Kyle Larson fastest in final Xfinity practice at Kansas

Kyle Larson led a Chip Ganassi Racing sweep of the top spots in the final Xfinity Series practice at Kansas Speedway.

Larson was fastest at 180.844 mph while teammate Brennan Poole followed at 180.288 mph.

Filling out the top five were Kyle Busch, Brennan Poole and Blake Koch, who was fastest in the first practice session.

Poole recorded the most laps (59) in the session.

Larson had the best 10-lap average at 176.888 mph.

Click here to see full practice report.

Martin Truex Jr. supports decision to skip Miami test: ‘It gives a false sense of security’

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Absence makes the car go faster?

That’s the approach Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn are embracing in electing to skip the critical test Oct. 18-19 at Homestead Miami Speedway, site of the Nov. 20 season finale that will determine the Sprint Cup championship.

Truex, who won two of the first three races in the 2016 playoffs and is among the championship favorites, said the team vacillated on the decision for weeks before Pearn decided last week against making the 2,000-mile track to South Florida from Denver, where the Furniture Row Racing  is based.

“Cole feels good about that, so I’m with him,” Truex said Friday before practice at Kansas Speedway. “I think he’s making the right decision. We went to Homestead and tested the last two years and went back for the race and we were awful. It gives you a false sense of security when you go to a test like that a month ahead of the race. You feel like you’re good, you go back to the race track, and (the weather is) completely different and then you don’t know what to do. You don’t know what direction to head.”

Truex finished 12^th at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2015, last among the four championship contenders. He finished 17^th there two years ago – after finishing third, sixth and fourth in the previous three years with Michael Waltrip Racing.

“Homestead is a long way from Denver, so we’re just trying to make sure we’re focused on the right things,” he said. “We feel like testing honestly has not really done anything to help us along. We feel like our time is better spent at the shop getting prepared.”

The No. 78 Toyota also won the Chase for the Sprint Cup opener at Chicagoland Speedway without having tested.

“Some of our worst races this year have been after tests believe it or not, so it’s an interesting thing,” he said. “I think we’re making the right decision, but we won’t know that until Homestead.”

Truex’s team will be able to feed setup data into its simulations to prepare for the season finale, gleaning the information from Joe Gibbs Racing’s Carl Edwardsthrough Toyota Racing Development.

Edwards said he could understand why a team might skip the session.

“There’s an opportunity to test for the ultimate race – the race that finishes the year, but it’s also an interruption in your Chase, and it can take away as well,” he said. “We feel like testing at Homestead is going to benefit us. I love Homestead, I like going down to South Florida, so for me I think it’s good and our team is prepared to deal with it. There are two sides to it.”

Today’s Xfinity race at Kansas: Start time, weather, TV radio info

The Xfinity Series will begin the second round of its inaugural Chase today at Kansas Speedway with the Kansas Lottery 300, which can be seen on NBCSN.

Here’s everything you need to know about the race.

(All times are ET)

START: Nico Hernandez, a 2016 USA Olympic bronze medalist will give the command to start engines at 2:57 p.m. The green flag is scheduled for 3:06 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 200 laps (300 miles) around the 1.5-mile track.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Xfinity garage opens at 8:30 a.m. The driver/crew chief meeting is at 1:15 p.m. Driver introductions are at 2:30 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Samantha Dawn, from Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, will perform the National Anthem at 2:51 p.m.

TV/RADIO: NBCSN will broadcast the race with its coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. with Countdown to Green, followed by race coverage at 3 p.m. Motor Racing Network’s radio broadcast will begin at 2:30 p.m. and also can be heard at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have MRN’s broadcast.

FORECAST: wunderground.com predicts a temperature of 78 degrees at race time with a 3 percent chance of rain at the start of the race.

LAST TIME: Kyle Busch has won the last two Xfinity Series races at Kansas, leading a combined 90 laps in 2014 and 2015.

STARTING LINEUP: Qualifying is scheduled for noon.

Kenseth wins first pole of year for Hollywood Casino 400

Matt Kenseth will start from the pole for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Kenseth qualified first for the first time this season with a lap at 192.089 mph for the 18th pole of his career.

“It’s nice to get a pole, I feel like our qualifying hasn’t been nearly as good this year, as consistent as it has been in the years since I’ve been at JGR,” Kenseth told NBCSN. “We barely got it … obviously our Camry’s have been fast, our DeWalt Flexvolt Camry’s being driving good. Jason Ratcliff made all the right adjustments. Round One we were pretty decent, Round Two it was off a little bit off, and Round Three it was just right.”

Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated Toyotas captured the top four starting spots with Kenseth followed by Kyle Busch (192.084), Carl Edwards (191.015) and Martin Truex Jr. (190.786). Alex Bowman (190.315) will start fifth in the No. 88 Chevrolet.

Kenseth’s pole is the 10th of the year for JGR. All four of its drivers have won a pole. Kenseth had four in 2015.

The only three Chase drivers who didn’t reach the third round were Chase Elliott(13th), Kurt Busch (15th) and Jimmie Johnson (21st).

“From round one to round two the car was much tighter,” Johnson told NBCSN. “We attempted to free it up, and I’m not sure if some of those adjustments might have changed the ride height of the car, affected the splitter’s orientation to the ground. A ton tighter than what we had in the opening round.”

This will be Johnson’s fifth start of 20th or worse this season. Johnson, who won last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway to secure a spot in the Round of 8, never has made the final round of group qualifying at Kansas.

“I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Johnson said. “I’m not accustomed to qualifying well all the time. I’m used to racing through traffic.”

The first round briefly was red-flagged after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with the wall exiting Turn 4. Stenhouse advanced to the second round and qualified 18th.

Click here to see full qualifying results.

NASCAR Sprint Cup starting lineup for Kansas Speedway

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Toyotas swept the top four starting spots for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400.

Matt Kenseth led the way with his first pole position of the season, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Buschand Carl Edwards. Martin Truex Jr., whose Furniture Row team receives chassis from JGR, will start fourth.

Here’s where other Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders will start at Kansas: Joey Logano (sixth), Denny Hamlin (seventh),Brad Keselowski (eighth), Kevin Harvick(11th), Austin Dillon (12th), Chase Elliott(13th), Kurt Busch (15th) and Jimmie Johnson (21st).

Click here for the starting lineup at Kansas

XFINITY CONTENDERS TO APPLY ROUND OF 12 LESSONS AT KANSAS

RELATED: Chase Grid

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The first round of the first Chase for NASCAR's XFINITY Series trimmed the field of championship hopefuls from 12 to eight.

The three-race subset also served as a learning tool for those who advanced to the second round, which begins Saturday with the Kansas Lottery 300 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) here atKansas Speedway.

"I learned that in the first race of the first round the intensity level was very high,"Daniel Suarez (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota) said Friday. "It was definitely more high than what I was expecting."

Elliott Sadler (JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet) won the Chase opener held atKentucky Speedway. Suarez was a close second, won the following week at Dover and finished third last weekend at Charlotte, unofficially taking the mantle of Chase favorite with four races remaining.

"I thought everyone was going to go out there to try to be consistent and to try to make it for the next round and that wasn't the case," Suarez said. "Everyone was going for the win and everything got a little crazy in the first race in Kentucky.

"But, honestly I'm very proud of everyone …. We had three races with three top-three finishes which I think is something really good for the first round. We have to do exactly the same thing for the second round and after that try to put ourselves in a good position for Homestead and pull everything we have for that last race and the most important race of the year."

Sprint Cup Series regular Joey Loganowon the Charlotte event, the only race not won by an XFINITY Series regular in the Round of 12. 

Suarez, 24, said he expects the level of intensity seen in that opening race to return here this weekend as drivers and teams try to knock out an early win and qualify for the Round of 8.

"For some reason everyone – I thought everyone was going to be more relaxed in the first race but for some reason everyone was very, like I said, the intensity level was very high," he said. "And, then for the second race it was lower and everyone was more relaxed because everyone was a little bit too crazy in the first one. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same in this second round.

"I don't think that I was myself, I don't think I got super crazy in Kentucky and we ended up with a pretty good result. Actually I felt like we should've won that race, we just came up one lap short.

"I felt like everything that we learned the whole year we are trying to put that in the most important part of the year in the Chase in the first round and second round in order to get to the last race at Homestead and so far it's been working out. So, hopefully we can keep it up and move forward."

Justin Allgaier (JRM), Erik Jones (JGR),Brendan Gaughan (Richard Childress Racing), Ryan Reed (Roush Fenway Racing), Darrell Wallace Jr. (RFR) andBlake Koch (Kaulig Racing) complete the Round of 8 for the XFINITY Series Chase.

Suarez, Sadler and Jones are the only drivers in the postseason with victories this season.

Gaughan, who has 15 top 10s, including a season-best runner-up at Road America, said the first round taught his team that "organizationally, to make sure we are prepared. 

"Make sure … we have everything kind of set and ready.

