Kyle Busch

The NASCAR Cup Series has become more than familiar with Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020, but there is something new about Saturday night's trip to the short track in Tennessee. 

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race marks the first time the Cup Series will use the short track as a playoff venue. 

Typically, the final race of the season at Bristol takes place in August, but with the augmented schedule, the venue is being used for the third time in 2020. The track hosted a 500-mile race in May and was the All-Star Race venue in July. 

The final trip to Bristol in 2020 serves as the last race in the three-event first phase of the postseason. The list of championship contenders will be trimmed from 16 to 12 following Saturday's race. 

Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski secured spots in the round of 12 with victories in the last two races, while Denny Hamlin is through on points. 

If one of the other 13 drivers win the Bristol night race, he will automatically qualify as well. The rest of the round-of-12 competitors will be determined by points. 

            

Bass Pro Shops Night Race Information

Date: Saturday, September 19

Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN

Live Stream: NBCSports.com and NBC Sports app

,      

Starting Grid

All-Penske front row for Saturday night at Bristol with Keselowski on the pole and Logano starting second: #nascar pic.twitter.com/1Pp0KhTuXH

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 16, 2020

       

Odds

Denny Hamlin (+450; bet $100 to win $450)

Kyle Busch (+575) 

Chase Elliott (+600)

Kevin Harvick (+600)

Brad Keselowski (+600)

Joey Logano (+900)

Ryan Blaney (+1400)

Kurt Busch (+1600)

Martin Truex Jr. (+1600)

Austin Dillon (+1800)

Clint Bowyer (+2000)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

       

Preview

Hamlin does not have to win to advance to the next round, but he seems like the most likely champion.

The No. 11 car driver is the defending champion of the season's second race at Bristol and he starts in a favorable spot in seventh. 

Passing is difficult on the short track with high banking, which makes starting position a crucial part of the winning formula. 

Three of the last five Bristol winners started from the pole position, including Hamlin a year ago. Only five champions have come from beneath the top 10 to finish in Victory Lane since 2012. 

Hamlin also holds an advantage through his team's performance at short tracks. Joe Gibbs Racing won four of the last six Bristol races through Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

Martin Truex Jr. owns four wins at Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway in the last two years, while Busch has three triumphs at the other two short tracks since 2017.

Of the three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the playoffs, Busch is in the most danger of missing the round of 12. 

The No. 18 car has yet to find Victory Lane in 2020, but Busch owns more top-five finishes than 11 of his playoff competitors. 

Truex may be the best bet to win off odds value. He typically is not as high as +1800, and his recent short-track history could finally result in a Bristol victory. 

Keselowski is the biggest threat to the Joe Gibbs cars, as he won the May race at Bristol, starts on the pole and is coming off a short-track win at Richmond. 

The No. 2 car won from the pole position back in May, and if Keselowski gets off to a fast start, he could leave the playoff competitors fighting for points to advance.

Clint Bowyer enters Bristol on the 12th-place bubble with a three-point advantage over William Byron. Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Blaney are also on the outside looking in. 

Since the gap between Aric Almirola in 10th and Blaney is 34 points, the projected standings could shuffle throughout the night. 

Blaney may have the toughest path to the top 12 since he finished in last place because of a crash in May at Bristol and has finished outside the top 10 in six of the previous seven races. 

Byron could be in the best spot to leap into the top 12 since he only has to make up a three-point difference on Bowyer and finished eighth in the season's first Bristol race.

         

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Racing Reference.

Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin have matched accomplishments for most of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

However, there is one thing Harvick has done that Hamlin has not: sweep two races in the same weekend at one track. Hamlin will try to match Harvick in that category Sunday in the second of two Drydene 311 races at Dover International Speedway.

The No. 11 car driver finished on top Saturday, with two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates directly behind him. Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch need to climb through the field Sunday to contend for the victory again since the top 20 starting positions were inverted based off Saturday's final grid.

                

Drydene 311 Information

Date: Sunday, August 23

Start Time: 4 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN 

Live Stream: NBCSports.com or NBC Sports app

           

Starting Lineup

Cup lineup for Sunday. Top-20 invert and 21-40 based on lineup formula. #nascar pic.twitter.com/DPGNtEYkY3

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 23, 2020

          

Odds

Kevin Harvick: +370 (wager $100 to win $370)

Martin Truex Jr.: +390

Denny Hamlin: +450

Chase Elliott: +600

Kyle Busch: +850

Odds via Oddschecker.

