How to watch Sunday's Cup race at Kansas: Start time, TV info and weather

For the 22nd consecutive season, Kansas Speedway will play host to a NASCAR Cup Series playoff race, and the stakes are high as usual at the 1.5-mile oval.

With the chaos of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval looming next week, Kansas will be pivotal for drivers trying to avoid a must-win scenario for the second-round cutoff race.

Ryan Blaney clinched a Round of 8 berth with his victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, leaving seven spots for 11 drivers. Entering Kansas, William Byron (plus-47), Kyle Larson (plus-41), Christopher Bell (plus-29), Denny Hamlin (plus-27), Joey Logano (plus-24), Chase Elliott (plus-14) and Chase Briscoe (plus-12) are above the cutline.

Below the cutline are Ross Chastain (minus-12), Austin Cindric (minus-19), Tyler Reddick (minus-23) and Bubba Wallace (minus-27). Chastain, Reddick and Wallace are all former winners at Kansas.

Drivers who leave Kansas at least 30 points above the cutline should feel relief at the Roval. No driver at least 30 points above the cutline has been eliminated from the Round of 12.

Logano overcame a 13-point deficit (with the help of Alex Bowman's Roval disqualification) to advance from the Round of 12 last year and win his third championship. Reddick has been below the cutline during the Round of 12 for the past two seasons and still advanced.

Kansas will mark the first 1.5-mile race since Chastain won the Coca-Cola 600 in May, and it's the first of two 1.5-mile tracks in the playoffs.

Though the final pass for the win at Kansas has been in the final two laps for three of the past five races (including Larson's record-setting 0.001-second victory over Chris Buescher last year), the last Kansas race was a runaway as Larson led 221 laps from the pole in May.

In 39 races, there has yet to be a first-time Cup winner at Kansas, which is the most among current tracks.

Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup drivers ahead of Kansas playoff race

Kyle Larson will look to win his second consecutive race at Kansas this weekend after his dominant performance there in May.

• Dustin Long,

Details for Sunday’s Cup race at Kansas

(All times Eastern)

START: The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:05 p.m.

PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at noon. ... The drivers meeting will be at 1:50 p.m. ... Driver introductions will be at 2:15 p.m. ... The national anthem will be performed at 2:47 p.m. ... The command to start engines is scheduled to be given at 2:54 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 267 laps (400 miles) on the 1.5-mile oval in Kansas City, Kansas.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 80. Stage 2 ends at Lap 165.

PURSE: $9,797,935

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 37 cars entered at Kansas Speedway.

TV/RADIO: USA will broadcast the race starting with Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ... Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.

FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Sunny with a high of 88 degrees, light and variable winds and a 6% chance of rain. It's expected to be 86 degrees with no chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.

LAST TIME: Kyle Larson led 221 laps to win from the pole position non May 10, setting a record for most laps led in a 400-mile race on a 1.5-mile track.

LAST YEAR: Ross Chastain seized the lead on a late restart from Martin Truex Jr. and hung on to win Sept. 28, 2024, his first victory of the 2024 season.