Kansas Speedway marks the midway point of the Playoffs’ Round of 16

After an eventful NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opener at the historic Darlington Raceway, the 16 postseason contenders turn their attention to the only 1.5-mile track in the round - Kansas Speedway - for the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, September 10 at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is the first Playoff driver to earn his spot in the Round of 12 with his victory last weekend at Darlington, leaving 11 spots still up for grabs, as the series heads to Kansas for the second of three races in the Round of 16. Four drivers will not move on to the Round of 12, and the contenders currently under the cutline heading into this weekend are 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace (-1 point), Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (-2 points), JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-4 points) and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell (-19 points). Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell is currently in the 12th and final transfer spot on points.

 

The 2023 season marks the second-time the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ second race has been hosted by Kansas Speedway. Kansas (2022-2023) is the fourth different track in NASCAR Cup Series history to host the second race of the Playoffs; joining Dover Motor Speedway (2004-2010), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (2011–2017) and Richmond Raceway (2018-2021).

 

A total of 14 different drivers have won the second race of the Playoffs, led by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson with three wins (2005, 2009, 2010); followed by Kyle Busch (2017, 2018), Matt Kenseth (2013, 2015) and Martin Truex Jr. (2019, 2021) with two victories each.

 

Race No. 2 Of The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs - Race Winners (2004-2022)
Date	Track	Playoff Race Winners
Sunday, September 26, 2004	Dover	Ryan Newman
Sunday, September 25, 2005	Dover	Jimmie Johnson
Sunday, September 24, 2006	Dover	Jeff Burton
Sunday, September 23, 2007	Dover	Carl Edwards
Sunday, September 21, 2008	Dover	Greg Biffle
Sunday, September 27, 2009	Dover	Jimmie Johnson
Sunday, September 26, 2010	Dover	Jimmie Johnson
Sunday, September 25, 2011	Loudon	Tony Stewart
Sunday, September 23, 2012	Loudon	Denny Hamlin
Sunday, September 22, 2013	Loudon	Matt Kenseth
Sunday, September 21, 2014	Loudon	Joey Logano
Sunday, September 27, 2015	Loudon	Matt Kenseth
Sunday, September 25, 2016	Loudon	Kevin Harvick
Sunday, September 24, 2017	Loudon	Kyle Busch
Saturday, September 22, 2018	Richmond	Kyle Busch
Saturday, September 21, 2019	Richmond	Martin Truex Jr
Saturday, September 12, 2020	Richmond	Brad Keselowski
Saturday, September 11, 2021	Richmond	Martin Truex Jr
Sunday, September 11, 2022	Kansas	Bubba Wallace

 

Since the inception of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2004, Kansas Speedway has participated in the postseason each year, and moving to the second race last season marked the seventh different positions on the Playoff schedule the track has occupied:

 

1. From 2004, 2005, 2011, 2013 and 2014 Kansas Speedway hosted the fourth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
2. From 2006-2010 Kansas Speedway hosted the third race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
3. From 2015-2016 Kansas hosted the fifth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
4. Then in 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Kansas Speedway hosted the sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
5. In 2020, Kansas Speedway hosted the seventh race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
6. In 2021, Kansas Speedway hosted the eighth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
7. Since 2022, Kansas Speedway has hosted the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

A total of 14 different drivers have won the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff races at Kansas Speedway:

 