             

Preview

The Joe Gibbs Racing trio may extend their control of the field into Sunday, even though it may take them a few laps to get to the front.

Hamlin, Truex and Busch led 206 of the 311 laps at the Monster Mile on Saturday, while the former pair battled for the victory in the final stage.

Hamlin's victory was his first at Dover in 28 attempts. He acknowledged that unwanted record after the race in conversation with Dan Gelston of the Associated Press: "People always ask what your least favorite track is, and I say Dover just because I'm not that good. I love the track. I just haven't been very good here."

The victory tied Hamlin with Harvick for the most victories this season with six. If Hamlin replicates Harvick's back-to-back wins from Michigan, he will take the advantage in that column with one regular-season race remaining.

The top contenders to win Sunday's race are either locked into the playoff field through a victory or have enough points to feel secure through the final two races, like Kyle Busch.

Jimmie Johnson and William Byron switched spots on the playoff bubble Saturday. Johnson now holds a three-point advantage over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

Since only the top 20 finishers from Saturday were inverted in the starting lineup, Byron, who placed 23rd, will begin nine spots behind Johnson on Sunday.

Byron not only has to claw back up the field to beat out Johnson but also has to fend off Erik Jones, who starts Sunday 19 points back of the No. 24 car driver and is positioned ninth on the starting grid.

Matt DiBenedetto resides directly above the fight for the final playoff spot. He was handed the pole position after finishing 20th Saturday. There is a small chance one of the drivers without a win starting beneath DiBenedetto could throw off the playoff plans of Johnson, Byron or Jones.

Ryan Newman, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick all start in the top eight and sit under Jones in the standings.

If one of those drivers steals a win, it would put DiBenedetto on the bubble going into the final race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday.

                 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com.

The drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series will face a brand-new challenge Sunday.

The 39-person field will compete on the Daytona International Speedway road course for the first time.

Daytona's road course, which is best known from the 24 Hours of Daytona event, was added to the Cup Series schedule after it was unable to race at Watkins Glen. The race could be a tense affair for all of the competitors, but it may be more stressful for the drivers looking to get into the playoff field.

William Byron is holding on to the final playoff position, but he is just 26 points ahead of Erik Jones and Jimmie Johnson. One bad performance could cost any of the contenders in that competition.

                            

Go Bowling 325 Information

Date: Sunday, August 16

Start Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBCSports.com and NBC Sports app

         

Starting Lineup

Here is Cup starting lineup for Sunday by row: pic.twitter.com/fVKXH9gsX1

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 12, 2020

         

Odds

Chase Elliott +400 (bet $100 to win $400)

Martin Truex Jr. +550

Denny Hamlin +600

Kevin Harvick +600

Ryan Blaney +800

Brad Keselowski +900

Kyle Busch +900

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook.

            

Preview

Even the most experienced drivers are not sure what to expect Sunday.

NASCAR's policy of no practice and qualifying, which has been in place since May, was upheld for the Daytona road course despite the lack of track experience. Some drivers have competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona, but an alteration will provide unfamiliarity to those competitors.

Kyle Busch detailed the changes in approaching the track with a chicane before the entrance to the road course portion of the track, per Yahoo's Nick Bromberg:

"The speed you carried from bus stop to the Turn 1 entrance really lent itself to drafting and making moves with the draft and air. So now, with us having the chicane, that's certainly not going to be the case for anyone familiar with the Daytona road course and the Rolex 24. It's one section that has changed, but it will change the whole complexion of the track, in my opinion."

Points leader Kevin Harvick, who starts on the pole, said that he does not know what to expect when leading the field on the first lap, per NASCAR.com's Chase Wilhelm:

"I think me leading everybody into Turn 1 at Daytona could be interesting because I have no freaking clue where I'm going as we go down there. Most everybody in the field is the same way. We'll prepare the best that we can and hope that we can make it around the first lap with all the wheels still headed in the right direction."

The unpredictability may help the drivers looking for an automatic playoff berth through a victory.

Byron headlines the group of drivers in need of that the most since he sits on the bubble. Jones and Johnson are 26 points back of the No. 24 car driver, while Tyler Reddick is 36 points adrift.

Johnson owns the best starting position of the quartet in 11th place. Byron is 13th on the grid, Reddick is 18th and Jones is 20th. The seven-time champion holds an advantage over the other three drivers thanks to his seven trips around the road course during the 24 Hours of Daytona.

