What channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Kansas on? Betting odds and how to watch

NASCAR is back to an intermediate track this weekend at Kansas Speedway for the (wait for it) Buschy McBusch Race 400. The Cup Series race name was determined by a fan vote.

The race in Kansas City, Kansas, is Sunday at 3 p.m. on FS1.

Last weekend’s Talladega race winner Brad Keselowski is starting on the pole along with William Byron in the front row. Keselowski and Byron are among the nine different winners in the first 10 races of the season. So far, Martin Truex Jr. is the only driver who has won more than once this season, and there are three drivers ranked in the top 10 in points without a win: Points leader Denny Hamlin, last year’s regular-season champion Kevin Harvick and defending Cup champion Chase Elliott.

“It’s really, really important to win,” Keselowski told The Observer earlier this week. “But it’s becoming more important to win multiple times just to make sure you’re all the way in (the playoffs).”

There have never been more winning drivers than allotted playoff spots since the 16-driver playoff format was implemented in 2014, but teams are eyeing the possibility this year. Keselowski is among the drivers with the best odds to win at Kansas, according to sports betting platform BetMGM. His odds are +850 and he said he has confidence starting on the pole at the 1.5-mile track where he’s won twice in his career and finished in the top five the past two races.

“The track is wider than Darlington is, but the preferred groove is right next to the wall,” Keselowski said. “You’re just really on the edge is probably the proper way to say it. Any small mistake and your day is done.”

Other drivers with the best BetMGM odds are Hamlin (+450), Kyle Larson (+650) and Martin Truex Jr. (+650). Joey Logano, Harvick and Elliott all have +900 odds. Hamlin won the first Kansas race last year and has three career wins at the track, two of which came in the last three races. Logano won the latest race there last fall.

Larson didn’t race at Kansas last season but has three top-five finishes in 12 starts. Truex Jr. has two wins and nine top fives in 25 starts, so this weekend could see a repeat winner. A first-time Cup winner has never won any of the 30 series races at Kansas.

The Buschy McBusch Race 400 is 267 laps (400.5 miles) with stages ending on Laps 80, 160 and 267.

NASCAR this weekend: How to watch the race at Kansas

• Race: Buschy McBusch Race 400
• When: Sunday, May 2 at 3 p.m. EST
• How to watch/listen: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 267 laps, 400.5 miles on the 1.5-mile tri-oval
• Stages: Laps 80, 160, 267
• Last year’s race winner: Denny Hamlin

NASCAR Cup at Kansas starting order

More NASCAR reading this week:

• NASCAR power rankings this week: The best drivers heading to Kansas
• ‘We can’t have cars flying,’ Keselowski says in wake of Talladega win, Logano crash
• NASCAR’s electric future and an inside look at its first carbon-neutral race team

This story was originally published May 2, 2021 at 7:00 AM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription