Entry List

Hollywood Casino 400

Sunday, October 24th, 2021

Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS

  • 16 Ford
  • 6 Toyota
  • 18 Chevrolet

  • Kansas Speedway
  • Hollywood Casino 400
  • Pole Winner: Kyle Larson
  • Age: 29
  • Team: No. 5 - HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
  • Owner: Hendrick Motorsports
  • Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • Kyle Larson won the Pole Award for the Hollywood Casino 400 by having the highest total PMQ.
  • PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
  • 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
  • 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
  • 25% of the owner's final race position.
  • 35% of the Owner Points position.

  • Sunday, October 24th, 2021
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain
Larson continues NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs domination with third straight win at Kansas

Kyle Larson did the heavy-lifting on Sunday, leading nine different times for a race-high 130 laps, ultimately crossing the finish line a hefty 3.619-seconds ahead of the field to earn a NASCAR Cup Series-best ninth win of the season (15th of his career) in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

It is the third consecutive race win for the 29-year old Californian and the second time this season he's won three in a row. The last time a driver won three straight races twice in a season was 1987 when the late, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt accomplished the feat.

As important as the milestone and positive Playoff outcome to Larson's Hendrick Motorsports team, however, Sunday's victory also comes 17 years to the day that the storied organization lost 10 people – including Rick Hendrick's son Ricky and brother John – in a plane crash near Martinsville, Virginia.

In Victory Lane, Larson's No. 5 Chevy team turned their hats backward in tribute to Ricky's favorite style and pointed upward in tribute to the organization's beloved lost members.

"I want to dedicate this win to Rick and Linda (Hendrick)," Larson said. "I didn't ever get to meet Ricky or the other men and women who lost their lives that day, but I felt the importance of this race, no doubt.

"It's crazy how it kind of all worked out there for me to win. I know they were all looking down and helping out there with all the re-starts and stuff after getting into the wall. Again, thank you to Rick Hendrick. I know this means a lot to you and I'm glad I could get it done.‘'

There was a lot to be proud of. Larson has four race victories and a runner-up finish in seven Playoff races this season as the series holds its penultimate Playoff race next week at Martinsville Speedway. The outcome will determine which four of the current eight Playoff-eligible drivers will advance to the Nov. 7 season finale able to contend for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Larson's Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott was runner-up Sunday, nursing a car with some damage after he hit the wall pushing for a win in the final laps. Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, who are not Playoff-eligible and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, a Playoff driver, rounded out the Top five.

"Once I hit the wall, I really didn't have a choice, I hurt it pretty bad, but I'm really proud of the effort," Elliott said. "Our NAPA team did a great job today and I felt like we had something for Kyle [Larson] there, just got the wall off of Turn 2. Just so hard to get up to him. Every few feet you get closer, the harder it gets."

William Byron, who won his fourth Stage of the year, and Playoff driver Martin Truex Jr. were sixth and seventh, followed by Christopher Bell, Playoff contender Joey Logano and Austin Dillon.

At least six of the eight Playoff drivers – including Larson – endured some competitive drama during the competitive afternoon that saw 23 lead changes.

Notable, was the early exit for Team Penske's Ryan Blaney. He entered Kansas ranked second in the standings. But his No. 12 Ford was hit by Dillon and sent into the wall as the two ran among the frontrunners with only 44 laps remaining. Blaney's car was unable to continue and he ended up 37th on the afternoon, dropping from second to fifth in the Playoff standings, one point behind Kyle Busch, who finished 28th.

"We got run into from two lanes below me," a clearly frustrated Blaney said. "I have no idea (why). Obviously it hurts. Finishing 37th is not prime. We didn't have a great day but we had did a good job of fighting back and getting back into the Top 10 but then just got wiped out when we had plenty of room.

"That sucks. It was very unfortunate."

Strong winds and season-pressures made for action-packed runs all afternoon. Some cars scraped the wall and could continue like Larson and Elliott, but others, such as Playoff drivers Busch, Brad Keselowski, who finished 17th, and Truex had to pit for repairs and rally back into contention or points-saving modes.

