Posted on by Staff Report

Get full lineup of NASCAR programming for the week

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule

All times ET

Monday, May 11
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Tuesday, May 12
4:30 p.m., NASCAR America: States of NASCAR #6, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Wednesday, May 13
4:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special (re-air), NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
11 p.m., NASCAR K&N Series West: Tucson (tape), NBC Sports Network

Thursday, May 14
4 a.m., NASCAR Masters of the Clock: The Legend of Martinsville (re-air), FOX Sports 1
3 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FOX Sports 1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
9 p.m., Uncompromising: Kevin Harvick, FOX Sports 1
9:30 p.m., 100,000 Cameras: Talladega, FOX Sports 1
10 p.m., NASCAR Masters of the Clock: The Legend of Martinsville (re-air), FOX Sports 1

Friday, May 15
3 a.m., Uncompromising: Kevin Harvick (re-air), FOX Sports 1
3:30 a.m., 100,000 Cameras: Talladega (re-air), FOX Sports 1
4 a.m., NASCAR Masters of the Clock: The Legend of Martinsville (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 a.m., The 10: Greatest Soundbites in NASCAR History (re-air), FOX Sports 1
11 a.m., Uncompromising: Kevin Harvick (re-air), FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m., 100,000 Cameras: Talladega (re-air), FOX Sports 1
Noon, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown final practice, FOX Sports 1
1:45 p.m., NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race final practice, FOX Sports 1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
4 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown, FOX Sports 1
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup, FOX Sports 1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200, FOX Sports 1

Saturday, May 16
3 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5:30 a.m., The 10: Greatest Charlotte Moments (re-air), FOX Sports 1
2 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown (re-air), FOX Sports 2
3 p.m., 100,000 Cameras: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (re-air), FOX Sports 2
3:30 p.m., The 10: NASCAR’s Wildest Throwdowns (re-air), FOX Sports 2
4 p.m., The 10: Greatest Soundbites in NASCAR History (re-air), FOX Sports 2
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200 (re-air), FOX Sports 2
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, FOX Sports 1
9 p.m., NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, FOX Sports 1

Sunday, May 17
9 a.m., Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge: Mazda Raceway (tape), FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (re-air), FOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY, FOX Sports 1
2 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series 3M 250, FOX Sports 1
8 p.m., The 10: Greatest Drivers in NASCAR History (re-air), FOX Sports 2
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown (re-air), FOX Sports 2
9:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (re-air), FOX Sports 2

 

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Character paint schemes, merchandise sales help make Kansas weekend a hit

SHOP: SpongeBob SquarePants 400 gear
RELATED: See the SpongeBob SquarePants character-inspired paint schemes

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The SpongeBob SquarePants 400.
 
When Nickelodeon announced in March that it would be sponsoring the Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on May 9 and naming the event after its highest rated series ever, chances are you either chuckled, scratched your head, had your eyes light up or some combination of the three.
 
Now that we’ve had a chance to soak up all of the Bikini Bottom goodness like a sponge, it’s time to assess how it all went down.
 
In a word: swimmingly.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

PHOTOS: Best images from the SpongeBob SquarePants 400

"Between the race teams, NASCAR.com and the social media feeds; the great thing about social media is you can instantly see what people are thinking. I think some of the purists are like ‘This is stupid,’ but you’re always going to get that. I’d say like 90 percent of the comments have been like ‘This is the coolest thing; I’m going to watch,’" said Anthony DiCosmo, VP of Sports Marketing for Nickelodeon.

"Even Nickelodeon, all of the social media, we’ve taken over. And the kids are saying ‘Oh, I dream to drive this car.’ And they’re going to be meeting these drivers for the first time inside the Nickelodeon world, outside of the context of traditional racing, which hopefully will get them to be like, ‘Wow, this is kind of cool, let me find out more.’


"I think when you look at the collective social chatter that you’ll see around this race and what the pulse point is … I think you’re going to see a significant spike (in a younger audience)."

