Denny Hamlin soars at Kansas with fifth Cup Series win of the season

Posted on July 23, 2020July 24, 2020 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.

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 July 23, 2020July 24, 2020 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 July 23, 2020 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.

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 July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 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 July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 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 July 23, 2020 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.

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.

Posted on July 22, 2020July 23, 2020 by Reid Spencer

Even with the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoff field expanded to 10 drivers this season, former series champion Johnny Sauter and 2019 Playoff qualifier Stewart Friesen find themselves in the danger zone entering back-to-back races on Friday and Saturday.

In fact, no one is absolutely safe when it comes to a Playoff berth except two-time race winner Grant Enfinger and recent Kentucky victor Sheldon Creed. No other series regular has scored a win this year.

That’s the recipe for a free-for-all at Kansas Speedway which will host consecutive Gander Truck events this weekend. Drivers will have a short respite between Friday’s 7 p.m. Kansas 200 and Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. Kansas Speedway 200. Both races will be broadcast on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Both Sauter and Friesen could use strong performances in both races. An engine failure last weekend at Texas dropped Sauter to 33rd at the finish and 12th in the series standings, 22 points behind ThorSport teammate Matt Crafton in 10th, the last Playoff-eligible position.

After a fourth-place run at Texas—his first top five of the season—Friesen is tied with Sauter in points during a year that has seen his Halmar Friesen Racing Team struggle with a manufacturer transition from Chevrolet to Toyota.

Ross Chastain won the only Truck Series race at Kansas last year, but he’s competing for the NASCAR Xfinity Series title in 2020.

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Terrin Waack

Two weeks after his first-ever physical altercation, Harrison Burton is able to joke about the incident.

Burton, 19, and Noah Gragson, 22, got into a post-race fight at Kentucky Speedway on July 10. The two NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers each put hands on each other and had to be separated when things escalated. The fire has since simmered out, though.

“You have to enjoy it,” Burton said Wednesday on a Zoom teleconference. “I saw some fans put some funny things on Twitter. Things like that, back a couple of years ago or maybe even last year, would’ve probably bothered me, but now I just laugh it off.

“It’s a hard place to be when you’re kind of in the center of conflict. It always seems like it grows after the event. You feel like, all right, me and Noah fought, we’re done, that’s it. We’re going to move on and we’re going to be all right. Then, all of a sudden, you realize that it’s a lot bigger than that.”

An on-track incident initially sparked the drama. With 13 laps to go in the 200-lap race, Gragson’s No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet got into the rear of Burton’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Both cars ended up hitting the outside wall because of the contact.

Gragson finished seventh. Burton came in 12th.

“The hardest thing about that is you both have an understanding of where the other person is coming from, right?” Burton said. “But you both feel like you’re right, you both feel like you’re in the right.”

The two were having a heated conversation afterward in the garage. Burton pushed Gragson twice before Gragson threw the first punch.

“Moving on, I don’t expect to race Noah any differently than anyone else just because I race everyone as hard as I can,” Burton said. “I’m trying to just race everyone the same and hopefully I get that same respect back. I felt like I didn’t in that certain instance, so that’s why I was frustrated and why I was mad.”

There weren’t any issues last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, where Burton placed fourth and Gragson was 30th. Burton thought he and Gragson raced around each other just fine. If anything, maybe there’s an issue between Gragson and Burton’s JGR teammate, Riley Herbst, who wound up 36th after an early run-in with Gragson.

WATCH: Herbst wrecks after contact with Gragson

The whole Kentucky ordeal is in the past now and just considered a learning experience — at least for one of the two drivers involved.

“I was on SportsCenter for not the reason I want to be on SportsCenter,” Burton said. “So there are a couple of things I think maybe I would have done differently, but I’m still really proud of how I stood up for myself and I’m proud of how my team had my back in that situation.”

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Staff Report

The starting lineup for Thursday’s Super Start Batteries 400 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has been set.

