Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: FAQ for race format

STAGE 2: 

Polesitter Ryan Blaney grabbed the Stage 2 win in the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday after leading the final 18 laps of the 80-lap stage.

The stage win is Blaney’s third of the season. In all, he led 28 laps through the first 160 laps.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson was second in the stage. Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five.

Truex led a race-high 59 laps through the first two stages, followed closely by Busch’s 58 laps led.

STAGE 1:

Defending race winner Kyle Busch captured his second stage win of the season when he was first to the green-and-white-checkered flag on Lap 80 in the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday night.

Busch led 18 of the first 80 laps in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for the Stage 1 win, which also earns him a playoff point.

Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., who led a stage-high 43 laps, was second.

Polesitter Ryan Blaney was third, followed by Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski in the top five.

The top 10 finishers in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 receive race points. The race winner will receive 40 points and five playoff points at the conclusion of the Final Stage.

STAGE 2 RESULTS

Finish Driver Team Race points
1  Ryan Blaney  Wood Brothers Racing 10
2  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 9
3  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 8
4  Jamie McMurray  Chip Ganassi Racing 7
5  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 5
7  Kasey Kahne  Hendrick Motorsports 4
8  Matt Kenseth  Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9  Erik Jones  Furniture Row Racing 2
10  Joey Logano  Team Penske 1

 

STAGE 1 RESULTS

Finish Driver Team Race points
1  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 9
3  Ryan Blaney  Wood Brothers Racing 8
4  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 7
5  Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 6
6  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 5
7  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9  Kasey Kahne  Hendrick Motorsports 2
10  Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 1

 

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

SATURDAY, MAY 20:

ON TRACK
— 4:35 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (Open; multi-vehicle, two rounds), FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN 2)
— 6 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Monster Energy Open (20 laps, 20 laps, 10 laps), FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN 2)
— 8 p.m. (approx): Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (20 laps, 20 laps, 20 laps, 10 laps), FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN 2)

LIVE STREAM (Watch live)
— 12:45-1:45 p.m.: Trackside Live pre-race show

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— Approx 11 p.m.: Post-All-Star Race press conference 

THURSDAY, MAY 18:

ON TRACK
— 5-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice (Results)
— 7-7:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (Results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 4 p.m.: Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes
— 6:15 p.m.: Austin Cindric

FRIDAY, MAY 19:

ON TRACK
— 1-2:10 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy Series practice (Monster Energy All-Star), FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN 5)
— 2:10-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy Series pit road speed practice (Monster Energy All-Star), FS1 (Canada: TSN 5)
— 3-4:25 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy Series practice (Monster Energy Open), FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN 5)
— 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)
— 6:05 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (All-Star Race), FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN 5)
— 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (134 laps, 201 miles), FS1 (Results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 11 a.m.: Richard Petty Motorsports announcement 
— 11:30 a.m.: FOX NASCAR announcement 
— 12 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr. 
— 12:30 p.m.: Ty Dillon 
— Approx 8 p.m.: Post-qualifying press conferences 
 — Approx 11 p.m.: Post-race press conference 

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 12:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

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RELATED: Junior to retire after ’17 season | How to make the banana-mayo sandwich

Fishing, hiking, surfing, honey-do lists and trips to the grocery store for mayonnaise.

Yes, that’s what Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement will look like following the 2017 season.

At least that’s the picture he painted in his latest Nationwide commercial, which will premier during Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Say goodbye to “Water cooler Dale” and hello to “Golden years Dale.”

 

Posted on by George Winkler

RELATED: Set your NASCAR Fantasy Live lineups

Clint Bowyer, No. 14, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, $20.50: Bowyer has only five top-10 finishes in 17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, but he figures to move up in the field for tonight’s Go Bowling 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1). He is starting 30th because of inspection issues, but his 10-lap averages in practice suggest he has a fast car that will help you in place-differential points.

