NASCAR Kansas live stream: Start time, TV schedule, and how to watch Hollywood Casino 400 online

The second round of the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series playoffs concludes with the Hollywood Casino 400 Sunday at Kansas Speedway. The race will be broadcast on NBCSN, with the network’s coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET and the green flag waving at 3:15 p.m.

Twelve drivers remain in the playoffs. The four with the lowest points total without a win within the round will be eliminated following Sunday’s race. The eight other drivers will proceed to the three-race semifinal round.

Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski have each locked up spots in the next playoff bracket by virtue of winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, respectively. A win by any playoff-eligible driver Sunday at Kansas would automatically advance them to the semifinals regardless of where they rank in points.

Defending and seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson provisionally holds the final transfer position by seven points over 2015 champion Kyle Busch. Matt Kenseth trails Johnson by eight points, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 22 points back and Jamie McMurray 29 points back.

Because of the points differential between themselves and Johnson, Stenhouse and McMurray must essentially win Sunday to remain championship-eligible.

Jimmie Johnson on playoff bubble

Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team are supposed to be unflappable. It’s been one of the defining traits that’s spurred Johnson to seven Monster Energy Cup Series championships.

But the No. 48 team has been uncharacteristically sloppy over the past two weeks, contributing to Johnson finding himself squarely on the playoff bubble entering the Round 2 playoff elimination race Sunday at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

“We are a team and a group that thrives on adversity,” Johnson said. “Whenever we have been backed into a corner we have always stepped up and have delivered. All the members of this No. 48 team love a challenge and we are not even close to losing that desire and that fight to be out there and compete and race for the win and race for the championship.”

Breaking down the playoff field

Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski are locked into spots in the Monster Energy Cup Series semi-finals by virtue of winning the past two weeks at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, respectively.

Although without the same level of security, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott should feel good about their chances. While conceivable that one of these four could stumble, it would take a combination of circumstances for anyone of them to not advance.

That effectively leaves two spots available to be decided among the six remaining playoff-eligible drivers in the Round 2 elimination race Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Ryan Blaney (nine points ahead of the cut off) and Jimmie Johnson (two points) provisionally occupy the final two transfer slots, though the slim margin means both could easily find themselves on the outside looking in when the Hollywood Casino 400 concludes.