5. Brad Keselowski- Racing his way into the playoffs back in the first Talladega race, Keselowksi has more or less been laying low this season much like a lot of the Ford drivers. Keselowski has more or less been written off as a driver that was supposed to go out of the playoffs in the first round and has been barely scraping by all playoffs and comes into Kansas at -15, not a must win, but it would help. Given the recent speed at mile and a half tracks and his experience he is a threat to win this weekend and lock himself into the Championship race.
4. Chase Elliott- The defending champ comes into the second last race in the playoffs -8 behind Kyle Busch in the standings and is looking to race his way in. Last years late seaosn heroics were great but I do not think he can repeat them. Elliott is one of the drivers in this field that can put together a great race at Kansas, grab stage points, and can get his way in. Chase has been a great driver all year but has not shown a lot of winning speed, but if he can run inside the top 5-8 like he has been this weekend should set him up well for the final race before the championship.
3. Kyle Busch- Busch has been getting better all year in what is somewhat of a resurgence year for him after only grabbing one win all season and getting eliminated after the Roval race. Winning the last Kansas race, and running well at just about every mile and a half track these playoffs, Busch is a real threat to sweep the Kansas races and punch his ticket to the championship 4.
2. Denny Hamlin- Hamlin has been the second most dominant driver all season, from contending the regular season championship without a win then winning 2 races so far these playoffs Hamlin has shown he is here to race this year and contend for the Cup. Hamlin is always in the top 3 of almost every race and can give Larson a run for his money this weekend at Kansas.
- Kyle Larson- This spot has been dominated by Larson for weeks and there are no questions why. Larson is the best driver in the field, especially at the mile and a half tracks, which is where we are going again this week at Kansas. Larson can really shake up the field if he goes back to back in the round of 8 and can cause a lot of drivers havoc if he continues his dominance this weekend.
The Slow Restart 