But the No. 48 car driver has not driven on the course with the added chicane, so that could be the equalizer if Byron, Jones and Reddick get a better handle of it.

Of the drivers already locked into the postseason field, Harvick and Denny Hamlin have to be considered as favorites to win the race because of their starting positions on the front row. Harvick or Hamlin could grab the lead early on and steer clear of any incidents while extending the lead.

Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. should also be in the mix based off their recent road course success on the Cup Series circuit. Elliott has won the past two road course races and three of the past five, while Truex owns three victories in the previous seven visits to road courses.

               

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com.

It took nine caution flags, a two-lap overtime and a questionable collision, but Kevin Harvick was able to claim the checkered flag at the FireKeepers Casino 400 for his fifth victory this season. 

After a controversial final few laps, Harvick found himself in Victory Lane celebrating once again. 

There was no stopping @KevinHarvick today!

He explains how he was able to seal the deal in the Irish Hills. pic.twitter.com/Olnj489HpR

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 8, 2020

           

FireKeepers Casino 400 Results

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Martin Truex Jr. 

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Kyle Busch

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Chase Elliott

8. Joey Logano

9. Bubba Wallace

10. Kurt Busch

Full Results via NASCAR.com 

The 44-year-old won both the first and second stages of Saturday's race and led 92 of the 161 laps before finding himself in a battle with Kyle Busch on Lap 148. As Harvick looked to pass Busch on the inside, the two sides appeared to touch, but replays were inconclusive and not even Busch could tell if the two made contact. 

Or 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙝𝙚 ... ? 😂 pic.twitter.com/eJsulOuz8r

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 8, 2020

In any case, Busch's car went into the wall and knocked the race leader back into the pack. 

Contact with the 4️⃣? @KyleBusch (P5) weighs in on that and his team's performance Saturday at @MISpeedway. pic.twitter.com/NvtG2qZz6S

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2020

Another caution with fewer than 10 laps to go forced an overtime shootout with Harvick holding off a late push by Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. 

Busch would finish in fifth place, narrowly missing out on his first win of the year. 

Denny Hamlin has won five races this year, the most of any driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. His most recent victory came at Kansas on July 23, giving him one more win than leader Kevin Harvick.

The Cup Series is gearing up for a doubleheader at Michigan, where Hamlin hasn't won since 2011. He's a two-time winner at the two-mile track, but he's winless in his past 17 races there. But that could change Saturday, as he's starting second alongside Joey Logano on the front row.

Because both events are being held this weekend (one on Saturday and one on Sunday), they are both going to be 156-lap, 312-mile races, starting with Saturday's FireKeepers Casino 400.

Here's everything you need to know heading into Saturday's race.

                          

NASCAR at Michigan Information

Date: Saturday, Aug. 8

Start Time: 4 p.m. ET

TV: NBC Sports Network

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live

           

Starting Lineup

Cup lineup for Saturday at Michigan #nascar pic.twitter.com/ouQZLCJuMk

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 6, 2020

Odds

Kevin Harvick +375 (bet $100 to win $375)

Denny Hamlin +450

Joey Logano +600

Brad Keselowski +800

Kyle Busch +800

Martin Truex Jr. +800

Ryan Blaney +900

Chase Elliott +1000

Aric Almirola +1500

Kurt Busch +2500

Erik Jones +3500

Matt DiBenedetto +3500

Alex Bowman +4000

Clint Bowyer +4000

Christopher Bell +5000

Jimmie Johnson +5000

William Byron +5000

Complete list of odds available at Caesars Palace.

                   

Preview

If Hamlin is going to win his first race in Michigan in nearly a decade, then he's likely going to be competing with Harvick and Logano, who have both had recent success at the track.

Although Harvick has four wins this season, he hasn't been to Victory Lane since winning at Indianapolis on July 5. But he's won two of the past three races at Michigan, including the Consumers Energy 400 in August 2019. Harvick is a three-time winner at the track, and he's helped Ford maintain its recent dominance there, with the manufacturer winning the past four races in Brooklyn.

That stretch also includes a win by Logano, who went to Victory Lane at the FireKeepers Casino 400 in June last year for his third career victory at Michigan. Logano won two of the first four races this season, but he hasn't notched a victory since winning at Phoenix on March 8.

