Bubble battle: Breaking down the Kyle Busch vs. Chase Elliott featured matchup
The two most recent NASCAR Cup Series champions — Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott — are locked in a battle to reach the Championship 4 with two races remaining in the Round of 8. Busch enters Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with an eight-point edge on the reigning champ.
Busch is the most recent winner at the 1.5-mile track and holds the best average finish at 1.5-mile tracks this season. Elliott holds the best average finish of any remaining playoff driver at Kansas and has scored the most points at the track over the last five races held there.
RELATED: Odds for Sunday‘s Kansas race | NASCAR BetCenter
How does each driver stack up for a head-to-head matchup around Sunday‘s race? We‘re breaking down the key stats ahead of the elimination race.
Kyle Busch | Category | Chase Elliott |
1 | 2021 1.5-mile wins | 0 |
4.4 | 2021 1.5-mile average finish | 11.0 |
370 | 2021 1.5-mile points scored | 270 |
15.3 | 2021 NASCAR Playoffs average finish | 14.1 |
2 | Kansas wins | 1 |
1st | 2021 Kansas spring result | 5th |
15.1 | Kansas average finish (all time) | 10.5 |
8.8 | Kansas average finish (since 2018) | 6.0 |
6 | 1.5-mile wins (since 2018) | 2 |
Busch’s Roval and Texas results marked his first set of back-to-back top 10s in the 2021 playoffs and his first since July. | Notable stat to know | Elliott has yet to post back-to-back top 10s in playoff races this postseason. He finished seventh at Texas last weekend. |
The 1.5-mile results this season are tilted towards Busch, while the bulk of Kansas results (with the exception of the 2021 spring race) favor Elliott. Right now, this shapes up as a battle between both drivers to race into the Championship 4, but should trouble befall other title contenders it is more than possible that both drivers make their way to Phoenix as title eligible. It should be a competitive and fun matchup to watch over 267 laps at the on Sunday
Check back on Friday as The Action Network‘s PJ Walsh (@PJWalsh24) breaks down the same matchup and provides his betting insight for who and how to bet this matchup.