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race Winners - Kansas Speedway (2004-2022)
Date	Track	Race Winners	Race No.
Sunday, October 10, 2004	Kansas	Joe Nemechek	30
Sunday, October 9, 2005	Kansas	Mark Martin	30
Sunday, October 1, 2006	Kansas	Tony Stewart	29
Sunday, September 30, 2007	Kansas	Greg Biffle	29
Sunday, September 28, 2008	Kansas	Jimmie Johnson	29
Sunday, October 4, 2009	Kansas	Tony Stewart	29
Sunday, October 3, 2010	Kansas	Greg Biffle	29
Sunday, October 9, 2011	Kansas	Jimmie Johnson	30
Sunday, October 21, 2012	Kansas	Matt Kenseth	32
Sunday, October 6, 2013	Kansas	Kevin Harvick	30
Sunday, October 5, 2014	Kansas	Joey Logano	30
Sunday, October 18, 2015	Kansas	Joey Logano	31
Sunday, October 16, 2016	Kansas	Kevin Harvick	31
Sunday, October 22, 2017	Kansas	Martin Truex Jr	32
Sunday, October 21, 2018	Kansas	Chase Elliott	32
Sunday, October 20, 2019	Kansas	Denny Hamlin	32
Sunday, October 18, 2020	Kansas	Joey Logano	33
Sunday, October 24, 2021	Kansas	Kyle Larson	34
Sunday, September 11, 2022	Kansas	Bubba Wallace	27

 

Team Penske’s Joey Logano leads the NASCAR Cup Series in Playoff wins at Kansas Speedway with three postseason victories (2014, 2015, 2020); followed by four other drivers with multiple Kanas Playoff wins: Tony Stewart (2006, 2009), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2011), Greg Biffle (2007, 2010) and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (2013, 2016). 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace is the most recent Playoff race winner at Kansas Speedway (2022).

 

Winning the second the race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs has been a springboard for a few competitors throughout the years. When Dover Motor Speedway hosted the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (2004-2010), twice the winning driver went on to win the series title that same season – Jimmie Johnson (2009 and 2010). When New Hampshire Motor Speedway moved to the second race in the Playoffs (2011-2017), only one driver won the event and went on to win the title that same year – Tony Stewart (2011). Stewart won five races in the 2011 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (a series-record tied with Kyle Larson, 2021). None of the Playoff race winners at Richmond Raceway (2018-2021) went on to win the title in the same season.

 

Twice the winner of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Kansas Speedway has gone on to win the title that same season. In 2008, Jimmie Johnson won the Kansas Speedway NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race from the pole, leading 124 laps, and then went on to win his third consecutive series title later that season. Kansas was the third race of the Playoffs in 2008. The Kansas win was the first of three Playoff wins for Johnson en route to the 2008 title. Then in 2017, Martin Truex Jr. won the Kansas Speedway NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race from the pole, leading 91 laps, and went on to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title later that season. Kansas was the sixth race of the Playoffs in 2017. The Kansas win was the second of four Playoff victories for Truex en route to the championship in 2017.

 

Last season, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace became the first non-Playoff driver to win the second race on the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ schedule (2004-2022). Wallace was ranked 20th in the standings at the time of the win.

 

Four non-Playoff drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Kansas Speedway. In 2004, Joe Nemechek became the first non-Playoff driver to win the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Kansas Speedway. He was ranked 21st in the point standings at the time of the win. In 2006, NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart won the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Kansas Speedway and was ranked 11th in point standings at the time of the victory – the first spot outside the postseason. In 2007, Greg Biffle won the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Kansas Speedway and was ranked 14th in points at the time of the win. And last season Bubba Wallace added his name to the list with his victory at Kansas Speedway; he was ranked 20th in points.

 

The worst finish in a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Kansas Speedway by a driver that went on to win the championship later that same season was 17th by last season’s champion Team Penske’s Joey Logano. The Kansas Playoff race was the second race of the 2022 postseason schedule.

 

The worst finish by a driver in the second race on the NASCAR Cup Playoffs schedule that went on to win the title that same season was: 

 

• At Dover Motor Speedway (2004-2010) – the 2005 series champion Tony Stewart finished 18th.
• At New Hampshire Motor Speedway (2011-2017) – the 2015 series champion Kyle Busch finished 37th.
• At Richmond Raceway (2018-2021) – the 2018 series champion Joey Logano finished 14th.

All the NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity at Kansas Speedway gets rolling with practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying on Saturday, September 9 from 12 – 2 p.m. ET on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.