Logano is on the pole for Saturday's race, while Harvick will be starting third. Logano won from the pole when he went to Victory Lane at Michigan last year, and in Harvick's past two wins at the track, he started in second and third.

So good starting position has translated to success at Michigan in recent races. Although, this year, the starting order was determined by a random draw (in groups based on owner points) as NASCAR continues to operate without qualifying, one of the modifications made during the coronavirus pandemic.

While Logano, Hamlin and Harvick are among the favorites to win at Michigan, there are several top drivers looking to end some rough stretches.

Kyle Busch is still winless in 2020, and according to NASCAR.com, his 20-race winless streak to open the season matches his longest such streak since joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, as it also happened in 2017. Although Busch has six straight top-10 finishes at Michigan, he's only won there once in his career—and that was nine years ago.

Hendrick Motorsports drivers have also struggled in recent weeks, as none of them (Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson) have a top-five finish in the past five races (not including the non-points All-Star Race at Bristol, which Elliott won).

However, Hendrick hasn't had much recent Michigan success, either, as Jeff Gordon was the last driver to win for the team at the track in 2014, when it swept the pair of races, with Johnson winning the other.

Kyle Busch's victory celebration at Texas Motor Speedway after a NASCAR Xfinity Series race was short-lived due to a failed post-race inspection. 

Per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Busch's No. 54 car was disqualified for failing the height measurements. 

The AP noted this marks the first time a driver has been disqualified following an Xfinity Series victory since Denny Hamlin in Aug. 2019. 

Xfinity series director Wayne Auton didn't go into specifics with reporters about how far off Busch's car was from the required height, but he did note the team has 24 hours to file an appeal.

Instead, Austin Cindric was declared the winner of Saturday's race after originally coming in second place, less than one second behind Busch. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Cindric is the fourth Xfinity Series driver since 2000 to win at least three consecutive races. The 21-year-old had two wins on the circuit coming into this season. 

The win would have been Busch's second on the Xfinity series this season. His first came at the Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25. 

Kevin Harvick could take his dominance of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season to another level Sunday during the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The points leader, who has four victories this year, has won in each of the past three seasons at the 1.5-mile track.

Harvick could find himself up front early on, as he starts fifth on the grid. Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola drew the pole position.

Ryan Blaney will line up on the front row alongside Almirola, while Kurt and Kyle Busch, who are both looking for their first wins of 2020, were slotted into the second row.

                     

O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Information

Date: Sunday, July 19

Start Time: 3 p,m. ET

TV: NBCSN

Live Stream: NBCSports.com or NBC Sports app

            

Odds

Kevin Harvick +350 (bet $100 to win $350)

Denny Hamlin +600

Kyle Busch +600

Chase Elliott +700

Martin Truex Jr. +700

Ryan Blaney +900

Joey Logano +1,000

Brad Keselowski +1,000

Odds via Caesars Palace.

           

Starting Lineup

Cup starting lineup and pit stalls for Sunday: #nascar pic.twitter.com/13oX25mYNA

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 16, 2020

           

Preview

Harvick is the safe bet to capture another title at Texas.

The No. 4 car driver owns 22 top-10 finishes and 11 top-five placings at the track, and he is one of two competitors to win three years in a row in Fort Worth in the past decade. The other is Jimmie Johnson, who took first five times between 2012 and 2015.

Harvick's main competition could be championship rival Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin won the first of the two races at Texas in 2019. His other triumphs at the track came during a 2010 season sweep.

The two drivers battled for the win in three of the past four points races. They split the weekend victories at Pocono Raceway, and Harvick benefited from Hamlin's flat tire to come out on top at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 5.

Hamlin will be behind Harvick at the start of the race from the No. 7 starting position, and the familiar sight of them running one-two could once against emerge over the 334 laps at Texas.

Kyle Busch is the only driver not named Harvick or Hamlin to win at Texas in the past five races at the track.

The No. 18 car driver has not performed well enough to earn his first victory of the 2020 season, but he will feel as comfortable as possible on the course after running the Truck Series and Xfinity Series races Saturday.

Busch opened up about his failure to reach Victory Lane in conversation with MRN's Jeff Wackerlin:

"It's on your mind that we don't have that win and haven't really been in contention to get that win a whole lot this year. It's just a matter of a lot of circumstances that it's been the way it has been for us so far. Hoping we can start the races close to where we need to be on Sunday and have a good run with our Interstate Batteries Toyota."

