NASCAR Notebook: Chase round two starts at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, KS - Twelve drivers persevered through a Challenger Round that tested the versatility of the world's best drivers. Four failed to navigate through the early gauntlet.<br /> <br /> And now, starting in just a few days, the surviving dozen will kick off the second segment of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, known as the Contender Round, this Sunday in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.<br /> <br /> The Contender Round spans three events (Kansas, Charlotte, Talladega), and just like the Challenger Round, the four winless drivers with the lowest points totals will be eliminated at its conclusion. Any championship-qualifying driver that wins one of the three races automatically moves on to the eight-driver Eliminator Round. The 12 Contenders are all on a level playing field