Hollywood Casino 400

RACE RECAP

Kyle Larson had spent almost the entire Hollywood Casino 400 in front, yet his most important move came while chasing. With seven laps remaining Sunday at Kansas Speedway, he drove underneath Chase Briscoe and reclaimed a lead that had briefly escaped him. Austin Cindric arrived too late to challenge, finishing 0.565 seconds behind. Larson's second win in three races turned a one-point championship advantage over Denny Hamlin into a 26-point cushion.

The No. 5 Chevrolet set the pace immediately. Starting second alongside polesitter Joey Logano after rain canceled Saturday's practice and qualifying, Larson took control of the opening lap and won both stages. Hamlin and Cindric supplied the most consistent early opposition. The second stage also brought trouble behind them: Noah Gragson's smoking car triggered a caution, and a subsequent restart crash involved Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace and several others. Wallace recovered to ninth; Hocevar, fourth in Stage 1, finished 33rd.

The final pit cycle created the race's decisive contest. Briscoe headed to pit road on Lap 216, and Larson's team reacted in time to bring him in on the same lap. Larson retained the advantage once the stops cycled through, but a brush with the wall and Briscoe's advancing Toyota changed the order. Briscoe took the lead on Lap 238 and held it for 23 laps. As the run continued, his car became increasingly loose, giving Larson an opening to close the gap and pass on Lap 261.

Cindric then took second as Briscoe lost more ground, with Hamlin third, Briscoe fourth and Ryan Blaney fifth. Larson finished with 235 of 267 laps led, both stage victories and the fastest lap. Those achievements produced the maximum 76 NASCAR championship points. Even after such a commanding afternoon, the final seven laps determined whether Larson would leave with a strong points haul or a victory that substantially widened his lead.

BY THE NUMBERS

Lead Changes

Leaders

5/26

Cautions / Laps

DNFs

.565

Margin of Victory

139.156

Avg MPH

2:52:41

Race Time

Stage Winners

S1Kyle Larson

S2Kyle Larson

Caution Breakdown

1L37–404LCompetitionLD #51

2L82–865LStage 1 ConclusionLD #47

3L115–1217L#4 Spin Turn 2LD #88

4L123–1275L#21, 23, 38, 43, 54, 77 Incident FrontstretchLD #88

5L167–1715LStage 2 ConclusionLD #77

KEY TAKEAWAYS

01Briscoe described a frustrating difference between following Larson and leading him. The disturbed air behind the Chevrolet helped tighten his Toyota's handling; once out front, the rear of the car became harder to control. His speed was sufficient to take the lead, but he could not maintain that advantage as the run developed. “It went really, really loose,” Briscoe said. Fourth was a recovery from 23rd on the grid, yet the missed victory left him eighth in the championship, 123 points behind Larson. With six races remaining, a good finish offered less relief than the closing laps had promised.

02Cindric stopped one lap after Larson and Briscoe and emerged from the cycle 4.6 seconds behind the leader. He acknowledged sliding through his pit box, adding to the time he needed to regain. His closing pace reduced that deficit to just over half a second at the finish, but the final charge never became a direct fight for first. The margin made execution on pit road especially costly: the No. 2 had the speed to threaten, but lacked the track position to use it soon enough.

03Hamlin finished second and third in the stages, then third in the race. That earned 51 NASCAR points, but Larson collected 25 more. Hamlin described a car that improved over a longer run while struggling to stay close to Larson and Cindric immediately after stops. “We have to win a few races between now and the end of the year,” he said. Kansas showed why: consistently good finishes cannot close the gap when the championship leader is taking nearly every available reward.

VALUE PICKS

6.5

pts/$

Austin Cindric$9

P2S1:P3S2:P2Led:1

6.39

pts/$

Kyle Larson$14

P1S1:P1S2:P1Led:235FL

5.60

pts/$

John H. Nemechek$5

P13

5.50

pts/$

Todd Gilliland$4

P19

4.09

pts/$

Denny Hamlin$14

P3S1:P2S2:P3Led:2

BUSTS

1.4

pts/$

Carson Hocevar$11

P33S1:P4

1.80

pts/$

Chris Buescher$10

P23

2.31

pts/$

Tyler Reddick$13

P11

2.33

pts/$

Ty Gibbs$12

P17S1:P9S2:P9

2.61

pts/$

Ross Chastain$10

P15Led:1

PERFECT LINEUP

Optimal 5-driver roster for this race

Salary

$50/50

Avg Finish

P5.8

Total Points

434.48

Group	Driver	Salary	Finish	Led	Bonus	Pts
A	Kyle Larson	$14	1	235	+20 S1:10 S2:10	179.00 2 × 89.50
B	Austin Cindric	$9	2	1	+17 S1:8 S2:9	101.68 1.75 × 58.10
C	Denny Hamlin	$14	3	2	+17 S1:9 S2:8	85.80 1.5 × 57.20
D	Ryan Preece	$8	10	0	0	40.00 1.25 × 32.00
E	John H. Nemechek	$5	13	0	0	28.00 1 × 28.00