Will Cup playoffs be calmer at Kansas? Maybe not

After a wacky opening race at Darlington Raceway last Sunday, the Cup Series playoffs will continue this weekend at Kansas Speedway.

Darlington is unique in design, in its history of leaders suddenly turning into losers and in its ability to eat tires.

Kansas is wider, smoother and much less intimidating. Drivers typically race three-wide and often dive onto the track apron to make passes, knowing there’s plenty of room to maneuver.

So Sunday’s second race in the playoffs should be considerably tamer, right?

Not necessarily.

Kansas can be a bear.

The May race, won by Kurt Busch, sparked trouble even before the green flag. Chris Buescher blew a tire in practice and sustained damage. Cody Ware and Ryan Blaney spun out, also in practice. Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano also had tire issues in practice.

There were more tire problems in the race, contributing to eight cautions that ate 47 of the race’s 267 laps. Seven of the 16 drivers who would qualify for the playoffs finished 15th or worse in that race, and seven were penalized for various pit-road infractions. Kyle Larson was involved in some frantic racing with Kurt Busch, smacking the wall while searching for the lead before Busch won. Larson finished second.

In last year’s playoff race at Kansas, Blaney, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch crashed.

What does Larson expect Sunday?

“I feel like every week has been pretty wild and unpredictable,” he said. “Darlington was maybe a little bit more than normal compared to other races this year, but I feel like every race this year, the majority of the field has had some sort of issue go on throughout the race. As much as I want to say Kansas will be different, I just don’t know. It could be even crazier.”

There