KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two of the most successful drivers at Kansas Speedway are sitting atop the Cup Series standings three races into the playoffs.
One of them is trying to win a second straight title and third overall.
The other is trying to change the narrative that he's the best driver never to have won a championship.
Kyle Larson assumed the lead by a single point over Denny Hamlin last week at Bristol, leaving the Hendrick Motorsports star with plenty of momentum as the Chase hits the first of three mile-and-a-half ovals. But Hamlin has four wins at Kansas, including a victory in the fall race last year, and the only time he hasn't been in the top 10 in the last 10 races there was a mechanical failure.
“I mean, this is important to us, for sure,” Hamlin said of the three-race stretch that continues with Las Vegas and Charlotte. “I think it's one where we need to get big point days, and win races. If we can do that, I'll feel pretty good about where we're at.”
Larson and Hamlin caught a break already this weekend when practice and qualifying was rained out Saturday.
That meant for the third time in the first four Chase races, the starting lineup was set based upon a weighted metric that combines the most recent race result with ownership points. So, both will start near the front Sunday — Larson alongside Bristol winner Joey Logano on the front row, Hamlin alongside Ty Gibbs on the fifth — without having to worry about qualifying.
And without practice, Larson and Hamlin have an advantage in that they can lean into their history of success at Kansas.
“Certainly, I feel as though I have such a good feel for this track,” Hamlin said. “I mean, biased me, I'm going to say it doesn't matter to me whether we have practice or not. We have enough notes to lean on those to be good.”
So does Larson, though. He has three wins at Kansas, all coming in his last 10 starts, and nobody has led more laps there.
He also happens to be arguably the hottest driver in the Chase, finishing in the top five in each of the first three races.
“We'll just keep plugging away,” said Larson, who snapped a 51-race winless streak a couple of weeks ago in St. Louis. "I've been really happy with the speed and especially the execution in these first three. I think they've gone pretty flawless for our team. Now we have some tracks that we probably are even more confident at than the first three, outside of Bristol.
“But yeah,” Larson said, “it's tough. It's a lot of racing. A lot of tough competitors. And just a tough, tough series.”
Logano and Larson will be on the front row Sunday, while Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar — fresh off a pit-lane fracas with Ryan Blaney — will be behind them. Logano is third in the standings, 16 points behind Larson, and Bell is another point back in fourth.
“Starting up front there, it's all about stage points,” Logano said. “Fifth place without stage points isn't that good of a day anymore, and starting up front is a big piece of getting the first stage. I think we're in a good place to do that.”
Gibbs is fifth in the standings but 42 points back, meaning he needs to start making up some ground in the playoffs.
The biggest loser in the rainout was Blaney, whose contact with Hocevar while running in the top 5 at Bristol sent him into the wall and to a 33rd-place finish. Because the most recent race is worth 70% of the formula for the metric used in a qualifying rainout, Blaney — who is 52 points behind Larson in sixth place — will have to start 25th on Sunday.
“At the end of the day, you don't want the current week to be affected by the previous results, but there's no good way to do it,” said Austin Cindric, who will start inside the sixth row. “Someone is going to be disappointed. It's a lose for everyone.”
Not surprisingly, Larson and Hamlin are co-favorites to win Sunday's race (+400), while Bell (+550) and Tyler Reddick (+600) are close behind. ... Larson won the fall race in 2021 on this way to the championship. Jimmie Johnson (2008) and Martin Truex Jr. (2017) also used Kansas wins to propel them to titles. ... Reddick won the spring race at Kansas when he passed Larson on the final lap. It was his fifth win over the first nine races of this season, but also his most recent win. ... Kansas is one of four tracks to host a Chase race every year since its inception in 2004. The others are Talladega, Martinsville and Phoenix.
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here
Joey Logano (22) celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Denny Hamlin (11) leads Alex Bowman (48) and others during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Kyle Larson (5) and Brad Keselowski (6) compete during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Madison, Ill. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Encouraging fans to get inside Neyland Stadium earlier than usual with President Donald Trump coming to Tennessee's college football game against Texas sure worked Saturday.
Security checks on the stadium's perimeter went relatively smoothly with Tennessee officials opening the stadium 30 minutes earlier than normal. Fans got half-price off concessions as a reward for showing up early, and Tennessee faithful had the stands half full 90 minutes before kickoff and nearly packed an hour before.
Those in their seats were treated to a low-altitude flyover by Air Force One as the president came into town with the Volunteers and Longhorns warming up on the field below. Trump landed at 11:28 a.m. ET ahead of the noon kickoff, according to the pool report.
Trump's motorcade arrived at Neyland Stadium just as the national anthem was being sung at 11:59 a.m.
The bigger disruptions from Trump's visit could go all the way to the game on the field, with headaches for coaches and players, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said this week.
The Southeastern Conference matchup between the No. 1 Longhorns and No. 14 Volunteers in Knoxville already was one of the biggest games in the country this weekend. Trump came to watch Texas quarterback Arch Manning play for the first time in the stadium where his uncle Peyton became famous.
And what Trump does, and where he goes and when, could prove important.
Teams must be ready to lose all communication on their headsets between coaches on the field and the players “anytime (Trump) enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium,” Sarkisian said.
“They cut the headsets to coaches. They cut headsets for coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you get no warning. It just gets cut out," Sarkisian said.
And “anytime” really means anytime.
“You have to have a plan to adjust if and when he comes in the middle of the first quarter, leaves in the fourth quarter, or decides he’s got to use the restroom," Sarkisian said.
Trump has attended more college football games than any recent sitting president, and he arrived in Knoxville in the midst of a midterm election season and a heated debate over the role of money in college sports that Congress is trying to resolve. He has attended national championship games and regular season contests in the SEC and Army vs. Navy.
He also attended Game 3 of the NBA finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in June, went to the 2025 Daytona 500 car race, and presented the World Cup trophy to Spain at the final in July. And last year, he was the first president to attend a Super Bowl. He left the Super Bowl after halftime.
Headset communications emerged as the latest subplot surrounding this presidential visit. Coaches communicate with each other on their headsets throughout the game and also call in plays to the quarterback. Disruptions to those communications, from a deafening crowd, technical glitch or presidential security measure, can present problems for coaches and teams.
Coaches involved in last season's College Football Playoff championship between Miami and Indiana in New Orleans cited that game as an example of how Trump's movements affected them.
Trump left in the fourth quarter of a tense Indiana 27-21 victory. Sarkisian said Miami coach Mario Cristobal told him Trump's leaving at that point disrupted communications on the Hurricanes' final possession, which ended with a game-clinching interception.
Indiana coach Curt Signetti disputed Sarkisian's version of events around the final drive. But Cignetti noted communications briefly cut off in a key moment of the fourth quarter as Indiana was trying to protect its lead.
In his weekly radio show on Thursday, Cignetti recalled that when Trump left the game “around the 7-minute mark ... there were two or three plays we couldn't hear at all.”
That included a misdirection touchdown run by Miami's Malachi Toney.
“Communication device came back right after the (Toney’s) touchdown,” Cignetti said. “And we had no problem the rest of the game.”
According to the media pool report of Trump's movements at the game, the president left the stadium with “with just under 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter.”
The White House on Friday insisted Trump’s departure caused no problems for the teams.
“No, President Trump’s departure from the CFP championship in January did not cause headset or comms issues for the teams,” the White House posted on X.
It's unclear if Trump's presence at other games like the Super Bowl have created issues. An NFL spokesman declined comment Friday when asked if league officials work with the Secret Service when a president attends a game like the Super Bowl to minimize any impact on team communications.
University of Tennessee officials sent a midweek advisory encouraging fans to arrive “significantly earlier” than for a typical game. Neyland Stadium has an official capacity of 101,915 with this game the 30th consecutive sellout.
Fans were warned of the Secret Service conducting enhanced screening at the stadium gates and to "expect increased wait times as kickoff approaches.”
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.
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Fans greet players during the Vol Walk before an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Texas, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is escorted into Neyland Stadium before an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Texas, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
President Donald Trump walks up the stairs of Air Force One upon his departure at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, en route to watch the Texas versus Tennessee NCAA college football game in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
Fans watch from the bridge during the Vol Walk before an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Texas, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Tennessee mascot waves the Power T flag during the Vol Walk before an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Texas, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
