Posted on by Data Skrive

Cole Custer finished seventh in the Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Kansas Speedway on Thursday.

The top-10 finish for Custer added 30 points to his season total. Custer now ranks 19th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 352 points. A total of 16 drivers qualify for the the playoffs.

Custer started in 24th position. The second-year driver has one career victory, with two top-five finishes and three results inside the top 10.

The Ladera Ranch, California native began the race two spots behind his career mark of 22.2, but finished 16 places ahead of his career average of 23.1.

Custer’s seventh-place finish came against a field of 40 drivers. The race endured 11 cautions and 47 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 21 lead changes.

Denny Hamlin secured the victory in the race, and Brad Keselowski took second. Martin Truex Jr placed third, Kevin Harvick brought home fourth, and Erik Jones rounded out the top five.

After Kyle Busch won Stage 1, Keselowski drove the No. 2 car to victory in Stage 2.

Cole Custer Driver Page | Get Custer Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Aric Almirola finished sixth in the Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Kansas Speedway on Thursday.

The top-10 finish for Almirola added 42 points to his season total. He now has 576 total points, good enough for eighth place in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Almirola started in third position. The 13th-year driver has tallied two career victories, with 23 top-five finishes and 71 results inside the top 10.

The sixth-place result for Almirola was the sixth top-10 of his career at Kansas Speedway in 16 starts.

The Tampa, Florida native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 18 spots higher than his career mark of 20.7 and completing the race 16 places ahead of his 21.7 career average finish.

Almirola took on 40 other drivers on the way to his sixth-place finish. The race endured 11 cautions and 47 caution laps. There were 21 lead changes.

Denny Hamlin secured the victory in the race, and Brad Keselowski followed in second. Martin Truex Jr placed third, Kevin Harvick secured fourth, and Erik Jones grabbed the No. 5 spot.

After Kyle Busch won the first stage, Keselowski drove the No. 2 car to victory in Stage 2.

Aric Almirola Driver Page | Get Almirola Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Erik Jones finished fifth in the Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Kansas Speedway on Thursday.

Jones’ top-five finish added 37 points to his season total. Jones is now 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 440 points.

Jones started in 21st position. The fifth-year driver has earned two career victories, with 28 top-five finishes and 56 results inside the top 10.

In his career at Kansas Speedway, Jones has compiled two top-five finishes and his fifth-place result marks the fourth top-10.

The Byron, Michigan native began the race eight spots behind his career mark of 13.3, but finished 13 places ahead of his career average of 17.6.

Jones raced against a field of 40 drivers on the way to his fifth-place finish. The race endured 11 cautions and 47 caution laps. There were 21 lead changes.

Denny Hamlin earned the checkered flag in the race, and Brad Keselowski followed in second. Martin Truex Jr crossed the finish line third, with Kevin Harvick bringing home fourth place. Jones rounded out the top five.

After Kyle Busch won Stage 1, Keselowski drove the No. 2 car to victory in Stage 2.

Erik Jones Driver Page | Get Jones Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick may be the class of the NASCAR Cup Series field, but Brad Keselowski is quietly lurking.

The No. 2 Team Penske Ford spent most of the night near the front after starting seventh in Thursday’s Super Start Batteries 400 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Kansas Speedway, winning the second stage after passing teammate Ryan Blaney with three laps remaining.

RELATED: Official race results | Hamlin scores fifth win at Kansas

While a late-race charge fell just short, Keselowski wound up finishing second behind race winner Hamlin, who notched a series-high fifth victory of the 2020 season. Harvick, who finished fourth, owns the second-most victories of the season with four.

“I thought Denny (Hamlin) and I were probably pretty close to equal the second half of the night,” Keselowski said. “It was just a matter of who got out in front. We didn’t get out in front on the restarts there, and he was able to take advantage and bring home the win. All in all, it was still a really good day.”

