Logano, Harvick, Busch, Hamlin hit gas in Chase

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Chase for the Sprint Cup stops at Charlotte Motor Speedway this Saturday. The race will carry an overload of tension as Chase teams shoot to score a win or top-five run before the last race in Round 2 – at treacherous Talladega Superspeedway.

Sunday's race at Kansas turned the Chase upside-down as several favorites had poor finishes.

In this year's revamped format, 16 drivers qualified for the 10-race title run.

There are three elimination rounds, consisting of three races each. After races three, six and nine, four drivers will be eliminated from contention. The final four will race for the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 16.

The second elimination race is Oct. 19 (2 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Talladega Superspeedway.

Paste BN Sports' Mike Hembree highlights four in overdrive after the opening race in Round 2, at Kansas Speedway:

Joey Logano, Team Penske, No. 22 Ford

Logano is the only driver breathing easy as the tour rolls into Charlotte. Logano had a solid car and a win at Kansas, giving him a guaranteed spot in the third round, regardless of his finishes at Charlotte and Talladega.

Comment: "This is nice to get this win and get us through to the next round and not have to worry about Talladega coming up."

Up next: Logano hasn't won at Charlotte, but he has top-10 runs in six of his 11 races there.

Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 Chevrolet

Harvick hasn't won in the Chase, but he's done everything else. He led 79 laps at Chicago, 104 at Loudon, 223 at Dover and 61 at Kansas. He's sixth in points and seems perpetually on the edge of getting his first win since Darlington in April.

Up next: Harvick has two wins at Charlotte and typically runs strong there. Finally, the win? It seems like he hasn't won in every fashion imaginable.

Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 18 Toyota

Busch entered Kansas with a certain amount of dread. The track has handed him seemingly every sort of punishment. But he finally got his first top five there (third), and the troubles experienced by other Chasers put him second in points.

Comment: "We'll play it out as it goes and see where it stacks."

Up next: Busch is winless at Charlotte but has nine top fives at the 1.5-mile track and was ninth there in the spring. He tamed Kansas, maybe CMS is next.

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota

Hamlin opened the second round of the Chase with a seventh-place run and was particularly strong the second half of the race after starting 25th.

Comment: "We don't have a lot of the speed that those guys have, so maybe if we can get them out this round, then maybe there's a fighting chance we'll get to the end of this thing."

Up next: A strong run at Charlotte, where he has 10 top-10 runs in 18 races, would put Hamlin in a good points position entering the Talladega race.

Follow Hembree on Twitter @mikehembree