NASCAR Kansas live updates, highlights: Tyler Reddick wins after late caution, pit stop

Charlotte Observer NASCAR reporter Shane Connuck passed along updates from today’s Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. See those musings in the section below.

For analysis of the playoff field after Kansas, click here.

Unofficial results

Lap 268: Tyler Reddick has won after a two-lap sprint to the finish. All kinds of pit strategy at play here. Suarez dropped like a stone in a pool with no new tires. Tyler Reddick shot to the front and Hamlin tried to follow, but he was blocked expertly by Erik Jones. Hamlin ultimately beat Jones for second, but couldn’t catch Reddick. With the win, Reddick is automatically into the second round of the playoffs, which start after next week’s race in Bristol.

Lap 264: All of the leaders pit, and positioning on a likely shootout restart will come down to pit stops. With everyone off and then back on, Erik Jones moved into first position among those who pitted. Kyle Busch is in second, Joey Logano in third, Chase Briscoe in fifth. BUT... Daniel Suarez stayed out on the track and took the position. He’s officially in first, and appears to be staying out on the track. How will those tires perform?

Lap 260: Caution is out! I spoke (typed?) too soon! Chris Buescher, another playoff driver, has trouble with a tire and he hist the wall... Relatively minor event, but will bunch the field back up, which has to sting Hamlin, who was well on his way to a win.

Lap 257: With 10 to go, Denny Hamlin is cruising. His lead is now more than 2.5 seconds over Tyler Reddick, and we are enjoying the longest green-flag run of the day, more than 75 laps now. Chase Elliott, a popular but non-playoff driver, has slipped into third for the race. Brad Keselowski is in fourth, and last week’s winner, Kyle Larsen, in fifth.

Lap 242: Hamlin and Reddick are a two-man show at the moment, with Denny Hamlin holding off Tyler Reddick by about 1.4 seconds. The next driver in line is Brad Keselowski some 7.6 seconds back. Barring some funny business, The winner should come from that group, though Erik Jones is closing on Keselowski in fourth.

Lap 231: Daniel Suarez has finally pitted from the lead after staying out for a while. Now Denny Hamlin is officially in front with a 1.5-second head start on Reddick. Keselowski still lingers in third.

Lap 222: Green-flag pitstops at about Lap 216 have shuffled the field a bit. Hamlin was first off pit road among those who pitted, though, and should maintain his position.Reddick, Keselowski, Jones, Elliott fall in line behind him.

Lap 206: Denny Hamlin still holds the lead, with Reddick and Keselowski not far behind. Kyle Larson, who won Stage 1 but fell down the leaderboard, got new tires and is back in the Top 10.

Current Top 10: Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch.

Lap 187: Hamlin recaptured the lead as Keselowski had edged him for the top spot. Tyler Reddick is up to second place as those three battle for the lead. Erik Jones is up to fourth, Chase Elliott is running fifth, Kevin Harvick finds himself in sixth. Seventy-seven laps remain.

Lap 174: Denny Hamlin briefly passed Brad Keselowski and the two are battling for the lead.

Elsewhere in the field, Harrison Burton hit the wall after making contact with Carson Hocevar, and a caution ended up being issued.

Lap 163: Wild end to Stage 2! Brad Keselowski moved to the top, running side-by-side with Chase Elliott before passing the No. 9 car to claim the stage win. Denny Hamlin is in second with Elliott down to third. Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher and Christopher Bell round out the Top 10.

Lap 133: Kyle Larson moved to the outside, allowing Chase Elliott to open up an even more commanding lead. Larson had an issue off a turn and began to plummet on the leaderboard, with the winner of Stage 1 now running in 13th.

Your Top 10: Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and Joey Logano.

Lap 115: We have a new leader! Tyler Reddick has passed Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson for the top spot. Another caution out as Austin Cindric spins out.

Lap 108: Bubba Wallace made hard contact with the wall, and the No. 23 car’s right tow link broke. He’d been running in second place, needing a strong performance to keep himself above the elimination line in the second race of the Round of 16.

Lap 96: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., hovering around the bottom of the playoff picture, hit the wall as he was running up alongside it trying to gain some more speed. The No. 47 car is down to 26th place. Larson, Wallace, Elliott, Reddick and Hamlin make up the current Top 5.

Lap 80: Through Stage 1 in Kansas! Plenty of action, with Martin Truex Jr. wrecking in Lap 4, and William Byron spinning out later.

Your Top 10: Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick.

Lap 70: Another caution! William Byron spun out while trying to pass Christopher Bell.

Lap 65: Pole-winner Christopher Bell led the field until Lap 10, when Kyle Larson — running second — passed him. Last week’s winner has led for the majority of the race, and Ryan Blaney briefly held the top spot as well.

Your Top 10: Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Ryan Blaney.

Lap 5: Caution already!! Martin Truex Jr. is out of the race. The regular season champion couldn’t keep his car straight and barreled into the wall before spinning out very early at Kansas. The No. 19 car has been towed to the garage.

Green flag, 3:21 p.m.: And we’re off!

3:05 p.m.: Two cars are dropping to the rear: Kyle Busch’s No. 8 (unapproved adjustments) and Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 (backup car). Command is scheduled for 3:09 p.m., with the Green Flag at 3:20 p.m.

2:45 p.m.: Christopher Bell won the pole for the second straight week, including the third time in his past six races. This marks his fourth pole of the season, tying his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin for the most in the Cup Series. Last week’s winner, Kyle Larson, will run second.

According to CBS Sports, Hamlin is today’s favorite at +450 odds. He’s followed by Larson (+500), regular season champion Martin Truex Jr. (+575), William Byron (+650), Bell (+900) and Tyler Reddick (+900).

Shane Connuck is picking Tyler Reddick to pull off the victory. The 23XI Racing driver finished ninth at the Kansas race in May, and Bubba Wallace won in the No. 45 car there last year. He’s coming off a second-place finish at Darlington and has 12 top-10 performances this year.

Pre-race reading/viewing at Kansas

+ Ross Chastain is doing “exactly what I dreamed of” earlier in his career. More news + how to watch Sunday’s race

+ Breaking down Kyle Larson’s win and taking a look at how it shook up the playoff picture ahead of Kansas

+ ‘You gotta expect the unexpected’: What Bubba Wallace said about NASCAR playoff debut

How to watch the NASCAR Playoffs at Kansas

• Race: Hollywood Casino 400

• Where: Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kansas)

• Date: Sunday, Sept. 10

• Time: 3 p.m. ET

• TV: USA Network

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps)

• Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 80, Stage 2 ends on Lap 165 and the final stage ends on Lap 267.

• Purse: $8,806,315

Starting lineup for Kansas race