While Keselowski’s two victories — one each at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway earlier in the year — leave him a bit short of Hamlin and Harvick in the playoff points column, the 2012 champion is on the cusp of making it a “Big 3” into the postseason with seven races left in the regular season.

Keselowski has earned seven top fives and 14 top 10s in the first 19 races with an average finish of 8.9. Since his first victory of the season at Charlotte, Keselowski has only finished outside the top 10 in two of the 13 events after starting out the first five races with three finishes of 11th or worse. While the numbers might not suggest a career-best trajectory, Keselowski thinks otherwise.

“Silently, one of the best years of my career, maybe not wins-wise at this point in the year, but average finish wise, one of the best in my career at this point in the season,” Keselowski said. “I’m very, very happy for that and hopeful that we can just find that other little notch so we can dominate races and showcase ourselves as the Ford to beat.”

With 2020 serving as the final year of his current contract with Team Penske, Keselowski acknowledged he has nothing new to report as negotiations are ongoing, but he’s optimistic given this year’s success.

“I hope,” Keselowski said. “It’s not there, but I’m very hopeful.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

In what could be a sneak preview of the Championship 4 race later this year, Denny Hamlin outdueled Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. to win the Super Start Batteries 400 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts Thursday night at Kansas Speedway.

After a wild restart on Lap 246, Hamlin passed Harvick for the lead on Lap 255 of 267 and held off a late charge from Keselowski to score his NASCAR Cup Series-best fifth victory of the season, his third at Kansas and the 42nd of his career.

RELATED: Official race results | 2020 Cup Series schedule

Hamlin led four times for a race-high 57 laps to rebound from three sub-par finishes in what otherwise has been a stellar season for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team.

“I don’t know if we had the best car — we definitely had a top-three car all day,” said Hamlin, who has won two straight races at Kansas. “We just went and got it there at the end. I saw the 4 (Harvick) getting loose, and usually when you’re loose, you’re not able to run up high, and that was a benefit for us to be able to get that momentum going…

“We’ve had a rough three weeks — we were leading at Indy when we blew a tire, but it seems like we’re really hitting on all cylinders right now.”

Moments after the final restart, Harvick made a deft move to slip past Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman. Hamlin followed and started to close the gap by running the top lane on the 1.5-mile track. Harvick’s car was too loose to take Hamlin’s line, and after chasing for eight laps, Hamlin made the pass for the lead with relative ease.

“We needed a miracle,” said Harvick, who spent most of the night running in or near the top five, before grabbing his short-lived lead on the final run. “Our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang was really loose. We got a couple good restarts and had a couple good laps, but we were in trouble there regardless, if it didn’t just keep going yellow.

“Our guys did a good job keeping us in the fight all night, but we definitely have some work to do.”

Keselowski followed Hamlin past Harvick, and Truex soon followed to secure the third position. Truex led 44 laps and Keselowski 30 in a race that featured a surfeit of action, as the 11 cautions implied.

“I thought Denny and I were probably pretty close to equal the second half of the night,” said Keselowski, who picked up his fifth stage win of the season in Stage 2. “It was just a matter of who got out in front. We didn’t get out in front on the restarts there, and he was able to take advantage and bring home the win. All in all, it was still a really good day.”

Kyle Busch, who led 52 laps, won the first 80-lap stage to collect his first Playoff point of the season, but his race fell apart with 40 laps left when he slid into the outside wall and was forced to pit road with a flat right-front tire.

Busch recovered to finish 11th, but the reigning series champion saw his winless streak reach 19 races, his longest drought to start a season since 2017.

The race was a disaster for seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who came to Kansas two points inside the current playoff cutline. Johnson was an innocent victim of a Lap 176 wreck triggered when Joey Logano slapped the outside wall after his left-front tire lost air.

Matt DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon also were collected in the crash, but Johnson suffered the most, finishing 32nd and dropping to 18th in the standings, eight points behind Sunoco rookie Tyler Reddick with both on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.

