NASCAR Cup playoff race at Kansas 2017: Start time, lineup, TV, more
It's elimination day at Kansas Speedway, and we've got some essential information to get you ready for today's Hollywood Casino 400, the final race of the second round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs:
START TIME: Actor Jay Hernandez, who is currently appearing on the final season of the ABC hit television show Scandal, will instruct drivers to start their engines at 3:07 p.m. ET (2:07 p.m. Central) Sunday, followed by the green flag at 3:16 p.m. ET (2:16 p.m. Central).
RACE DISTANCE: The Hollywood Casino 400 is 267 laps around the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, or 400.5 miles.
SEGMENTS: Effective this season, NASCAR is dividing each race into segments and awarding one bonus point to the winner of each stage. Segment lengths will be different for every race. Also, the top 10 finishers of segments 1 and 2 will be awarded regular-season points in descending order from 10 to 1. Here are the segments for the Hollywood Casino 400: Stage 1, 80 laps; Stage 2, 80 laps; Stage 3, 107 laps for a total of 267 laps.
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NATIONAL ANTHEM/FLYOVER: Angie Rosner will perform the national anthem at 3:01 p.m. ET (2:01 p.m. Central), followed by a flyover by a B2 Bomber out of Whiteman Air Force Base, near Kansas City.
TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will televise Sunday's race and has a pre-race show beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. Central). The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio will call the race on radio.
LIVE STREAMING: NBCSports.com will live-stream the race for those who sign in with their cable/satellite provider's credentials.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high around 67 degrees and mild winds out of the northwest. There is no rain in the forecast.
LAST TIME: Martin Truex Jr. led a race-high 104 laps to earn his first career win at Kansas in May. And one year ago, Kevin Harvick led 74 laps, including the final 30, to take the 2016 playoff race and advance to the third round.
STARTING LINEUP: It was a strong qualifying day for the most recent Kansas winners. Truex won his third pole of the season with a final qualifying lap of 188.029 mph. Harvick will start alongside on the front row.
Here is the starting lineup for the Hollywood Casino 400 (car number in parentheses):
1. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
2. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford
3. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford
4. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota
5. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
6. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota
7. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota
8. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota
9. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet
10. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford
11. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford
12. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
13. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
14. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
15. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
16. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford
17. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
18. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
19. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet
20. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
21. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet
22. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet
23. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford
24. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet
25. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford
26. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford
27. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
28. (38) David Ragan, Ford
29. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford
30. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
31. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford
32. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford
33. (83) Brett Moffitt, Toyota
34. (55) Gray Gaulding, Toyota
35. (23) Corey LaJoie, Toyota
36. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet
37. (51) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet
38. (15) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet
39. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet
40. (00) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet
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