Heading into Martinsville, Larson has the only automatic entry into the Championship 4 with his wins last week at Texas and this week at Kansas. Elliott is now second in the standings with a two-point edge over Hamlin.

Fourth place, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Busch, has that one-point advantage over Blaney and a three-point edge on his JGR teammate Truex. Penske Racing's Keselowski is six points behind Busch and his Penske teammate Logano goes into Martinsville 26 points below the cutoff line.

The series moves to the Martinsville Speedway next weekend for Sunday's Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The top-four ranked drivers then move on to the Nov. 7 NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway to decide who will hoist the hardware.

  • Drivers Entered: 40
  • Laps Scheduled: 267
  • Margin of Victory: 03.619 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 3 Hours 3 Minutes 49 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 130.728
  • Cautions: 7 for 33 laps
  • Lead Changes: 23
  • Green Flag Passes: 2,401 (10.3 passes per green flag lap)

  • Kansas Speedway
  • 21st Annual Hollywood Casino 400
  • Race Winner: Kyle Larson
  • Age: 29
  • Team : No. 5 - HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
  • Owner: Rick Hendrick
  • Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
  • Kyle Larson won the 21st Annual Hollywood Casino 400, his 15th victory in 258 Cup Series races.
  • This is his ninth victory and 25th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • This is his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 15 races at Kansas Speedway.
  • Chase Elliott (second) posted his eighth top-10 finish in 13 races at Kansas Speedway. It is his 20th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • Kevin Harvick (third) posted his 19th top-10 finish in 33 races at Kansas Speedway.
  • Chase Briscoe (19th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • Kyle Larson leads the point standings by 74 points over Chase Elliott.
Kyle Busch celebrates after winning
Kansas City, Kansas - May 2, 2021 : Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Mix Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 02, 2021 in Kansas City, Kansas.
James GilbertGetty Images
Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Entry List
ENTRY # DRIVER HOMETOWN DOB AGE MAKE SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 10 Aric Almirola Tampa, FL Mar 14, 1984 40 Ford Farmland / Hy-Vee Stewart-Haas Racing Mike Bugarewicz
2 2 Brad Keselowski Auburn Hills, MI Feb 12, 1984 40 Ford Discount Tire Team Penske Jeremy Bullins
3 11 Denny Hamlin Chesterfield, VA Nov 18, 1980 43 Toyota FedEx Freight Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gabehart
4 22 Joey Logano Middleton, CT May 24, 1990 34 Ford Shell Pennzoil Team Penske Paul Wolfe
5 4 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA Dec 8, 1975 48 Ford Subway Delivery Stewart-Haas Racing Rodney Childers
6 1 Kurt Busch Las Vegas, NV Aug 4, 1978 46 Chevrolet AdventHealth Chip Ganassi Racing Matt McCall
7 18 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV May 2, 1985 39 Toyota M&M's Halloween Joe Gibbs Racing Ben Beshore
8 19 Martin Truex Jr Mayetta, NJ Jun 29, 1980 44 Toyota Bass Pro Shops Joe Gibbs Racing James Small