MORE: Multi-car crash thwarts Johnson, Logano

Harvick held the fourth position at the finish. Erik Jones ran fifth, followed by Aric Almirola (scoring his eighth straight top 10), Cole Custer, Bowman, Kurt Busch and Byron. In the race for the regular-season championship, Harvick leads second-place Keselowski by 97 points.

The Cup Series’ next race is the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, scheduled Aug. 2 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

A multi-car crash early in the final stage knocked several drivers from contention Thursday night at Kansas Speedway, including Jimmie Johnson, who tumbled out of the NASCAR Cup Series’ provisional playoff grid.

RELATED: Official race results

Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford veered into the Turn 2 wall after a restart on the 176th of a scheduled 267 laps in the Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts. The chain reaction collected the cars of Johnson, Austin Dillon and Matt DiBenedetto in its wake.

“I felt it going into (Turn) 3 right before we took the green, and I felt it kind of landing on the splitter and honestly thought that the left-front shock went bad,” Logano said after being checked at the infield care center. He led 27 laps early, but finished 35th. “It wasn’t like it was flat, it was just down a little bit. Maybe it was bad judgment on my part. I just thought it wasn’t that bad and didn’t want to lose all our track position for something I wasn’t sure of. Hindsight is 20-20 and I apologize to everyone that was involved in it. It just stinks.”

Johnson was able to continue after repairs, but attempts to get his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet up to the required minimum speed fell short. Thursday’s race netted a 32nd-place result, marking his seventh straight finish outside the top 10.

Johnson had entered Thursday’s 400-miler clinging to the 16th and final spot in the provisional playoff picture. His DNF cost him three positions in the points standings, putting teammate William Byron into the final provisional berth. Johnson is now 18 points below the cut line, with rookie Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones now ahead of him.

Dillon went from celebrating as last weekend’s winner at Texas Motor Speedway to finishing 27th at Kansas, 16 laps down in the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet. DiBenedetto’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford was severely damaged; he placed 36th in the 40-car field, losing some of his cushion above the postseason cut.

“I couldn’t tell what was going on,” DiBenedetto said. “I just tried to go low. I saw guys checked up off of (Turn) 2. I didn’t see it. I just got clipped in the right side. Nothing I could do different. I am not going to lie. I am pretty frickin’ irritated. We have had garbage luck the last couple of weeks. The Menards Dutch Boy Ford Mustang was fast and we deserve better. We are racing for the playoffs and this is just annoying.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The 2020 NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola is more than just a military appreciation platform – it’s a campaign that salutes all who have gone above and beyond to keep their fellow members of society safe and healthy. During a global pandemic that impacted almost every aspect of our daily lives, they have been there for us – doctors, nurses, EMTs, first responders, etc. Now, it’s our turn to be there for them and to give recognition where it’s deserved the most.

In this edition of NASCAR Salutes Refreshing Moments, NASCAR.com is highlighting the work of the Maryland Army National Guard in its efforts to ensure food distribution to residents.

RELATED: Learn more about NASCAR Salutes

As COVID-19 continues to make a significant impact across the country, members of the Maryland Army National Guard have assisted in making sure the citizens of the state do not go hungry. As those in need struggle to obtain food and other basic necessities, the Maryland Army National Guard has led the way in distributing an estimated 700-1,000 meals per day throughout the community, a number that has increased daily due to the heightened number of people who need support. The Maryland Army National Guard’s Company A, 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment work in Frederick was highlighted here.

In a segment that aired during NBCSN’s telecast of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on Thursday night, Team Penske driver Joey Logano chatted about the efforts with Chaplain Maj. Wayne Stinchcomb of the Maryland Army National Guard.

“The National Guard – we typically serve one week a month and two weeks in the summer,” Stinchcomb said. “We were activated and we’ve been activated since mid-March. I know many of our service members were very thankful to serve in such a practical way such as doing food banks, food distribution centers and other areas that we’ve been able to serve throughout this whole time.”