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet,$26.75: It’s nearly the same advice for Johnson, who will start 29th because of inspection problems. He had a fast car in practice and is a three-time winner at Kansas. Even if he doesn’t rack up another win, he likely will move up in the field and give you plenty of place-differential points, and perhaps even lead some laps.

Kevin Harvick, No. 4, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, $27.50: In the last five races at Kansas, Harvick has three top-five finishes and a victory (Fall, 2016), to go with the best average finish among active drivers (6.6). He’s starting eighth Saturday night and figures to be in the hunt for a win.

MORE: 10-lap averages | Full starting lineup

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Full race results | Kyle Busch wins at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Ben Rhodes said he never felt the debris that hit the front of his dominant ThorSport Racing No. 27 Toyota. A close inspection showed why.

 

Rhodes’ path to a seemingly in-hand breakthrough victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series came undone seven laps shy of the finish with engine failure Friday night at Kansas Speedway. The setback allowed Kyle Busch to inherit the lead and drive to victory in the Toyota Tundra 250.

 

The cause of Rhodes’ demise was almost imperceptible — debris that pierced the grill left just a coin-sized hole in the front end, but it was enough to puncture the radiator and gradually drain the water from his truck’s powerplant.

 

“We hit something,” Rhodes said after his 23rd-place finish. “It’s just strange that it had to happen like that and had to happen to us.”

 

Rhodes was ever-so-close to avenging his difficult loss in last year’s 250-miler at Kansas, when he crashed battling Johnny Sauter for the lead in an overtime finish. This time, the defeat left Rhodes feeling snakebitten as he remained winless in 31 career truck starts.

 

“It’s always been something throughout my racing career,” Rhodes said. “I know everybody says it’s never easy, but I’ve lost way more than I’ve ever won leading races, or something always happens. It just seems like we can never overcome it. This whole season, we’ve done everything right and contended for wins every single race, and it’s just been bad luck. We’ve just got to overcome this somehow. I don’t know how that is.”

 

Rhodes led four times for 25 laps, grabbing the top spot for the final time on the 142nd of 167 laps. After racing hard alongside Busch to take command, he began to put some distance on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular.

 

“He drove a flawless race,” Busch said of Rhodes. “He was doing an awesome job. There were times when I had to pull a lot of tricks out of my bag in order to keep him behind me, and I think he learned a little bit from that.”

 

Rhodes learned plenty, but the team was still shaking its head after the late-race turn of events. Crew chief Eddie Troconis snapped a quick picture of the slight damage to the grill before the No. 27 was loaded up to head home.

 

“We were just sailing to the checkers,” Troconis said. “We were like 10 laps to go, no mistakes. We were just cruising. There was no reason why we were not going win this thing. But like you always say, you don’t get the checkered flag until you cross the last lap. Unfortunately, it’s out of our control.”

 

Rhodes’ dejection was evident in post-race interviews, but so was the support from his team and other well-wishers. Encouragement came from multiple sources — hugs from his ThorSport crew, a pat on the back from fellow driver Brett Moffitt, and reassuring words from Toyota Racing Development’s David Wilson.

 

“It’s what you need to hear. It’s what you like to hear. It’d be a lot better seeing that in Victory Lane,” Rhodes said. “I’m glad that I have the support of everybody behind me because if you don’t have that, then you have nothing. It probably feels like we have nothing, but I know that our guys are still battling tooth and nail. I’m giving it 150 billion percent and I know they are, too. I’m going as hard as I can go, and as I told everybody else, if Ben Rhodes don’t make it in this game, it’s not from lack of effort.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full race results

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kyle Busch didn’t do a celebratory burnout when he won Friday night’s Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway.

He didn’t do his customary bow after notching his 47th victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

 Heartbreak for Ben Rhodes, who was leading by more than a second when his engine expired with eight laps left, provided the stroke of serendipity that launched Busch into Victory Lane.

 And Busch knew it.