Wins are even more valuable at this juncture because it would secure automatic passage into the playoffs. Cole Custer achieved that with his surprise win at Kentucky Speedway last time out.

Going into Texas, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon sit 14th-16th in the points standings, while Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones are close behind in 17th and 18th.

Since 2011, 16 of the 18 winners at Texas have started in the top 10, and four of the past five champions came from sixth or better on the starting grid.

One of the two exceptions to that trend was Johnson, who captured the spring race in 2017 after starting in 24th.

                 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Racing Reference.

The annual NASCAR All-Star Race is typically held in mid-May and has historically been held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. But as with all sports in 2020, NASCAR has had to make changes to its schedule as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June, NASCAR announced the All-Star Race would be held in mid-July, and shortly thereafter revealed an important change to this year's event: it would be held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, rather than its typical home of Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

If the race had remained in Charlotte, it would have gone off without spectators due to stricter social distancing measures against large gatherings there. In Bristol, however, Tennessee governor Bill Lee will allow up to 30,000 spectators to attend the race at the 155,000 capacity Bristol Motor Speedway.

"While Charlotte will always be recognized as the birthplace and traditional home for the All-Star Race, the current data surrounding the pandemic in North Carolina makes Bristol a better option for fan access this summer," Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith said in a June 15 press release.

Per Natalie Neysa Alund and Brinley Hineman of The Tennessean, as of Sunday the state has had more than 61,000 coronavirus cases in all and has more than 25,000 active cases. 

"We know that hosting this event comes with tremendous responsibility," Bristol Motor Speedway general manager Jerry Caldwell told USA TODAY. "We are the first major sporting event to have a significant crowd. We don't take that responsibility lightly."

Sixteen drivers have already qualified for the All-Star Race, with three more hoping to make it in via the All-Star Open and one driver to be voted in by fans. 

All the information you need to know to tune in to the race, as well as predictions and odds for who will win, is below. 

         

NASCAR All-Star Race TV Schedule

Date: July 15

Location: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET (All-Star Open 7:30 p.m.)

TV: FS1

Live Stream: Fox Sports app

           

NASCAR All-Star Race Odds and Predictions

Odds

Kevin Harvick 9-2

Chase Elliott 5-1

Denny Hamlin 11-2

Kyle Busch 7-1

Joey Logano 7-1

Brad Keselowski 8-1

Ryan Blaney 10-1

Kurt Busch 12-1

Martin Truex Jr. 13-1

Alex Bowman 20-1

Jimmie Johnson 20-1

Erik Jones 20-1

Matt Kenseth 28-1

Ryan Newman 40-1

Cole Custer 66-1

Justin Haley 80-1

           

The starting lineups for both the All-Star Race and the All-Star Open have been set and can be viewed in their entirety on NASCAR.com. 

The 16 drivers who have already qualified for the 140-lap, four-stage All-Star Race, with $1 million on the line for the winner, are Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Cole Custer, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr.

Truex Jr., who is looking for his first All-Star win, will start on pole in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Bowman will join him in the front row. 

The drivers attempting to qualify through the All-Star Open—an 85-lap, three-stage race—include Michael McDowell, who will start on pole in the No. 34 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports, Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

Fans can vote for one of 22 otherwise ineligible drivers through the All-Star Fan Vote, with results announced on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday. 

At 9-2, Harvick is the odds-on favorite to win the All-Star Race odds, according to CBS Sports/SportsLine, followed by Chase Elliott (5-1) and Denny Hamlin (11-2).

Although Harvick is the Vegas favorite, if he's your favorite driver, you may not get what you're rooting for on Wednesday night. Though he sits atop the Cup Series standings with 675 points, the No. 4 Ford Mustang hasn't always been kind to him at Bristol. Though he has won there twice, in 2005 and 2016, he hasn't finished in the top five since 2017.

Keselowski is second in the standings and won at this short track in May (and came in third last fall), and he will be a betting favorite to win on Wednesday. 

Though Busch is a mediocre 11th in points heading into the All-Star Race, it's worth noting that no active driver has bested his eight wins at Bristol. 

The Choose Rule, which allows each driver to select to restart in the outside or inside lane, will be in effect in the All-Star Race, and though Bowyer thinks it's being "oversold," per USA Today, it's another strategy to factor into your prediction. 

Prediction: Keselowski wins

The NASCAR Cup Series has only had five drivers win at Kentucky Speedway.

Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch all have multiple victories at the venue, while Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth have one win each. Keselowski is the only member of that quintet with more than one triumph in the 2020 season, while the other four have one victory between them from Truex.

With the way the season is going, we could see a first-time Cup Series winner at Kentucky, like points leader Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin or Joey Logano.

                    

NASCAR at Kentucky Information

Date: Sunday, July 12

Start Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

TV: FS1

Live Stream: FoxSports.com and Fox Sports app.

                    

Odds

Kevin Harvick +400 (bet $100 to win $400)

Kyle Busch +450

Martin Truex Jr. +600

Denny Hamlin +600

Chase Elliott +700

Brad Keselowski +900

Joey Logano +900

Odds via Caesars Palace.

               

Preview

Kyle Busch has appeared to be in a good position to win his first race of 2020 at other tracks, but Sunday may be his best opportunity yet.

The driver of the No. 18 car owns the most top-five finishes at Kentucky of any Cup Series competitor (seven) and has won a pair of races. Busch also landed the pole position from the random draw that determined the first 12 spots on the starting grid.

In the past five races, Busch has alternated top-10 marks with finishes toward the back of the field. He is coming off a sixth-placed finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He should put himself in a position to at least win the first stage if he gets out in front at the green flag. Busch has led the most Cup Series laps at Kentucky with 621.

Holding to the lead could be difficult with Harvick starting directly behind the No. 18 car in third position.

Harvick has won two of the past three races and finished second in the other competition in that span. The driver of the No. 4 car is considered the favorite, even though he does not have a victory at Kentucky, since he has 13 top-10 finishes in 16 races this year.

Keselowski and Truex start sixth and ninth, respectively, and they could bank on their experience to surge forward early in the first stage.

Kenseth owns the deepest starting position of the past winners at Kentucky in 17th, and he may be considered a dark horse after he earned a season-best second-placed finish at the Brickyard last time out. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver needs a high finish to start working his way up the standings, which will come into focus more in the coming weeks as the playoffs draw closer.

Austin Dillon holds the 16th and final playoff spot. Erik Jones and Tyler Reddick are six and 16 points, respectively, behind him going into Kentucky.

Unless one of the fringe playoff contenders earns an automatic playoff spot through a victory, they need to record as many points as possible, which should lead to intriguing competitions away from the battle to come out on top.

                         

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Racing Reference.

The NASCAR Cup Series' busy weekend at Pocono Raceway concludes Sunday with the Pocono 350. 

Sunday's competition is 25 miles and 10 laps longer than Saturday's Pocono Organics 325. 

When the race finishes, most of the drivers in the 40-man field will have run in 11 competitions since May 17.

Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates should be at the front of the field all weekend, even if they have to work from a deeper starting position Sunday. 

The top 20 on the starting grid will be inverted from Saturday's results, which means the winner will start 20th. 

             

Pocono 350 Information

Date: Sunday, June 28

Start Time: 4 p.m. ET

TV: FS1

Live Stream: FoxSports.com or Fox Sports app

Odds: Race odds can be found on Caesars Palace

            

Preview

The NASCAR drivers are used to racing at Pocono twice a year, but they have never done so in back-to-back days. 

Unlike the races in the same week at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, the pair of Pocono races were on the initial 2020 schedule. 

In previous years, the Pocono race weekends were split up in June and July, but NASCAR announced the new format last year. 

Busch has a Pocono victory in each of the last three seasons, while his teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. have one win each since 2017.

Hamlin broke down the mentality teams should have if Saturday produces a disappointing finish, per Racer.com's Kelly Crandall.

"If it’s (Saturday) a bad day, you can essentially overhaul your car and put a new setup in and come up with new ideas, and you’ll be starting upfront. I think you can really bounce back. You could have flip-flop days between the two races," Hamlin said. 

In addition to having success at Pocono, Hamlin and Truex recently visited Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively.

They make up a group of eight racers locked into the playoff field by way of a victory. Busch has a good chance to add his name to that list this weekend based off his previous Pocono success.

The security of already being in the playoffs could allow Hamlin, Truex, Kevin Harvick and Talladega winner Ryan Blaney to drive with more risk toward the end of Sunday's race. 

Those drivers may be forced to take more risks since starting position matters at Pocono. Since 2014, 10 of the 12 winners began the race in the top 10.

The recent trend could also allow an unlikely racer to take first since the inverted starting lineup will be in place.

           

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com