NASCAR Xfinity Series teams head to Kansas Speedway on Saturday afternoon for the playoff opener.
This race is the first in the Round of 12. It is the first opportunity for one of the 12 championship-eligible drivers to lock up a win and automatically move on to the Round of 8.
John Hunter Nemechek won last season's Xfinity Series race at Kansas. He is not in the lineup this weekend. Full-time Cup drivers can not compete in the Xfinity playoff races.
Instead, Aric Almirola and Taylor Gray will be the two guest drivers suiting up for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kansas Speedway Xfinity playoff opener race info
Weather: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for partly cloudy skies. A high of 82 degrees and no chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity Series playoff opener.
Green flag time: The command to fire engines will be at 3:59 p.m. ET. The green flag will wave at 4:10 p.m. ET.
Starting lineup: Kansas Xfinity Series race starting lineup
Pre-race: The Xfinity Series garage opens at 9:30 a.m. ET. Driver introductions will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins with "NASCAR Countdown Live" on CW at 3:30 p.m. ET. Race coverage continues on CW at 4 p.m. ET.
Stages: The race will consist of three stages. The first stage ends at Lap 45. The second stage ends at Lap 90. The scheduled end of the race is Lap 200.
Playoff picture: Twelve drivers are eligible to compete for the Xfinity Series championship after last weekend's regular-season finale. Now they will try to move through the first two rounds and reach the Championship 4.
Photo credit: NASCAR
Justin Allgaier missed out on winning the regular-season championship after a variety of issues at Bristol, but he enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. He has a series-high 14 stage wins and two race wins, which provided 24 of his playoff points. Now, he enters the opening round at 27 points above the cutline.
Riley Herbst is in a less stable position than Allgaier. He is only three points ahead of the cutline and Sheldon Creed. This is a small cushion that could quickly vanish if issues arise at Kansas Speedway.
Past winners: Only one of the drivers in the lineup has Xfinity Series wins at Kansas Speedway. Brandon Jones won for the first time at the intermediate track in 2019. He returned to victory lane in 2020.