 “That’s one of the worst ones to swallow right there, for sure,” Busch said of Rhodes’ misfortune. “I didn’t do a burnout or nothing like that. I just got the checkered flag for our group of guys at Kyle Busch Motorsports.

“Ben Rhodes had that race won. That one was his. I tried everything I could to try to chase him back down. I just didn’t have enough speed in our Tundra tonight—it was fast, but his was a little bit faster than ours.”

Busch won for the second time at Kansas, having also triumphed in his most recent previous start at the speedway in 2014. His win gave him a sweep of tonight’s stages, as he also won Stage 1 and 2 of the 250-mile race.

Three laps after a restart on Lap 139 of 167, Rhodes won a sustained side-by-side battle against Busch and pulled ahead. Rhodes stretched the advantage to as much as 1.4 seconds before a piece of debris shot through the grille of his No. 27 Toyota and torpedoed the engine.

 Rhodes, who was driving a chassis built by Kyle Busch’s Rowdy Manufacturing with a body made by KBM, took his truck to the garage and retired in 23rd place.

“We ran with the best tonight,” a chagrined Rhodes said after the race. “Our Safelite Tundra had speed all night long. We did everything right, but Ben Rhodes has a curse on his back or something, because something always goes wrong.

“A piece of debris went through the grille into the radiator and blew up the motor… It’s just crazy that something always goes wrong with our (ThorSport) team. We do everything right—we just can’t pull one off. We’ve been trying for years and years.”

WATCH: Rhodes says it was ‘really neat’ to race with Busch

Rhodes, of course, is only 20 years old and has just 31 career starts in the Truck Series.

Johnny Sauter ran second and retained the series lead by two points over polesitter Christopher Bell, who was trapped a lap down after pitting on Lap 123 when the 10th caution of the race on Lap 127 interrupted the pit sequence.

Busch had just left pit road when the yellow flag flew. The caution kept him on the lead lap, and he cycled back into the lead when the rest of the contenders came to pit road on Lap 128.

But Busch lost the top spot to Rhodes after the 11th caution for Matt Crafton’s spin through the infield grass, and Rhodes pulled away while Busch and third-place finisher John Hunter Nemechek were battling for second place.

Bell came home fourth, followed by Chase Briscoe and Brett Moffitt.

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: See the races in Kansas | Full Kansas schedule

KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Eleven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers failed to make qualifying attempts Friday after a backlog of cars scrambled to make their way through the inspection line at Kansas Speedway.

The list of drivers missing out included Jimmie Johnson, a two-time winner this year; his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne; and hometown favorite Clint Bowyer. They’ll be among those starting at the rear of the 40-car field in Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, indicated that several teams struggled to make it through the Laser Inspection Station (LIS), the last of four stops in the inspection process.

“What we measure there is a big performance metric and everybody pushes the limit,” Miller said outside the NASCAR hauler as the opening 20-minute round of qualifying wound down. “Obviously pushed the limit a little bit too much today and a lot of cars didn’t pass.”

The drivers who missed out were more difficult to placate. Bowyer, a native Kansan, threw up his hands after his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet failed to make the time cut. Bowyer’s car owner, Tony Stewart, entered the NASCAR hauler shortly after Miller’s remarks to discuss the issue.

“This is just, wow. Super disappointing,” Bowyer said as he walked from the inspection bay. “You are off ten-thousandths of an inch. It is ridiculous. Most people can’t even understand how little that is. I get it. If you are off, you are off, but I watched my guys move the car and adjust the car accordingly for it and then actually overcompensate on it because we were worried about not making it. Then they wheel it back in and fail the exact same amount? Twice? That makes no sense. None.”

Johnson, forced to a 29th-place starting spot, will share the 15th row with 30th-starting Bowyer when the field assembles for Saturday’s 400-miler. The three-time Kansas winner sounded unconcerned about starting in the back half of the pack.

