What to watch for: Kansas

HOT DRIVERS

• Cory Mott-Palmetto MS-CHEVY- Cory has fought off a possible first round exit with a huge 3rd place finish at Bristol last week. What looked like what could have been a win to add to his playoff point tally didn’t quite happen, but he is securely sitting in 3rd place, 18+ above the cut line.
• Natheniel Campbell-Hollywood MS-CHEVY- He was on the outside looking in last week but a 2nd place finish for Natheniel has secured him a spot in the round of 12. Hopefully he can keep the good times rolling currently sitting in 12th, -6 to the cut line.
• Stephen Menke-FMS-FORD- When you been having a season like Menke you can afford a 29th place finish in the last race of the round. Prior to that, in both playoff races Menke finished in the top 10. He has kept good form all season and with him getting his bad race out of the way at Bristol, Menke could turn this playoff field upside down here in the round of 12.

NOT DRIVERS

• Vince Mitchell-Uber MS-FORD- After his win at Michigan, and the announcement of his move to Palmetto MS for the 2025 season, it seemed like Vince may start his rise to the top. Unfortunately, outside of a 6th place finish at Darlington, Vince hasn’t been able to sniff a top 10 finish. Thankfully for the 96 team they have reset in points back to 6th in the standings after almost seeing a first-round exit. Hopefully they can improve their form and hold on to continue through to the round of 8.
• Cody Leach-WRL-FORD- One good race last round was enough to save him from a could be first round exit. Cody is currently sitting +2 to the cut line and 1 top 10 finish in the last 4 races won’t cut it for the 15 team. The rollercoaster ride they have been on all season has gone from possible round of 4 contenders, to cut line riders. Leach and the 15 team will need to have a consistent and flawless round of 12 to advance or we may be saying bye to their championship hopes.

DRIVER NEWS

• Drivers who exited the first round of the plays: Zander Short, Tommy Carroll Jr, Garth Griswold, Allen Phillips.
• No penalties will be served at the beginning of the race tonight at Kansas.
• Kansas Motor Speedway was opened in 2001 during the Nascar Golden era.
• John Connor won the VRS Truck Series race on Monday night.
• Thomas Villano got the win in the Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series last night.
• Both Winners from the Truck and Xfinity races will be racing tonight in the TCSP cup series.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

5 drivers find themselves less the 10 points to good on the cut line. Carlile+7, Menke+4, Mitchell+3, Leach+2, Vasquez+0. The round of 12 is shaping up to be the best battle we could see all playoffs.

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Factory Motorsports
All drivers from the FMS shop are going into this round of 12 above the cut line. Thankfully for them this round starts off at a track where almost all of these drivers have had success at. Menke recorded a top 5 finish in the spring, and Ben ran hard for an amazing 11th place finish when he was still getting comfortable in the seat of the 3 car. Nic did score a 24th place finish in the spring but the historians of CJR will remind you that in past seasons he has won, and consistently shined at the mile and a half long track in Kansas. Currently Menke is +700, Vasquez is +1300, and Lawson is +2200. If you like money, sprinkling a few bucks on each of these guys to win is a no brainer. It FMS can get linked up late and this race stays as green as we believe it can, the force field should take them all the way to the front.