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Kansas City, Kan. • Just about everything that could go wrong at Kansas Speedway has for Kyle Busch.

During the April race weekend, the driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing wrecked in practice. He crashed out of the Truck Series race the next day. Then he spun twice more in the Sprint Cup race, finishing 38th after a hard crash ended his afternoon.

Things haven't been a whole lot better this weekend, either. Busch hit the wall hard in the opening minute of practice on Saturday and again will be in a backup car for the race on Sunday.

If there's ever a time to figure things, it's right now. Busch is off to a strong start in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, sitting third in the points. He's within striking distance of leader Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson, two drivers who have fared much better in the heartland.

Busch has strung together three straight top-five finishes, and after testing Goodyear's new tire at Kansas this summer, he's confident he can turn around his fortunes.

"It's not that you might not like a track or might not like a race or something like that," Busch said. "It's just a matter of trying to figure it out. Once you kind of get it figured out or get the right situations kind of lined up, you can have a shot."

Kevin Harvick, who is tied with Jeff Gordon for fourth in points, ended a 254-race pole drought and will lead the field to the green flag. He'll start alongside Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Johnson will start in the second row next to defending series champion Brad Keselowski, who is trying to play spoiler after failing to make the Chase.

Kansas is the only track where Busch has never finished in the top five, his best run a seventh-place in 2006.

Busch has crashed out of the last two races at the 1½-mile tri-oval, the first two races at Kansas since a re-grade and repave significantly altered the way it drives.

"I thought we were running decent there last fall. Actually, I was leading and I spun myself out while I was leading," Busch said this week. "So, hopefully, we have a good car like that this time around and I don't make a mistake like that."

His JGR teammate, Kenseth, has won the last two races at Kansas, and is carrying momentum into the weekend. He opened the Chase with a pair of wins and was seventh last week at Dover, giving him an eight-point lead over Johnson and 12 points on Busch.

"I don't really know," Kenseth said, when asked whether he can extend his string of solid results at Kansas. "It's six months later, weather is a lot different, there's a lot that has changed since the last time we were here in April."

Nationwide Series • Matt Kenseth is proving to be unbeatable at Kansas Speedway. The winner of the last two Sprint Cup races at the track, Kenseth hopped into his Nationwide car and drove it to victory Saturday, taking advantage of a late-race wreck involving Keselowski and Busch to conserve enough fuel for the end. —

Hollywood Casino 400

P Sunday, noon

TV • ESPN