-win scenario.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 8:30 PM.