Logano informed Stinchcomb that NASCAR, Coca-Cola and the USO are going to partner to host food drives in Maryland and Kansas to honor the work that is being done.

“We wanted to thank you for the progress that you’ve made and the impact that you’ve made in our communities,” Logano said. “It has not gone unnoticed and I hope you are staying safe and we appreciate you.”

For the first time ever, NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola kicked off with the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as the platform shifts to a mid-summer window due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola, which runs through July 31, will see the NASCAR industry honor United States Armed Forces and frontline healthcare heroes as part of this year’s expanded program — an industry-wide opportunity to recognize and thank those who keep society safe and healthy.

Posted on by Staff Report

Travis Pastrana is making his NASCAR return — again.

The decorated action sports star announced Thursday via his Instagram that he’s saddling up for another run at a Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series win in Saturday’s e.p.t. 200 at Kansas Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1). He’ll pilot the No. 40 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet typically driven by Ross Chastain, who will be behind the wheel for the first Gander Trucks race of the weekend on Friday at 7 p.m. ET (FS1).

MORE: Travis Pastrana’s NASCAR stats

“I don’t know why; I wasn’t very good at turning left, but I’m going to pull the old NASCAR helmet off the wall,” Pastrana said in his Instagram.

The 11-time X Games-gold medalist raced full time driving the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in the Xfinity Series in 2013 and made his last NASCAR national series start in 2017 in a Gander Trucks race at Las Vegas, where he finished 22nd. Pastrana had one pole and four top-10 finishes in his lone full-time Xfinity Series season.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CC_Z0CHhrZ5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

The odds board for tonight’s Super Start Batteries 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) at Kansas Speedway is extremely top-heavy.

On the flip side, this results in solid drivers in good equipment being priced as longer shots than they necessarily should be.

Sometimes, I’ll jump on these long shots outright, while in other instances I prefer to play them in props — NASCAR’s Super Start Batteries at Kansas is one of these instances.

Here’s a look at two prop bets I’m making for tonight’s race.

Follow me on Twitter (@PJWalsh24) for any additional bets I make for Kansas.

NASCAR at Kansas Odds, Betting Picks

Odds as of Thursday at 6 a.m. ET and via DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.

Matt DiBenedetto (+140) for a Top-10 Finish

Just like Ryan Blaney outright, I’m back on DiBenedetto for a top-10 finish. Matty D easily had a top-10 car (again) at Texas last weekend and at times showed top-five speed.

Unfortunately, an ill-timed caution and later an even more poorly timed move by Quin Houff ended DiBenedetto’s chance of cashing our top-10 prop, but the speed was there.

As mentioned above, with so many favorites bunched toward the top of the odds board, sportsbooks do not have the luxury of adjusting the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford to where it should be, meaning there’s still plenty of value in the +140 number.

Austin Dillon (+165) for a Top-10 Finish

Interestingly, the logjam among the favorites has also kept Dillon’s odds in check despite his shocking win last week at Texas.

Over the five races run at smooth, 1.5-mile tracks (Las Vegas, two at Charlotte, Kentucky and Texas) this season, Dillon owns the fifth-best average finish and the eighth-best average running position, suggesting he’s not simply stealing top-10 finishes, he’s consistently running there as well.

In fact, Austin has piloted the No. 3 Chevy to top 10s in three of those five races, so it’s not like his win at Texas is skewing those averages by itself.

Dillon has been a top-10 performer at similar racetracks to Kansas, showing why +165 is very playable.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

With a weeknight race, we’re bringing back the Fantasy Update in place of this week’s Fantasy Fastlane for the Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Kansas Speedway (7:30 p.m. on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). In our revamped Update, I’ll provide three must-haves, three avoids and three sleepers based on a combination of Kansas stats, 1.5-mile stats for the 2020 season and recent trends. This will also include the planned lineup and, by popular demand, the bonus picks. The usual Fantasy Fastlane format will return next weekend to preview the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Lineup for Kansas | Odds for Kansas | Schedule for Kansas

Three must starts

Ryan Blaney: Blaney has been the best car by a wide margin on 1.5-mile tracks this year — the only thing he doesn’t have yet on that track type is a win. He has averaged 46.7 points and has scored no less than 42 points in the seven races to date in 2020 on 1.5-mile venues. Those stats make me not worry about three finishes outside the top 20 in his last four Kansas starts.

