Memorable moments at Kansas Speedway

From playoff pandemonium to the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, Kansas Speedway has hosted a variety of memorable moments. 

Scroll through for a trip down memory lane in the Sunflower State. 

2001

In the first premier-series race at the track, Jeff Gordon led 53 laps to hold off Ryan Newman, Ricky Rudd and Rusty Wallace, who led 117 laps. Ten cars were eliminated via crashes, including Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2004

Joe Nemechek enjoyed one of the better weekends of his career, starting on the pole and riding to his fourth and final career Cup victory while narrowly beating out Ricky Rudd at the finish. The victory came just a day after Nemechek earned a win in the Xfinity Series event, making him the first driver to win both races of the Kansas weekend.

2007

Six of the playoff drivers finished 35th or worse in a race where it appeared hometown favorite Clint Bowyer had won when he and Jimmie Johnson passed Greg Biffle under caution. The field had been frozen, however, and the victory was awarded to Biffle.

2011, spring

Brad Keselowski started from the 25th position and led just a total of nine laps, but he managed to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take home his second career victory and his first with Team Penske. Keselowski won the championship the following year.

2012, fall

The track had recently been repaved before the fall race and it paid dividends for drivers in Busch Light Pole qualifying. Hitting the pavement for the first time, Kasey Kahne set a new track record in qualifying by topping the old record by nearly 11 mph.

2013, fall

Kyle Busch was on the fast track to being a heavy contender for the championship, having earned a pair of runner-up finishes and a fifth-place finish in the playoffs' first three races, but it all unraveled at Kansas. He started in a backup car and wrecked out of the race, finishing in 34th and effectively ending his title hopes.

2014, spring

For the first time, the spring race (along with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race the night before) was run under the lights at the track. In addition, the race was moved to the night before Mother's Day, the date that traditionally belonged to Darlington Raceway.

2015, fall

A thrilling late-race battle concluded on the final lap when Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth made contact, sending Kenseth into a spin and allowing Logano to grab the victory in a green-white-checkered restart and finish. Logano would go on to sweep that three-race round in the postseason.

2016, spring

In his fifth career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, William Byron picked up his first career win. Byron, who was a high school senior at the time, was in the right place when the leaders tangled on the final lap in overtime. It would be the first of seven wins that season in the series for Byron.

2016, spring

Kansas had been rough to Kyle Busch over the years with four DNFs and only four top-10 finishes entering the 2016 race. On this night, Busch's determination to score a win at one of the few remaining tracks where he'd been shut out paid off. He led a total of 67 laps, including the last 37, and held off Kevin Harvick at the finish line.

2017, spring

Ryan Blaney got off to a fast start in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with three second-place qualifying efforts in the first 11 races. With a monster lap of 189.600 mph, Blaney finally broke through to pick up his first career pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas and the first for the Wood Brothers since 2004.

2017, fall

Kyle Larson's playoff hopes were dashed when the engine of his No. 42 Chevrolet expired 73 laps into the race at Kansas. A four-time winner that season, he was eliminated from the playoffs due to the 39th-place finish.

2022, spring

When you have the Jordan Brand on your car, you know your performance standards are high. Well, Kurt Busch rose to the challenge in a thrilling, back-and-forth race at Kansas. Busch led 116 laps, pacing past Kyle Larson, to earn his first and only victory with 23XI Racing and what wound up being the final win of his career.

2022, fall

Following an injury to Kurt Busch, the No. 45 Toyota required a sub-in, and the fall-running at Kansas was no exception. Enter Bubba Wallace, who not only claimed his second career Cup Series victory but additionally helped make history. The double-victory at the same track in the same year for the No. 45 car was the first time such a feat occured with two different drivers as winners in 40 years. A.J. Foyt (spring) and David Pearson (summer) did so in the No. 21 car at Daytona International Speedway in 1972. In other words, it's been a while. 

2023, spring

After a day with an abundance of cautions and tempers, Denny Hamlin eventually picked up his first win of 2023 with a victory in the heartland. Of course, the win did not come without spectacle as the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver used a last-lap pass over Kyle Larson to secure the victory.

2023, spring

Speaking of tempers, enter the incident between Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson. After they bumped and bruised during the 2023 spring running, the pair shared words and fists with each other after the race's conclusion.

2024, spring

An electric finish wouldn't begin to describe the 2024 spring rendition at the Kansas track. Look no further than a 0.001-second photo finish in NASCAR Overtime that saw Kyle Larson prevail over Chris Buescher for the closest finish in Cup Series history. This one will be talked about for years to come.