Hollywood Casino 400 preview | Professional sports

From Larson to Parker Kligerman, there is a plethora of stories to watch throughout the 267 Miles. Here are some of the great Hollywood Casino 400 storylines.

Larson’s return for the 2021 season with Hendrick Motorsports has never been about talent. Larson was NASCAR’s hottest free agent for a reason.

The concern with Larson was character. The use of a racial epithet live on multiple Twitch streams on Easter Sunday in 2020 cannot be ignored, with the driver suspended indefinitely by NASCAR following the incident while also losing major sponsorships. Having no choice, Ganassi was forced to release Larson.

Larson turned to various forms of track racing across the country before Rick Hendrick made a bet and gave him a full-time ride in the renowned 5 car. Whether or not to forgive Larson is a matter of self-interpretation, but no one can deny Larson’s talent.

When Hendrick brought in Larson, he wanted a guy who could win. In thirty-three races, the bet seems to have been won. Larson has already won eight career-high races, including the race at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, which earned him his ticket to the Championship Four.

While a win will do nothing to help Larson in a winner like Phoenix, he has the opportunity to score in double digits in the wins column, a feat no driver has achieved since Jimmie Johnson in 2007.

While Crew 5 has already focused a lot of their attention on the cars driving around Phoenix, they won’t just give them a call for the weekend. With one of the fastest pit crews and a pole position on a track where overtaking is difficult, Larson should be considered the favorite.

If Larson is to claim nine wins in Kansas, he’ll have to run as cleanly as he has been doing all year. As Joey Logano found out in 2015, drivers don’t want targets on their backs before the races in Martinsville or the season finale in Phoenix, especially with the Bill France Cup on the line.

It’s not as common these days as it used to be for drivers to have mechanical issues in the middle of a race. Fans rarely see an engine blow up or a transmission time out, and it can turn a solid ride into a nightmare for the team leader and driver. This is what happened to Logano last Sunday in Texas.

The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion was already entering the round of eight as the No.7 seed, 11 points behind the cup line. However, with his first engine DNF since 2014, Logano came out of the Lone Star State 43 points behind the cut line. While he can close the gap in the remaining two races, Logano had better seek out the Hail Mary option and get his ticket to Phoenix with a win.

Kansas Speedway has been kind to Logano in the past, winning three fall races, including Hollywood Casino 400 last year.

If Logano is in a position to win with 10 laps to go, things could get interesting, especially given his aggressiveness.

Martin Truex Jr. could also be looking for the Hail Mary to get his ticket to the Championship Four. The 2017 Cup Series champion ran into major trouble at Texas Motor Speedway, grabbing the front bumper of Daniel Suarez, who threw Truex into the wall and threw his car.

Truex is currently 22 points off the fourth transfer spot, and while he’s not necessarily in winning territory just yet, he needs to close the gap by a substantial margin if he is to avoid the Ave. Maria in Martinsville.

Truex has had some success in Kansas since his days at Michael Waltrip Racing, with two wins since 2014, one of which propelled him to the Championship Four in 2017 when he won the series.

Position on the track is not something to be taken lightly, especially at Kansas Speedway.

Last year’s race favored a victory for Kevin Harvick, as he led 85 laps before a warning with 45 laps to go drove the leaders into the pits. The face of racing changed, with Logano winning the race out of the pits ahead of Harvick.

Although Harvick had the fastest car, Logano took advantage of a clear track and held Harvick aside for the victory lane. Much of that can be attributed to the 550bhp, high downforce set that kept the race close to the top 10, but not enough to overcome the power of clean air.

Passing will be a challenge for crews and pilots as they will have to sail with the same 550hp package as the 2020 race. The clean air will be a significant advantage for any rider who can get it, as the riders in the lead have the power to repel any attack a pilot may throw at them.

The formula for achieving success becomes even more complicated for team leaders, as they try to maximize the number of points they can get on stages without compromising their overall standings.

The battle cannot be won by the pilots but by the men behind the pit wall and the man above the box.

Aggression has been a hot topic in recent weeks, with older generations complaining about the level exhibited by young drivers.

The conversation about the limit of what a driver can and can’t get away with is always in the spotlight this time of year, as drivers begin to take greater risks, tensions rise and the effects of the 36 week marathon season are starting to take their toll. .

The 2021 playoffs have already seen a major feud between defending champion Chase Elliott and Harvick. The two went door-to-door in Bristol and things escalated further at Charlotte Roval, with Harvick destroying Elliott. He was ready to take revenge on Harvick after he came back up the field, only for Harvick to mirror himself in the wall at Turn 1.

The two faced off in Texas without incident after officials intervened earlier in the week. While the feud appears to be over, fans shouldn’t rule out the conflict entirely.

Fans also shouldn’t rule out the possibility of a bump and run for the win, with Kansas being the catalyst that sparked the biggest row in the playoff era between Logano and Matt Kenseth.

If the warning comes with less than 20 laps to go, expect the driver’s aggressiveness to skyrocket and the race car to register a substantial number of laps.

The eight playoffs aren’t the only drivers with something on the line, as a massive battle is taking place behind the field.

At the start of the season, Petty Ware Racing Team 51 finished in the last of the last three points for owners among teams with NASCAR Charters for the second year in a row.

Introduced in 2016, the charters are NASCAR’s seal of approval to 36 teams that they will have a place on the grid, provided they finish 33rd or higher among charter teams in owner points at least once every. every three years.

If the 51 finished in the bottom three for a third straight year, NASCAR would have the right to revoke Petty Wares’ charter.

The 51 car currently sits in 34th place, four points behind the room needed to retain its charter. Petty Ware would be the first Charter Age team to finish in the last three for three straight years, if they failed to overtake teammates in the 15. Rick Ware Racing’s 52 is also within striking distance, only 12 points ahead of the 51.

Considering that Rick Ware Racing and Petty Ware are from the same store, it will be interesting to see what Rick Ware does in the last three races to get the 51 above the bottom three in the owners rankings among charter teams.