That younger audience came out in full force on Saturday, packing the stands and jockeying for position during pre-race driver introductions just to get a glimpse of the SpongeBob and Patrick Star mascots that were on hand. Such full force all weekend, in fact, that all of the SpongeBob merchandise at Kansas Speedway sold out — on Friday.
 
While Mr. SquarePants and Mr. Star’s likenesses were patrolling the infield, the real-life Squidward Tentacles — SpongeBob’s surly, clarinet-playing neighbor, in case you haven’t seen the show — was on hand as a race ambassador.


"I love it" Rodger Bumpass said, in full Squidward intonation. "I’m really jazzed about being here. It’s backstage. It really is. An average person doesn’t get that opportunity. Whenever I get to work on a movie, you go on the lots; even though there’s nothing going on, there’s sound stages, there’s a sense of history, there’s a sense of what’s been done here and … (NASCAR) is just eye-opening and wonderful."
 
It’s been a great experience for Bumpass – though he felt snubbed that another character, "Plankton," is painted on two cars to his one, on Casey Mears‘ No. 13 — and the SpongeBob immersion is obvious from the six total cars this weekend sporting paint schemes (in both the Sprint Cup and Camping World truck Series) and nearly the entire speedway all "SquarePants’ed-out."
 
Clearly, "SpongeBob SquarePants" is a cartoon that transcends Saturday mornings and can carry a major sporting event – and carry it well. It’s because the show, which has seen a catalogue of 189 episodes and two feature-length films, isn’t just for kids.


"I’m hearing a lot of parents say that this is the one cartoon show that they’ll gladly sit and watch with their kids. Funny is funny, for any age. There’s no age limit for (Spongebob)," Bumpass said. "You get the people that are watching SpongeBob that are getting into teens; to connect them with this, I think it’s a great transition into the motorsports world."
 
One of the most prevalent storylines from early SpongeBob episodes dealt with him trying — and failing spectacularly over and over again — to get his boating license.
 
So, how would SpongeBob fare if he took his boat to a NASCAR track?
 
"I was telling the drivers, ‘If you really want to go fast, do what I do,’ " Bumpass said. "Pretend that SpongeBob is behind you taking his boating exam … again. You will fly, believe me."

Posted on by Staff Report

Racing in Kansas has resumed after wet weather stopped the race

RELATED: Live weather updates from Kansas

Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 (FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Kansas Speedway was delayed by rain with 98 laps completed but racing resumed after a red flag period of two hours and 16 minutes.

Drivers were called back to their cars around 10:30 p.m. ET and engines were re-fired at 10:58 p.m. ET. Shortly thereafter, the green flag waved and racing resumed.

The 267-lap, 400.5-mile race, No. 11 of 36 Sprint Cup Series points events, got underway with a green flag time of 7:36 p.m. ET. However, rain hit the track after the race’s third caution on Lap 94 near 8:35 p.m., and after a yellow flag period, NASCAR officials threw the red flag and brought cars down pit road.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

The Air Titan track-drying system was quickly deployed to get the track race-ready.

Polesitter Joey Logano led the opening 29 circuits, but gave way to Kurt Busch for the next 20 laps. Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick took the point position from there for seven laps. Martin Truex Jr. was then out front for 22 laps. Brad Keselowski,  Matt Kenseth and Erik Jones also held the lead briefly as the field cycled through pit stops that ultimately put Truex back out in front.

At the time of the delay, the top 10 running order was: Truex, Harvick, Busch, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray.

Logano would have been in the top 10 at the delay but he was hit with a penalty for having his crew go over the wall too soon during his four-tire stop.

Jones is making his first career Sprint Cup Series start. He filled in for Denny Hamlin at Bristol Motor Speedway in April after Hamlin suffered neck spasms. Jones is in 11th place.

There was a competition caution at Lap 25 to check tire wear on the cars at the 1.5-mile track.

Alex Bowman had ignition issues and went to the garage just before the competition caution.