Chase Elliott: The best driver at Kansas in the last four races there — in the non-Kevin Harvick division, who we will cover later — is Elliott. He has averaged 43.8 points in those races with a win included in three straight top-four finishes. His recent 2020 results are a slight cause for concern — one top 10 in his last six races — but I’m turning him loose for this one.

Martin Truex Jr.: Despite a disappointing Texas Motor Speedway result and running dry twice, the speed was there for Truex and the No. 19 camp. He is the fifth-best driver by points on 1.5-mile tracks this year with an average of 36.7 points. He also has two wins at Kansas in the last six and five races with at least 33 points there in that stretch.

Three plays to avoid

Joey Logano: Based on average finish (17.4), this is Logano’s third-worst track on the circuit and his worst intermediate. He does have two fall wins at Kansas but also has four finishes of 15th or worse in the last six here. The second starting spot for this one makes him tempting, but I’ve got my eye on New Hampshire and both Michigan International Speedway races as better plays with the 22.

Matt Kenseth: Kenseth’s career Kansas numbers are solid (two wins, 13 top 10s in 25 starts), but what makes me run far away from him are his 1.5-mile stats in 2020. He’s 28th in points earned and has no top 10s at that track type this year, which puts him behind John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell and Corey LaJoie in that category.

Clint Bowyer: Kansas is Bowyer’s home track, and he did score back-to-back top 10s there last year. You know what he has yet to do in 2020? Score a top 10 at a 1.5-mile track. He has some decent mid-to-high 20s points day, but the volume of work thus far leaves a little bit to be desired for a use, especially when with eight races left in the regular season, you should be relying on the studs as much as you can.

Three sleepers to watch

Tyler Reddick: Reddick’s first Cup top 10 came at Kansas last spring. The rookie comes into this race with three straight top 10s on the 2020 season capped off by a runner-up effort Sunday at Texas. He’s also the eighth-best driver by points on 1.5-mile tracks this year — that mark puts him ahead of Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman.

Austin Dillon: Sunday’s winner at Texas has been a sneaky 1.5-mile play all year with an average of 32.9 points per race. Those seven races have seen him score no less than 26 points and nab three top 10s in addition to his Texas win. His Kansas stats are relatively ho-hum with several top 15s over the last eight races there.

Erik Jones: Jones finished sixth at Texas last weekend and will look to carry that momentum to another track that has treated him well in recent years. The JGR driver has four straight top-seven finishes at Kansas and the fourth-most points over that stretch. He has more points in that span at Kansas than the rest of his well-accomplished JGR teammates.

What to do with Kevin Harvick

If you have two uses left, I’d sit him here. At three uses, I’d lean toward playing him. At four uses or more left, I’d absolutely play him. As far as tracks left on the regular-season schedule, I’d prioritize the first Michigan race as a must start with him. His record of late at New Hampshire and Dover International Speedway suggest those should get higher priority as well. Given the wild card nature of both Daytona International Speedway races — the road course and the oval — he’ll be on my avoid list there since he is just too valuable anywhere else. Remember even if you are low on uses, you can still stack the bonus picks with him to get points from the 4 car.

Kansas lineup and bonus picks

Lineup: Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott; Garage: Tyler Reddick. If I made any change to that six-driver lineup leading up to the race, it would be to continue riding the hot hand of Aric Almirola.

Bonus picks: I’ll be taking Harvick in Stage 1 and Stage 2 with Blaney and Ford for the win. I just think Blaney is due to get one at 1.5-mile track.