12:37 PM ET Matt Willis Close ESPN Staff Writer Matt Willis has been a studio researcher at ESPN since 2006, working on “NASCAR Now” and “SportsCenter,” among other shows. He graduated from Ithaca College in 2006 with a degree in journalism. While there, he worked on ICTV, on shows such as “Ya Think You Know

12:35 PM ET Bob PockrassNASCAR Close • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kyle Larson remains 36 points behind the current cutoff spot heading into the elimination race Sunday at Kansas Speedway as Chip Ganassi Racing lost an appeal Friday of a

10:04 PM ET Bob PockrassNASCAR Close • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Pressure? What pressure? One driver faces an absolute must-win situation to advance to the third (semifinal) round of the playoffs. Alex Bowman is so far behind in the standings

12:32 PM ET Bob Pockrass Close NASCAR • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports Ricky Craven Close Ricky Craven is a driver with wins in all of NASCAR’s top three series, including rookie of the year titles in both the 1992 Nationwide Series and 1995 Sprint

10:55 AM ET Bob PockrassNASCAR Close • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers start the second round of their playoffs Saturday, and a driver who has arguably had a championship-caliber season is set to get eliminated after the next three races. Although

1:41 PM ET Bob PockrassNASCAR Close • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports Kyle Larson already faced a likely must-win situation Sunday at Kansas Speedway, and it became even more urgent as NASCAR penalized him 10 points for his team using unapproved metal tabs while repairing

10:00 AM ET Bob PockrassNASCAR Close • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports Clint Bowyer loves coming back to his home state, so anytime he arrives at Kansas Speedway, he knows he will enjoy a little more love and have more friends and family watching him.

10:38 AM ET Most of the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup series race at Talladega evoked cold sweats amidst a flashback to the late 1990s at Daytona and Talladega. There was a line of aligned cars leading the pack, with nobody able to challenge. The solid line of cars was running up front, with everybody

9:52 AM ET Bob PockrassNASCAR Close • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports The extra laps at Talladega Superspeedway had huge playoff implications. Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski running out of gas have set up an elimination race where no winless driver

10:30 PM ET Bob PockrassNASCAR Close • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports TALLADEGA, Ala. — Aric Almirola snapped a 149-race winless streak Sunday and earned a berth into the third round of the NASCAR playoffs, but he could be pardoned if he is already thinking