In the early moments of the race, Jimmie Johnson nearly spun out, but the six-time champion was able to save it.
 
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this evening’s weather forecast for the area calls for a chance of precipitation at 40 percent. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts are possible if thunderstorms occur.
 
Earlier this year, the start of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was delayed for nearly one hour by rain. That event was eventually run in its entirety with Jimmie Johnson collecting the win. There were also lengthy rain delays last month at Bristol Motor Speedway that twice delayed a race eventually won by Matt Kenseth.

Two weeks ago, storms in the Richmond, Virginia area pushed the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway back from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon.

–NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola contributed to this report.

Posted on by Staff Report

Get the on-track times for everything this weekend

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series are at Charlotte Motor Speedway, while the NASCAR XFINITY Series heads to Iowa Speedway. Check out the full schedule below.

All times are ET

SUNDAY, MAY 17:

RUN OF SHOW
1:30:00: Driver introductions
2:02:00: Intro Presentation of Colors by Iowa National Guard
2:02:20: Invocation by Randy Danley, Iowa Speedway Ministries
2:02:45: Intro National Anthem (30×50 American flag unfurled on ballfield Turn 1 side of stage TBD)
2:03:00: National Anthem by Zack Williams, Ankeny, Iowa
2:04:30: Fly-by TOT: Six planes from KC Flight Formation Team (Turn 4 to Turn 1)
2:09:30: "Drivers, Start Your Engines" by Tracinda Yaw, Plant Manager, 3M Knoxville
2:16:30: Green flag: 3M 250 (250 laps, 218.75 miles)

ON TRACK
— 2 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series 3M 250 (250 laps, 218.75 miles), FOX Sports 1 (Get results)

THURSDAY, MAY 14:

ON TRACK
— 3-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 7-8:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 2:15 p.m.: Cameron Hayley, Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 2:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series

FRIDAY, MAY 15:

ON TRACK
— noon-1:40 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 1:45-3:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint All-Star Race final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 4:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown Qualifying, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 5:45 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 7:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown (20 laps/20 laps), FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200, FOX Sports 1 (134 laps, 201 miles) (Get results)

MISS SPRINT CUP LIVE CHAT (Watch live)
— 12:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon live chat with Miss Sprint Cup Madison Martin

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— noon: Doug Rice with Joey Logano
— 3:25 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
— 3:40 p.m.: Kasey Kahne and Keith Rodden
— 3:55 p.m.: Kyle Busch
— 7:45 p.m. (approx.): NSCS Sprint Showdown Post Race Press Conference
— 10:45 p.m. (approx.): NCWTS Post Race Press Conference

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 1:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series

SATURDAY, MAY 16:

ON TRACK
— 10-10:55 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice (Get results)
— noon-1:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice (Get results)
— 5:45 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (Get results)
— 7:10 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Qualifying (three laps with pit stop and a four tire change), FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 9 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint All-Star Race (25 laps/25 laps/25 laps/25 laps/10 laps), FOX Sports 1 (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 10:45 p.m. (approx.): NSCS Post Race Press Conference

Posted on by Nascar

Read the notes NASCAR provides during the driver’s meeting

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR SPECIAL AWARDS

Award Driver
Coors Light Pole Award Joey Logano
3M Lap Leader Dale Earnhardt Jr.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race" Award Jeff Gordon
Freescale Wide Open Award Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ingersoll Rand Power Mover Award Kurt Busch
Mahle Engine Builder of the Race Award Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race Award Sam Hornish Jr.
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race Award Paul Menard
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap Award Carl Edwards
Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award Matt DiBenedetto

RACE TIME

Event Time (ET)
Driver Introductions 6:40 p.m.
Pre-race prep: Tires, interior & remove generators 6:50 p.m.
Line up crews — facing the flag 7:19 p.m.
Invocation 7:20 p.m.
National Anthem 7:21 p.m.
Command to start engines 7:37 p.m.

