For the 26-races in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Kyle Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports team just couldn’t find their way to victory lane, entering the Chase with a 50-race losing streak.
However, suddenly everything changed when the Chase began at Darlington, and now after four races into the 10-event playoff, Larson is two-for-four, picking up his second victory this season in Kansas Speedway’s Hollywood Casino 400. He hasn’t finished outside the top five since the Chase began, and after four races his average finish now sits at 2.5.
“I don’t think as a team we’ve peaked yet,” crew chief Cliff Daniels said. “There’s still a lot of racing left and a lot of work to do. Am I encouraged about where we sit? Of course, but I would be naïve to think that this is just going to carry all the way for the rest of the year unless we stay disciplined.”
With the return to the 1.5-mile tracks, where Toyota dominated earlier in the year, it was expected that would be the case at Kansas. However, it wasn’t as Larson won both Stages and led 235 of the 267 laps. It was a performance that allowed him to stretch his point lead over second place Denny Hamlin to 26 points and to 50 points over Christopher Bell in third.
Sean Gardner//Getty Images
Crew Chief Cliff Daniels (left) and Kyle Larson.
“Cliff Daniels told me a few weeks ago our championship, honestly, comes down to Kansas, Las Vegas, and Charlotte,” Larson said after taking a 0.565-second victory over Austin Cindric.
With 30 laps remaining, it appeared Larson’s dominating day might turn into a winless effort when Chase Briscoe charged into the lead. At one point during the next 23 laps, Briscoe stretched his advantage, but then Larson reeled him back in. With seven laps remaining, he dove under Briscoe’s Toyota and regained the lead.
“I really thought when Chase got by, he was just going to stretch out, but I got some lines going where I could settle in and try to take care of my tires,” Larson said. “I think it’s just easier to be the hunter rather than the hunted.
“With me out front, I’m just defending and trying to guess on what lines are fast. When he got in front of me, I could see he started getting really loose.”
Briscoe said it was his loose race car that forced him to settle for a fourth-place finish.
“I got in the wall so many times that I had a little bit of a leak,” Briscoe said. “It was better for me to be in second. Just being behind him, especially with how much he (was) aero blocking, it would just tighten me up and allow me to actually be a little bit better. Then as soon as I would get the lead, I would just go really, really free again.”
Still, Briscoe knew if he wanted to stay in championship contention, a Kansas win was essential.
“I think I was 87 out going into it, and I felt like I had to at least knock off 10 from the cut line,” Briscoe said. “I didn’t get points the first Stage, which I knew that was going to be hard. Ultimately, I had to win to be able to even stay somewhat around 80 or 90 back. It’s still possible, but you’re going to have to win five or so of the next six races. A little Tony Stewart 2011 run or something.”
Briscoe is now eighth in the standings, 123 points behind Larson.
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400 — RACE RESULTS
Kansas Speedway — Kansas City, Kansas, September 27, 2026
Pos/Driver/Team/Laps(Status)/Pts
1. Kyle Larson (C), HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 76
2. Austin Cindric (C), Discount Tire Ford, Running (267 laps), 52
3. Denny Hamlin (C), Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, Running (267 laps), 51
4. Chase Briscoe (C), Bass Pro Shops Toyota, Running (267 laps), 40
5. Ryan Blaney (C), Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford, Running (267 laps), 37
6. Christopher Bell (C), Rheem Toyota, Running (267 laps), 43
7. William Byron (C), Raptor Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 39
8. Chase Elliott (C), Kelley Blue Book 10th Anniversary Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 32
9. Bubba Wallace (C), Xfinity Toyota, Running (267 laps), 28
10. Ryan Preece (C), Dillon’s/Celsius Ford, Running (267 laps), 27
11. Tyler Reddick (C), ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota, Running (267 laps), 26
12. Brad Keselowski, Solomon Plumbing Ford, Running (267 laps), 26
13. John Hunter Nemechek, Dollar Tree Toyota, Running (267 laps), 24
14. Daniel Suarez (C), WIMNA Nation Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 23
