NASCAR Hollywood Casino 400 preview in 3 minutes

Everything you need to know about Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, in three minutes:

Three things to watch

1. The four drivers outside the Chase’s top eight – Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth – need something good to happen. That would come in the form of a victory for any of them; but at least a good enough finish to move them either into or closer to the top eight.

2. How important is pit-stall selection for a race’s pole sitter? We’ll find out Sunday from Brad Keselowski, who lost the priviledge of having the first choice after accumulating his fourth written warning for rules infractions last week at Charlotte. Keselowski said he didn’t think not having the top choice - he picks 42nd – is that big of a deal.

3. Joey Logano, who has clinched a spot in the Chase’s round of eight, will play it safe and try to stay out of trouble. But he also said if there’s a chance he can win, he’ll grab it.

Observations

▪  Kevin Harvick has blended into the background a bit after his dramatic victory at Dover two weeks ago, then following that with a runner-up finish at Charlotte. He’s got as good a chance as anybody of winning Sunday and clinching a spot in the round of eight.

▪  After two consecutive weekends of rain – at Dover and Charlotte – the dry and cool weather at Kansas has been a welcome change. Chance of precipitation for Sunday is zero.

▪  Clint Bowyer, who is from Emporia, Kan., is a huge Kansas City Royals fans and got tickets to the first game of the ALCS on Friday from Royals manager Ned Yost. Bowyer, who has been walking around the Kansas garage area wearing a Royals hat, said Yost asks him for advice for his NASCAR fantasy team.

Best bets

Three picks for your fantasy team:

Matt Kenseth: Look for Kenseth to rebound strongly from a bad day at Charlotte last week. Two career victories and 11 top-10s at Kansas suggest he will.

Carl Edwards: Winning at what he considers his home track would mean everything to Edwards, a native of nearby Columbia, Mo.

Brad Keselowski: Pole winner was also fast during Saturday’s practice. Only negative for him might be not getting to choose his own pit stall (the penalty for accumulating four written infractions).

He said it

“There is just a lot to like here. It was that way the first time I came here. (Friday), the first laps on the track, I’m like ‘yes’ good to be back here.’ ” – Jeff Gordon, who won the first two races at Kansas Speedway and is retiring after this season.

N@SCAR

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 5:31 PM with the headline "NASCAR Hollywood Casino 400 preview in 3 minutes."