SPECIAL INFORMATION

Number of Laps 267 laps
Competition yellow Lap 25
Pit Road Speed 45 mph
Caution Car Speed 55 mph
Pit Road Speed Begins 240 feet before the first pit box
Pit Road Speed Ends 100 feet past the last pit box
Minimum Speed 32.46 seconds
Exiting the Pits (Blend Line) Keep all four tires below the white line until the exit of Turn 2, past the grass on the drivers’ left
Fuel Pit Stalls 1-22 Sunoco pumps in the NCWTS garage
Fuel Pit Stalls 23-43 Sunoco pumps in the NSCS garage
Enter Victory Lane From NSCS garage exit gate
Post-Race 2-6 stop in pit stalls 28-32
All Others Double file at 28, against the grass

NEXT WEEK

Event Track/Day/Time (ET)
Next week NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
Hauler parking 7 p.m. ET, Thursday, May 14
Garage opens 7 a.m. ET, Friday, May 15
First practice Noon ET, Friday, May 15
Posted on by Nascar

Kansas run still marks Furniture Row’s 10th top-10 finish of 2015

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A late-race call for fuel only might have been "the worst thing you could have done there," said Martin Truex Jr., the driver who led more laps than anyone in Sunday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400.

Proof was on the race track, where Truex, 34, was unable to catch the folks in front of him or hold off those behind during a final six-lap shootout at Kansas Speedway.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

It was on the scoreboard, too, where the formidable No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet finally appeared in the ninth position. Instead of battling defending series champion and points leader Kevin Harvick for what might have been his third career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, Truex was left to mull over what could have been.

"We ended up being the last guy with no tires," Truex said of the call that brought him and a handful of others running low on fuel to pit road. "Everybody else behind us had two (tires) and they ate us up on the restart." 

Fuel mileage was already a concern for the front-runners when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brought out the ninth and final caution of the race on Lap 256 of the 267-lap race.

Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) and Truex Jr., running 1-2, were among those that hit pit road. Four others — eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch (SHR) and Jeff Gordon (HMS) did not and started up front.

Truex, taking fuel only, was first off pit road and restarted fifth with Harvick on his outside. With two fresh tires and fuel, Harvick charged toward the front; Truex, meanwhile, went nowhere.

"It was fun. … Bad finish, good run. What are you going to do?" Truex said on pit road.

"It was a good run for us. It was a lot of fun all night long to run like that. I’m just proud of all my guys to bring a fast car like that. It was disappointing to run like that and not be in position to win it there at the end, but on the flip side, what a great run for us. That’s a sign of things to come I think and we’ll just keep working hard."

Although winless, Truex sits second in points, 46 behind Harvick. Among the single-car teams competing each week, the FRR bunch is clearly the class of that field.

And it’s closed the gap on the bigger teams, as well.

"I’ve never come out on the right end of one of these fuel mileage deals and I hate when it comes down to that," he said. "We had a shot to win it there if that last caution didn’t come out. We were right there with Harvick, just saving a little bit of fuel and waiting until about 10 to go to really put the hammer down.

"It would have been nice to have raced him heads-up and see if we could have beaten him because I thought we had a shot at it. All in all, it was a good night, just not a great finish." 

Truex led five times for 95 laps.

Crew chief Cole Pearn made the call for fuel only, but Truex wasn’t about to take his team’s leader to task for the move.

"He’s taken gambles when he needed to that paid off, he’s been smart when he needed to, he’s done everything right," Truex said. "And tonight he just — he didn’t make the right call. …

"Hindsight is 20/20. He’s done a great job this year of calling races … and I just want to make sure that he doesn’t get his confidence down, because he’s been so good at it. Live and learn. He’ll learn from tonight and get better next time around, and he’s doing a great job."