Kevin Harvick will start from the pole position, with Joey Logano joining him on the front row to lead the field to green for the 267-lap, 400-mile race. Harvick enters the race with three wins at the 1.5-mile track with two of those coming from starts in the pole position.

The lineup for the race was determined by a random draw, with NBC Sports announcing the results. The parameters for the draw were as follows:

Positions 1-12 determined by a random draw from charter teams in those positions in team owner points
Positions 13-24: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points
Positions 25-36: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points
Positions 37-40: will be filled out by open, non-chartered teams in order of owner points

Here is a look at the full lineup:

Starting spot	Driver	Car #	Team
1	Kevin Harvick	4	Stewart-Haas Racing
2	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske
3	Aric Almirola	10	Stewart-Haas Racing
4	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske
5	Martin Truex Jr.	19	Joe Gibbs Racing
6	Alex Bowman	88	Hendrick Motorsports
7	Brad Keselowski	2	Team Penske
8	Kyle Busch	18	Joe Gibbs Racing
9	Kurt Busch	1	Chip Ganassi Racing
10	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing
11	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports
12	Matt DiBenedetto	21	Wood Brothers Racing
13	Chris Buescher	17	Roush Fenway Racing
14	Matt Kenseth	42	Chip Ganassi Racing
15	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports
16	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing
17	Bubba Wallace	43	Richard Petty Motorsports
18	Ryan Newman	6	Roush Fenway Racing
19	Clint Bowyer	14	Stewart-Haas Racing
20	Jimmie Johnson	48	Hendrick Motorsports
21	Erik Jones	20	Joe Gibbs Racing
22	Christopher Bell	95	Leavine Family Racing
23	Tyler Reddick	8	Richard Childress Racing
24	Cole Custer	41	Stewart-Haas Racing
25	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	JTG Daugherty Racing
26	Garrett Smithley	77	Spire Motorsports
27	Michael McDowell	34	Front Row Motorsports
28	JJ Yeley	27	Rick Ware Racing
29	Brennan Poole	15	Premium Motorsports
30	John Hunter Nemechek	38	Front Row Motorsports
31	Corey LaJoie	32	GoFas Racing
32	Quin Houff	00	StarCom Racing
33	Josh Bilicki	53	Rick Ware Racing
34	Joey Gase	51	Petty Ware Racing
35	Ryan Preece	37	JTG Daugherty Racing
36	Ty Dillon	13	Germain Racing
37	Daniel Suarez	96	Gaunt Brothers Racing
38	Timmy Hill	66	Motorsports Business Management
39	Reed Sorenson	7	Tommy Baldwin Racing
40	BJ McLeod	78	BJ McLeod Motorsports

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Staff Report

Don’t adjust the color settings on your monitor when you watch the Kansas NASCAR Cup Series race on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and see a heavy dose of red on Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford.

It may look different than normal, but then again, Harvick is representing a Busch Light flavor innovation that is anything but ordinary.

Yes, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver will show off a crisp new look at Kansas — as he did for last week’s All-Star Race — with the Busch Light Apple Ford.

The introduction caps a historic month for Busch Beer, which on July 13 launched its first flavor innovation in the brand’s 65-year history.

“The development and launch of Busch Light Apple is one of the most significant moments in our brand’s 65-year history,” Daniel Blake, VP of Value Brands at Anheuser-Busch, said in a press release. “We tested this flavor and knew immediately that our fans would love the crisp, refreshing taste. Our fans have had an incredible reaction to everything we’ve done this year, and with this limited-time run we know they’ll be moving quickly to try it before it’s out of the market.”

Busch Light Apple currently is available in 22 states across the country, with cases of 12, 24 and 30 cans.

Lucky and alert fans have a chance to stake claim to a case during Thursday night’s race. Busch Beer is running a social promotion and will give away a case worth of beer every lap of the race — so fans have a chance to win during all 267 laps.

Check Busch Beer’s Twitter to learn how to win, and tune in to see Harvick’s refreshing scheme under the lights.