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NASCAR 2021 ‘Buschy McBush Race 400’ at Kansas Speedway: Starting Order, Pole for Sunday’s Race

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:

  1. Driver’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent)
  2. Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent)
  3. Team owner points ranking (35 percent)
  4. 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.DriverCar No. Team
1Brad Keselowski2Team Penske
2William Byron24Hendrick Motorsports
3Michael McDowell34Front Row Motorsports
4Kevin Harvick4Stewart-Haas Racing
5Matt DiBenedetto21Wood Brothers Racing
6Austin Dillon3Richard Childress Racing
7Ryan Blaney12Team Penske
8Christopher Bell20Joe Gibbs Racing
9Kyle Busch18Joe Gibbs Racing
10Cole Custer41Stewart-Haas Racing
11Tyler Reddick8Richard Childress Racing
12Ryan Preece37JTG Daugherty Racing
13Bubba Wallace2323XI Racing
14Ryan Newman6Roush Fenway Racing
15Martin Truex Jr.19Joe Gibbs Racing
16Chris Buescher17Roush Fenway Racing
17Chase Elliott9Hendrick Motorsports
18Aric Almirola10Stewart-Haas Racing
19Chase Briscoe14Stewart-Haas Racing
20Denny Hamlin11Joe Gibbs Racin
21Daniel Suarez99Trackhouse Racing Team
22Anthony Alfredo38Front Row Motorsports
23Ricky Stenhouse Jr.47JTG Daugherty Racing
24Ross Chastain42Chip Ganassi Racing
25Alex Bowman48Hendrick Motorsports
26Corey LaJoie7Spire Motorsports
27Erik Jones43Richard Petty Motorsports
28Kurt Busch1Chip Ganassi Racing
29Joey Logano22Team Penske
30BJ McLeod78Live Fast Motorsports
31Justin Haley77Spire Motorsports
32Kyle Larson5Hendrick Motorsports
33Cody Ware51Petty Ware Racing
34Quin Houf00StarCom Racing
35Joey Gas15Rick Ware Racing
36Garrett Smithley53Rick Ware Racing
37Josh Bilicki52Rick Ware Racing
38Austin Cindric33Team Penske
39Matt Mills55BJ 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.

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