“A lot of cars didn’t get a chance to go out and a lot of cars had trouble. So, I don’t know what lies in all of that, but I’m not the best at qualifying anyway, so this takes all the pressure off of me and my job at what I do behind the wheel,” Johnson said with a laugh. “And I love passing race cars. I was really happy with our car.

“We actually had some short run speed and some (qualifying) speed today, so I’m disappointed we didn’t get a chance to go out and take my Lowe’s car for a rip, but I love passing cars and there’s a lot of them on this race track. So, we’ll be fine.”

Said Earnhardt: “I don’t know why it failed, but I’m sure that is the way everybody feels that didn’t get through it’s like they don’t understand what is going on, but it definitely would have been nice to start a little closer to the front and make it a little bit easier on us, but we will have to do our best when the race starts to try to be aggressive and get as many as we can on the early restarts.”

NASCAR developed a new procedure for its inspection schematics before the season began, mandating that teams that fail any of the four stations must repeat all four stations again before presenting their vehicles for qualifying or the race. Earlier this year at Atlanta Motor Speedway, five cars missed qualifying because of an inspection logjam.

Miller characterized Friday’s issues at Kansas as “fairly disappointing” and left the door open for examining the penalty structure for inspection failures.

“We need to assess how we’re doing all this and make sure that the right message is sent,” Miller said.

The rest of the drivers missing out on qualifying: Erik Jones, David Ragan, Landon Cassill, Reed Sorenson, Corey LaJoie, Timmy Hill and Carl Long.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

RELATED: Blaney grabs Kansas pole

 

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney notched his first career Coors Light Pole Award Friday night at Kansas Speedway, logging a lap at a blazing 189.600 mph.

 

Blaney, who is in the midst of a breakout season with 150 laps led already, caught the attention of some of his fellow drivers after he put his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing on the pole position for Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1).

 

(Side note: Junior probably should lay off watching Office Space for awhile.)

 

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Race lineup | Kansas at a glance

KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Ryan Blaney zoomed to the Coors Light Pole Award in Friday qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway.

Blaney clocked a lap of 189.600 mph with the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford on the 1.5-mile track. The 23-year-old driver’s first career Coors Light Pole in the Monster Energy Series was the first for the Wood Brothers’ team since April 2004, when Ricky Rudd qualified first at Talladega Superspeedway.

RELATED: Junior, Jimmie congratulate Blaney on first pole

“This year has been a big step up in qualifying,” said Blaney, in his second full season driving for the storied racing team. “Your car and track changes and you have to be on top of that. Everyone has done a great job of staying on top of that. We have been really close a couple times this year but it feels good to get it done.

“I know it is only qualifying but it feels really cool to get this first pole. It says a lot about this entire team.”

Joey Logano logged the second-fastest lap, registering a speed of 189.540 mph in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford, which shares a technical alliance with the Wood Brothers operation. Logano lamented losing ground to Blaney exiting Turns 2 and 4 on his final qualifying lap, but lauded his fellow Ford driver’s accomplishment.

“Congratulations to Blaney. That is cool,” Logano said. “Your first pole is a big deal. It is a big deal for him. I just hate being second. I have to be honest.”

RELATED: Blaney says he wants to run The Clash

Martin Truex Jr, the pole-starter here last spring, was third-fastest in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota at 189.201 mph. He’ll start alongside fourth-fastest Ricky Stenhouse Jr., last weekend’s first-time winner at Talladega, in Row 2.

Kyle Busch, the defending race winner and the fastest driver in final practice, completed the top five in the three-round knockout qualifying session.

Issues in pre-qualifying technical inspection forced 11 drivers to miss the opening 20-minute session. The full list of those not attempting a qualifying lap: Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Erik Jones, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Landon Cassill, Reed Sorenson, Corey LaJoie, Timmy Hill and Carl Long.

A 12th driver, Michael McDowell, missed qualifying because of engine trouble.

RELATED: Inspection logjam costs 11 teams