15. Ross Chastain, Kubota Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 22
16. Erik Jones, AdventHealth Toyota, Running (267 laps), 21
17. Ty Gibbs (C), Saia Freight + Logistics Toyota, Running (267 laps), 24
18. Alex Bowman, Ally Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 19
19. Todd Gilliland, Federal Solutions Company Ford, Running (267 laps), 18
20. Joey Logano (C), Shell Pennzoil Ford, Running (267 laps), 25
21. Austin Dillon, Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Magnum Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 16
22. AJ Allmendinger, Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 15
23. Chris Buescher (C), Castrol/Heathwood Ford, Running (266 laps), 14
24. Shane Van Gisbergen, Mitti Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 13
25. Riley Herbst, Monster Energy Toyota, Running (266 laps), 12
26. Austin Hill (i), Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 0
27. Michael McDowell, Delaware Life Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 10
28. Ty Dillon, Sea Best Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 9
29. Connor Zilisch, Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 8
30. Cole Custer, Haas/Andy’s Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 7
31. Zane Smith, Speedy Cash Ford, Running (266 laps), 6
32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Brazier Lumber Company Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 5
33. Carson Hocevar (C), Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, Running (264 laps), 11
34. Cody Ware, Rocket Doctor Chevrolet, Running (262 laps), 3
35. Josh Berry, Menards/Dutch Boy Ford, Running (257 laps), 2
36. Noah Gragson, Long John Silver’s Ford, Engine (112 laps), 1
Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson (No. 5 Chevrolet) — Lap 2, 30.076 seconds.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 52 minutes, 41 seconds
Average Speed: 139.156 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.565 seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney.
Stage 2 Top 10: Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski.
Race Winner: Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Larson won the Hollywood Casino 400 for his 34th NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second win and 17th top-10 finish of 2026. It was his fourth victory and 15th top-10 finish in 24 races at Kansas Speedway.
Race Notes: Austin Cindric finished second for his first top-10 finish in 11 races at Kansas Speedway and his eighth top-10 finish of 2026. Denny Hamlin finished third for his 19th top-10 finish in 37 races at Kansas. Connor Zilisch was the highest-finishing rookie in 29th. Kyle Larson leads the point standings by 26 points over Denny Hamlin.
Caution Flags: 5 cautions for 26 laps.
Lead Changes: 13 among 7 drivers.
Next Race: October 4, 2026 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER STANDINGS
After the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway
Pos/Driver/Pts
1. Kyle Larson (C), 2282
2. Denny Hamlin (C), 2256
3. Christopher Bell (C), 2232
4. Joey Logano (C), 2215
5. Ryan Blaney (C), 2191
6. Ty Gibbs (C), 2188
7. Tyler Reddick (C), 2171
8. Chase Briscoe (C), 2159
9. Austin Cindric (C), 2142
10. Bubba Wallace (C), 2142
11. Carson Hocevar (C), 2132
12. William Byron (C), 2124
13. Chase Elliott (C), 2121
14. Ryan Preece (C), 2109
15. Chris Buescher (C), 2096
16. Daniel Suarez (C), 2095
17. Shane Van Gisbergen, 660
18. Brad Keselowski, 641
19. Ross Chastain, 614
20. Michael McDowell, 580
21. Erik Jones, 570
22. Todd Gilliland, 538
23. AJ Allmendinger, 529
24. Austin Dillon, 510
25. Josh Berry, 503
26. John Hunter Nemechek, 489
27. Zane Smith, 483
28. Alex Bowman, 475
29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 455
30. Riley Herbst, 427
31. Noah Gragson, 377
32. Cole Custer, 377
33. Ty Dillon, 333
34. Connor Zilisch, 325
35. Cody Ware, 226
36. Casey Mears, 13
37. Kevin Magnussen, 11
38. Jimmie Johnson, 9
39. Katherine Legge, 8
40. BJ McLeod, 4
41. Corey Heim (i), 0
42. Harrison Burton (i), 0
43. Austin Hill (i), 0
44. JJ Yeley (i), 0
45. Justin Allgaier (i), 0
46. Daniel Dye (i), 0
47. Jesse Love (i), 0
48. Chad Finchum (i), 0
49. Joey Gase (i), 0
50. Anthony Alfredo (i), 0
51. Josh Bilicki (i), 0
52. Timmy Hill (i), 0
53. Gray Gaulding (i), 0
54. Corey LaJoie (i), 0
55. Chandler Smith (i), 0
Points Leader: Kyle Larson leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 2,282 points, 26 points ahead of Denny Hamlin.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.