Fireworks ignited at the end of a wild night at Bristol last week, where Joey Logano went to Victory Lane. However, an on-track incident and post-race scuffle between Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar overshadowed the victory. Now, NASCAR heads to Kansas Speedway for the 2026 Hollywood Casino 400.
The Chase continues to heat up as a driver in the postseason won once again. With Bell, Larson, and Logano having started the Chase with wins, could we see another new face among the contenders at the top of the leaderboard or will an upset occur at the 1.5-mile circuit?
Let’s dive in.
2026 Hollywood Casino 400 Entry List
Kansas will feature only the 36 chartered teams on the entry list at the 1.5-mile circuit. As mentioned above, potentially the biggest storyline heading into this one is not the postseason, but instead the kerfuffle between Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney.
BRISTOL pic.twitter.com/dZIolyf2hJ
— Eric Estepp (@EricEstepp17) September 20, 2026
Hocevar’s on-track presence has made him no shortage of enemies. The #77 had already earned the ire of Brad Keselowski earlier in the Chase when the two collided at Darlington. Now, Blaney has to be counted as an enemy as well. Hocevar has polarized the NASCAR fanbase. Some are on board with the brash, aggressive driver. Some believe his aggression and lack of remorse go a bridge too far. However, Hocevar doesn’t race the fans; he races his fellow competitors. Unfortunately for Hocevar, his antics have pretty much drawn ire across the Cup Series garage, which makes his job that much more difficult.
Kansas doesn’t have the close quarters that we see lead to confrontations quite like Bristol but the track has seen a fair share of dust-ups in the past, especially with the added pressure of the NASCAR postseason. I expect a lot of great racing with the NextGen car at the 1.5-mile circuit this package seems to perform at its best.
Chase Standings
Amidst all the chaos of NASCAR at Bristol, we saw Kyle Larson overtake Denny Hamlin for the lead in the points, if only by a single point. Still, as NASCAR heads back to the intermediate tracks where Toyota has seemed to perform so well this season, I’d expect a bounce-back week of sorts for the #11 team.
- Kyle Larson
- Denny Hamlin -1
- Joey Logano -16
- Christopher Bell -17
- Ty Gibbs -42
- Ryan Blaney -52
- Tyler Reddick -61
- Carson Hocevar -85
- Chase Briscoe -87
- Bubba Wallace -92
- Austin Cindric -116
- Chase Elliott -117
- William Byron -121
- Ryan Preece -124
- Chris Buescher -124
- Daniel Suarez -134
I still believe the cutoff for true contenders for the Cup Series Championship is around 7th place, where Tyler Reddick sits 61 points back. Chase Briscoe could potentially still be a factor, but the #19 team can’t afford another setback if they hope to be a part of the talk. Hamlin is still my pick for champion at the moment. However, the #11 team needs to find Victory Lane soon to prevent talk of yet another postseason collapse.
2026 Hollywood Casino 400 Race Predictions
23XI’s Tyler Reddick found Victory Lane here at Kansas in the Spring as part of his incredible start to 2026. 23XI has repeatedly found success here over the past few years, but Reddick’s form has dropped off massively. Still, I expect strong runs from both Reddick and his teammate Bubba Wallace, though I expect them to be just off the win.
Joey Logano’s hot start to the Chase has been undeniable, but I simply haven’t seen the speed from Penske at the 1.5-mile circuits, or the Fords in general. Logano, Blaney, and Cindric are likely fringe top-ten finishers at best.
A @kansasspeedway win came home with @BubbaWallace. 🏁 pic.twitter.com/GcZnAaSRtJ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 24, 2026
Kyle Larson’s hot start to the Chase, coupled with his second-place finish at Kansas earlier this spring, makes the #5 a real contender here in spite of the struggles of his fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
Still, this feels like a definite Toyota race. Specifically, I’m expecting a JGR car in Victory Lane on Sunday. Denny Hamlin will win at least one race before the end of the season, but I think we’ll see Chase Briscoe and the #19 team get some momentum back with a win at Kansas Speedway.
Check out the schedule below so you don’t miss any on-track action this week!
Friday 09/25
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice – 4:00 p.m. CT on FS2
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying – 5:05 p.m. CT on FS2
Menards 150 (ARCA Menards Series) – 7:00 p.m. CT on FS1
Saturday 09/26
NASCAR Cup Series Practice – 9:00 a.m. CT on TruTV
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 10:10 a.m. CT on TruTV
Race to Stop Suicide 200 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) – 12:00 p.m. CT on FS1
Sunday 09/27
Hollywood Casino 400 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 2:00 p.m. CT on USA and HBO Max
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