Ahead of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, the organization released the driver’s starting positions for the Buschy McBusch Race 400. NASCAR determined the positions by applying the statistical formula that the organization has been using for most of its 2021 races.
NASCAR based its starting positions on four factors:
- Driver’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent)
- Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent)
- Team owner points ranking (35 percent)
- Fastest lap from the previous race (15 percent)
NASCAR is conducting qualifying and practice for just eight Cup Series races in the 2021 season. Six races in that group remain, starting with the May 23 event at Circuit of the Americas, a road course outside Austin, TX.
Below is the starting lineup, which was set without qualifying, for Sunday’s race on the 1.5-mile track at Kansas Speedway.
Starting Positions for Sunday’s Race
Start pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
1 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
2 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
3 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
4 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
5 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
6 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
7 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
8 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
9 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
10 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
11 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
12 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
13 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
14 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
15 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
16 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
17 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
18 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
19 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
20 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racin |
21 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
22 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
24 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
25 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
26 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
27 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
28 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
29 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
30 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
31 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
32 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
33 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
34 | Quin Houf | 00 | StarCom Racing |
35 | Joey Gas | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
36 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
37 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
38 | Austin Cindric | 33 | Team Penske |
39 | Matt Mills | 55 | BJ McLeod Motorsports |
NASCAR Betting Expert Weighs in
According to William Hill Sportsbook, Denny Hamlin is the 9-2 favorite in Sunday’s race. Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. are both 11-2, while Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski round out the top six at 8-1.
Micah Roberts, the premier NASCAR betting expert, has his top pick pegged for Brad Keselowski. He won last week’s GEICO 500 with 14-1 odds. Roberts also correctly predicted the winner in the season-opening Daytona 500 last year. Last spring, Roberts also nailed Hamlin’s victory in the Toyota 500, even though he wasn’t one of the top three favorites.
He also saw success the previous year, as his top four picks in each race during the 2019 NASCAR season gave him a return of $3,400 to those who bet $50 on each. For the race at Kansas, Roberts is low on Joey Logano, despite being among the top 2021 Buschy McBusch Race 400 contenders at 10-1. According to Roberts, Logano, who has clinched three Cup Series wins at Kansas, barely ranks in the top 20.
“The only problem with Logano is that he’s shown no signs of running well with this week’s race package,” Roberts told SportsLine. “It’s hard to count him out, but I will have a few drivers in his price range against him in matchups.
The race is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET.