From an unusually-calm Talladega to an unusually-hyperactive Texas that saw 12 cars leave the race early, what can we expected from Kansas on a perfect day?
Here’s what to look for:
–Kyle Larson edged Chris Buescher (again), this time for the Pole. No big deal last year, you know, just the closest finish in the history of NASCAR. I still remember watching Darlington in 2003 with Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch locked at the bumpers, hard to believe that last year’s finish was even closer. But it was!
-Let’s talk about Buescher. He’ll start 2nd and is no doubt looking to get the monkey off his back after surrendering the lead with about 1 inch to go last year. Can he redeem himself?
–Ross Chastain was our most recent winner here, taking the checkers in the Fall. Can’t be TOO hard to just Win again, right? “Do this again.”
-We’ve seen drivers bounce back after a terrible week recently (see: Logano last at Talladega and then winning at Texas), and here we’ve got Denny Hamlin coming to a track that he’s had wild success at. Last week at Texas, he exited the race with an Engine issue in just 73 laps; here he’s got more points than any other driver over the last ten races.
–Alex Bowman will definitely be someone to watch this week, heavy in Practice and sports an 8.4 average finish in nine attempts. In those races, he’s also got eight Top 10s! Today, he’ll be starting 21st so he’s got some work to do.
Coverage of the race starts on FS1 at 3pm, green flag scheduled for 3:13pm. Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there!
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