Ten drivers to watch in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway

Because Erik Jones, a non-playoff participant, won NASCAR Cup’s first postseason race at Darlington, all 16 playoff drivers need to win Sunday’s race Kansas Speedway or next week’s event at Bristol to guarantee advancement to the Round of 12.

Ten of the playoff drivers have won NASCAR Cup, Xfinity or Camping World Trucks races at Kansas Speedway. Here’s a look at those playoff drivers who know the way to Victory Lane at Kansas.

Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford

Logano, the 2018 Cup champion for Team Penske, owns a six-point lead in the standings. Logano, who has wins at Darlington and Gateway this season, is one of five drivers to have won at Kansas — 2014, ’15 and ’20 — and all three races were fall playoff races, more than any other driver. Logano, 32, was 17th in the spring race here.

William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet

Byron, 24, is a two-time victor for Hendrick Motorsports, winning at Atlanta and Martinsville, and ranks second in the standings, six points behind Logano. Byron, a five-year veteran, won the trucks race at Kansas as an 18-year-old high school senior in 2016. He has an average finish of 7.6 in five starts at Kansas before a 16th last spring.

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota

Hamlin, 41, is one of five three-time winners at Kansas Speedway, including the spring race in 2020. Hamlin, considered the best active driver not to have won a Cup championship, has won at Richmond and the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte this season for Joe Gibbs Racing. He was fourth in the spring race at Kansas, giving him 11 Top 5s in 28 starts at the track.

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota

Bell, of Norman, Okla., earned his second straight berth in the playoffs with a win at New Hampshire for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bell, who is fourth in the standings after a fifth-place finish at Darlington last week, won the 2017 Xfinity Series race at Kansas, the first of 17 career wins in the series. Bell, 27, claimed the pole and finished fifth in the spring Cup race at Kansas.

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet

Elliott, the 2020 Cup champion, won the 2018 fall Cup at Kansas for Hendrick Motorsports. Elliott, 26, won a series-most four Cup races and the regular-season points title but finished last at Darlington and plunged to ninth in the points. NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver has five top-five finishes in his last seven starts at Kansas, including second in last fall’s race.

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet

Larson, 30, won last fall’s playoff race at Kansas Speedway in his first season for Hendrick Motorsports en route to the 2021 Cup championship. Larson, who has two wins this season, also stumbled at Darlington and fell from fourth to seventh place. He was second to Kurt Busch in the spring race at Kansas.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota

Busch, the 2015 and 2019 Cup champion, owns two Cup victories at Kansas Speedway, including the spring of 2020 when swept the Cup and trucks races for Joe Gibbs Racing. That gave him nine career victories (two Cup, four Xfinity and three trucks) across NASCAR’s three national series at Kansas, most of any driver. Busch, 37, won his 60th career Cup race — ninth all-time — in April at Bristol and was third in the spring race at Kansas.

Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Ford

Harvick, one of two drivers, along with Kurt Busch to have started all 33 Cup races at Kansas, has won three times at the track, most recently in the spring of 2018. Harvick, 46, has four top-fives in his last seven starts at Kansas for Stewart-Haas Racing, including a second last fall. The 2014 Cup champion owns 60 career wins, tied for ninth all-time, including back-to-back wins at Michigan and Richmond last month.

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet

Chastain, 29, has been the feel-good story of the 2022 Cup season. A career journeyman in the trucks, Xfinity and Cup series, he caught on with upstart Trackhouse Racing after Chip Ganassi Racing bought the organization at the end of last season. Chastain won the 2019 trucks race at Kansas, a result he credits for saving his career He won first two career Cup events this year, on last-lap passes at Austin and Talladega.

Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Ford

Briscoe, 26, is a two-time victor at Kansas, winning the 2016 ARCA race en route to the series championship, and the 2020 Xfinity series race before moving into the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14. Briscoe won the early-season race at Phoenix to qualify for his first postseason appearance but fell to 15th in the standings with a 27th place finish at Darlington. He was 24th at Kansas in May.