9 34 Michael McDowell Phoenix, AZ Dec 21, 1984 39 Ford Love's Travel Stops Front Row Motorsports Drew Blickensderfer
10 6 Ryan Newman South Bend, IN Dec 8, 1977 46 Ford Violet Defense RFK Racing Luke Lambert
11 3 Austin Dillon Lewisville, NC Apr 27, 1990 34 Chevrolet Get Bioethanol Richard Childress Racing Justin Alexander
12 13 David Starr Houston, TX Nov 11, 1967 56 Ford Brown & Brown Dealer Services Motorsports Business Management Michael Contarino
13 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Olive Branch, MS Oct 2, 1987 37 Chevrolet Bush's Beans JTG Daugherty Racing Brian Pattie
14 5 Kyle Larson Sacremento, CA Jul 31, 1992 32 Chevrolet HendrickCars.com Hendrick Motorsports Cliff Daniels
15 96 Parker Kligerman Westport, CT Aug 8, 1990 34 Toyota Fast Checkout Gaunt Brothers Racing Jacob Canter
16 48 Alex Bowman Tuscon, AZ Apr 25, 1993 31 Chevrolet Ally Hendrick Motorsports Greg Ives
17 12 Ryan Blaney High Point, NC Dec 31, 1993 30 Ford Menards / Cardell Cabinetry Team Penske Todd Gordon
18 7 Corey Lajoie Kannapolis, NC Sep 25, 1991 33 Chevrolet Circle B Diecast Spire Motorsports Ryan Sparks
19 53 Joey Gase Cedar Rapids, IA Feb 8, 1993 31 Chevrolet Donor Network Rick Ware Racing Billy Plourde
20 9 Chase Elliott Dawsonville, GA Nov 28, 1995 28 Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts Hendrick Motorsports Alan Gustafson
21 21 Matt DiBenedetto Grass Valley, CA Jul 27, 1991 33 Ford Menards / Monster Wood Brothers Racing Jonathan Hassler
22 17 Chris Buescher Prosper, TX Oct 29, 1992 31 Ford Fastenal RFK Racing Scott Graves
23 43 Erik Jones Byron, MI May 30, 1996 28 Chevrolet Petty's Garage Richard Petty Motorsports Jerry Baxter
24 78 BJ McLeod Wauchula, FL Nov 17, 1983 40 Ford NASCAR Ignition Live Fast Motorsports Frank Kerr
25 37 Ryan Preece Berlin, CT Oct 25, 1990 33 Chevrolet Louisana Hot Sauce JTG Daugherty Racing Trent Owens
26 15 Ryan Ellis Torrence, CA Nov 29, 1989 34 Chevrolet Arrowhead Brass Rick Ware Racing Ken Evans
27 99 Daniel Suarez Monterrey, Mexico Jan 7, 1992 32 Chevrolet Good Sam Trackhouse Racing Travis Mack
28 51 Cody Ware Greensboro, NC Nov 7, 1995 28 Chevrolet Nurtec ODT Petty Ware Racing Mike Hillman Sr
29 42 Ross Chastain Alva, FL Dec 4, 1992 31 Chevrolet Clover Chip Ganassi Racing Phil Surgen
30 23 Bubba Wallace Mobile, AL Oct 8, 1993 31 Toyota Door Dash 23XI Racing Bootie Barker
31 24 William Byron Charlotte, NC Nov 29, 1997 26 Chevrolet RaptorTough.com Hendrick Motorsports Rudy Fugle
32 41 Cole Custer Ladera Ranch, CA Jan 23, 1998 26 Ford Feeding America / Wow Wow Stewart-Haas Racing Mike Shiplett
33 66 Chad Finchum Knoxville, TN Sep 22, 1994 30 Ford Smithbilt Homes Motorsports Business Management Johnny Roten
34 52 Josh Bilicki Menomonee Falls, WI Jun 3, 1995 29 Ford Tailgreeter Rick Ware Racing Jason Houghtaling
35 8 Tyler Reddick Corning, CA Jan 11, 1996 28 Chevrolet Cat Dealer Tech Richard Childress Racing Randall Burnett
36 00 Quin Houff Weyers Cave, VA Sep 15, 1997 27 Chevrolet Creek / Chariton StarCom Racing George Church
37 77 Justin Haley Winamac, IN Apr 28, 1999 25 Chevrolet Circle B Diecast Spire Motorsports Kevin Bellicourt
38 20 Christopher Bell Norman, OK Dec 16, 1994 29 Toyota Craftsman Joe Gibbs Racing Adam Stevens
39 14 Chase Briscoe Mitchell, IN Dec 15, 1994 29 Ford Dekalb Stewart-Haas Racing Johnny Klausmeier
40 38 Anthony Alfredo Ridgefield, CT Mar 1, 1999 25 Ford Speedy Cash Front Row Motorsports Seth Barbour