The NASCAR Cup Series continues its 10-race playoff with Sunday’s running of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. The 1.5-mile oval serves as the second race in the Round of 16 and the 28th of 36 overall in the 2022 season.

This fall’s Kansas event comes with a new Goodyear tire combination after the first race here with the Next Gen chassis in May. Early observations have the cars drifting higher during practice and qualifying, rim riding the outside wall similar to the preferred line at another intermediate: Homestead-Miami Speedway.

That’s one of Tyler Reddick’s best tracks so it’s no surprise, then he won the pole for this race, his first at Kansas driving the No. 8 for Richard Childress Racing. Reddick led a sweep of the top nine spots for championship-eligible teams after a non-playoff driver, Erik Jones, pulled out a surprise victory in last week’s Southern 500.

All six full-time Toyota wheelmen finished inside the top 10 at Kansas in May but they’ve taken a step back so far this weekend. Only two (Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace) qualified inside the top 10 this time around while their highest-placed driver in the championship standings (Denny Hamlin) starts way back in 25th.

Just 36 cars showed up for this edition of the Hollywood Casino 400, all of whom had a guaranteed spot in the field. That left the Cup Series four short of its maximum 40-car grid for a second straight weekend.

1. Tyler Reddick (P)
2. Joey Logano (P)
3. Alex Bowman (P)
4. Christopher Bell (P)
5. Ross Chastain (P)
6. Bubba Wallace (P)* (owner’s title)
7. Kyle Larson (P)
8. Austin Cindric (R) (P)
9. William Byron (P)
10. Chris Buescher
11. Austin Dillon (P)
12. Martin Truex Jr.
13. Chase Briscoe (P)
14. Kevin Harvick (P)
15. Daniel Suarez (P)
16. Ty Gibbs (i)
17. Ryan Blaney (P)
18. Harrison Burton (R)
19. Corey LaJoie
20. Kyle Busch (P)
21. Ty Dillon
22. Chase Elliott (P)
23. Michael McDowell
24. Erik Jones
25. Denny Hamlin (P)
26. Brad Keselowski
27. Justin Haley
28. Noah Gragson (i)
29. Cole Custer
30. Cody Ware
31. Landon Cassill (i)
32. Todd Gilliland (R)
33. JJ Yeley (i)
34. BJ McLeod (i)
35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
36. Aric Almirola

(R) – Rookie
(i) – Ineligible to collect Cup Series points
(P) – Playoff driver

Qualifying Notes

• Tyler Reddick (first) earned the first top 10 of his NASCAR Cup Series career at Kansas Speedway back in May 2019. The highest-qualifying Chevrolet driver has never won at the track in any of the sport’s top three divisions.
• Joey Logano (second) starts the highest among Ford drivers and is the current NASCAR Cup Series point leader by six over William Byron.
• Alex Bowman (third) posted his best qualifying effort since the season-opening Daytona 500.
• Christopher Bell (fourth) was the highest-qualifying Toyota driver.
• Kyle Larson (seventh) is this race’s defending winner.
• Austin Cindric (eighth) was the best-qualifying rookie.
• Chris Buescher (10th) earned the best starting position among non-playoff drivers.
• Ty Gibbs (16th) remains the substitute for Kurt Busch as he recovers from a concussion suffered at Pocono Raceway in July.
• Regular season points champion Chase Elliott (22nd) now has back-to-back qualifying efforts outside the top 20 for the first time all season.
• Erik Jones (24th) was last week’s winner at Darlington Raceway.
• Noah Gragson (28th) replaces Daniel Hemric in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Gragson is running a part-time schedule in this car, sharing the ride with Hemric and AJ Allmendinger.

Related: Best Kansas Speedway Drivers for DraftKings

NASCAR Race Breakdown

Race: Hollywood Casino 400
Track: Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kan.)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 11
TV: USA Network, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 267 laps (400 miles)
Stage 1: 80 Laps
Stage 2: 85 Laps
Stage 3: 102 Laps

Pre-Race Preview

Jesse Iwuji of the NASCAR Xfinity Series makes a pit stop at The Frontstretch Podcast with Bryan Nolen to chat about his first year of full-time competition as a driver/owner. Will the No. 34 team, co-owned by Emmitt Smith, be pursuing expansion as the organization looks toward 2023 and beyond? Then, Nolen sits down with Jared Haas to break down the upcoming weekend at Kansas Speedway. Who’s the favorite among the championship contenders to leave with a victory that advances them into the next round?