"Another thing Shane (Wilson, crew chief) and I learned was (we) still are clowns that do it our way. It works for us. We don't scream and yell. … He doesn't get down on me when I hit a wall twice at Kentucky. And I don't bark at him when I think he makes the wrong call on pit road or we unload and it doesn't handle quite the way I want.

"We're going to do it the way we think it needs to be done, stay patient and stay on each other’s team. A lot of pressure comes on these guys … and a lot of people succumb to that pressure."

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have won the last three XFINITY Series races at Kansas.

TRUEX, NO. 78 TEAM PASS ON HOMESTEAD-MIAMI TEST

RELATED: Chase Grid

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Martin Truex Jr. and his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team won't take part in next week's organizational test for NASCAR Sprint CupSeries teams, even though the 1.5-mile track hosts the season-ending, championship-determining event for the series next month.

"There's a lot that went into it," Truex said Friday about the decision. "We actually skipped the Chicago test as well and went there and we won, so … that certainly plays into the decision a bit."

The single-car organization is based in Denver, Colorado, also plays a role into such decisions, he said, noting that "Homestead is a long way from Denver."

"Just trying to make sure we are focused on the right things. We feel like testing has not really done anything to help us along. We feel like our time is better spent at the shop getting prepared.

"It seems like every time we've tested this year, we've gone to the race track and spent the first day-and-a-half trying to regroup and figure out where we need to be, so it seems like it's probably hurt us more than helped us and it's just kind of our mindset going forward that we feel like we'll be better off if we don't go."

The season's fifth and final organizational test is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 18-19. Unlike Goodyear tire tests which normally feature only four teams among the three manufacturers, organizational tests are open, but limited to one team per organization.

The following drivers are scheduled to participate in the test, including each of those currently in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup:

Brad Keselowski (Team Penske No. 2 Ford); Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet); Kurt Busch(Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet);Carl Edwards (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota); Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet); Chris Buescher (Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford); Aric Almirola (Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford); Ryan Blaney(Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford); Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 42 Chevrolet); Michael McDowell (Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Chevrolet); Trevor Bayne(Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford); andDavid Ragan (BK Racing No. 23 Toyota).

Truex has won four times this season, including twice in the opening Round of 16 of the Chase -- at Chicago and Dover.

The team is scheduled to take part in Monday's Goodyear tire test here atKansas Speedway, but Erik Jones is listed as the driver for the No. 78 entry. Jones, who competes in the XFINITY Series for JGR, will move to Furniture Row next season to drive a second full-time entry for the organization.

READ: Furniture Row adds Jones to growing team 

Danica Patrick (SHR), Jimmie Johnson(HMS) and Joey Logano (Team Penske) are also expected to take part in the single-day test for the tire supplier.

Truex and his team were participants for Goodyear tests this year at Charlotte, Pocono and Michigan. Of the four previous organizational test, the team tested one day only at Kentucky and Watkins Glen and both days at Indianapolis. It did not take part in the most recent at Chicagoland Speedway.

"It just seemed like every time we talked about (the Homestead test), it was just like 'I don't really think that we should do it. I think we should continue to focus on the things that we've been doing,' and ultimately I think Cole (Pearn, crew chief) made the decision to say, 'Alright, that's it. We're not going to do it,' and he feels good about that, so I'm with him. I think he's making the right decision," Truex said.

Because of a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields four teams, theFurniture Row Racing group will have access to data gleaned during the Homestead test from the No. 19 team of Edwards as well as TRD (Toyota Racing Development).

Edwards said there are two sides to the opportunity to test at Homestead in the midst of the Chase.

"There's an opportunity to test for the ultimate race -- the race that finishes the year," he said, "but it's also an interruption in your Chase and you have to go do it and it can take away as well."

Dave Wilson, President and General Manager for Toyota Racing Development, USA said while Toyota officials were aware of the move, "ultimately it's their decision.

"In their case, I think it's just a balancing of priorities," he said.

"The good news is with the technical alliance that Furniture Row has with Joe Gibbs Racing, they will still get some of the benefit that JGR will bring back from that test.

"I think the value of testing is considerably different today than it was five years ago, just the influence of technology, the influence of simulation is so great now. And the predictive tools that all these teams have are very powerful; it's amazing how good they are, so it's not as much of a must-do, must attend (event) as it has been in the past."

Truex finished 13th in last week's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the opening race of the Round of 12. He enters Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) seventh in points. Only the top eight advance to the Round of 8 for stops at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix before the top four from that group move on to Homestead to determine the 2016Sprint Cup Champion.