Posted on by Nascar

The 33-year-old driver to stay with team through 2020 season

SHOP: NASCAR gear | RELATED: Allmendinger inks multiyear deal with Kroger

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver AJ Allmendinger has signed a five-year extension to remain with JTG Daugherty Racing, a move that will keep him in the No. 47 Chevrolet through the 2020 season.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Allmendinger, 33, competed in nine Sprint Cup races with the team in 2013 before taking over the driving duties fulltime for the ’14 season. A victory at Watkins Glen International was his first in the Sprint Cup Series, the first for the organization and secured a berth in last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
 
While he and the team failed to advance to past the opening Challenger Round of the Chase, his 13th-place points finish was a career best.

The team is co-owned by husband and wife Tad and Jodi Geschickter as well as former NBA star Brad Daugherty. It was recently announced that The Kroger Company had increased its funding for the single-car team, serving as primary sponsor for 17 races this season and 24 in ’16.

"It goes along with this Kroger deal and a lot of the companies we have," Allmendinger said of his contract extension during a press conference prior to Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, Sirius XM). "… The great thing is we’ve got a lot of sponsors; the tough thing is trying to remember them all. My suit weighs like 12 pounds now. It’s a good problem to have.
 
"With that said, those sponsors are here long-term; Tad and I did a new deal through 2020 which to me was just a no-brainer. Tad and Jodi have been such a big influence on my life outside the race car. Inside the race car it’s great to have a job and be here for a long time but what they mean to me outside the car is family, people I consider some of my best friends. Kind of a renewed love of the sport they’ve given me, just a different outlook. … Tad handed me the contract and I flipped to the back page and signed it and said ‘here you go.’"
 
Allmendinger has 237 career starts in the Sprint Cup Series. He is also a two-time winner in the XFINITY Series.
 
"Anybody that knows me they see my passion that I have, I always try to go out there and try to be better," he said. "It pushes me and my life every day. This race team, I really take everything to heart because I know how hard (they) work, what they give us and the effort they put into this race team. And I think sponsors see that too."
 
Allmendinger enters tonight’s race at Kansas Speedway 19th in points. He has two top-10 finishes in 10 starts this season.

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Erik Jones leads 151 laps, but runs dry with five to go

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Matt Crafton didn’t have the fastest truck in Friday night’s Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway, but he had the best feel for fuel mileage and what his crew chief would call their lucky fuel cell. The result was Crafton’s seventh series career victory.
 
With truck after truck pulling to the inside of the 1.5-mile Kansas oval over the last five laps with empty fuel cells, Crafton cruised over the finish line with only a few drops of fuel left in his ThorSport Racing Toyota Tundra.
 
"It was not the winning truck," Crafton said after getting to Victory Lane. "We were definitely a second-place truck."

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

The truck that obviously was the fastest was the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra of rookie Erik Jones. It led 151 of 167 laps and was comfortably in the lead with four laps to go.
 
But it was also one of those trucks which ran short of fuel at the end. It wound up 11th.
 
"It just sucks – we had by far the best truck," Jones said after the race. "We were up to an 11-second lead at one point and it’s just so terrible for these guys when we bring that fast of a truck. We couldn’t bring the win home and I saved as much as I could most of the run. The 19 (Tyler Reddick) made us run pretty hard. Being eight laps short, I don’t know how the 88 (Crafton) made it. It’s too bad, we’ll have to bring another fast truck next weekend to Charlotte and we’ll go get a win there."

RELATED: Jones dominating run goes dry
 
Also running out of fuel while in contention for the victory in the final laps after Jones dropped out were Reddick and Daniel Suarez.
 
The victory was the second of the season for Crafton, the defending series champion, and his second in the last three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Kansas. That made him the first driver to win more than once at the track located on the far west side of Kansas City.
 
"I heard somebody say that to me before the race," Crafton, who led a total of six laps, said of the Kansas landmark win. "I said, ‘Two times.’"
 
The victory allowed Crafton to pad his points lead to 17 points over Reddick as he attempts to win a third-straight series championship.
 
"You’ve got to be close enough to sneak one out once in a while," Crafton said. "I’ve lost some like this so every once in a while when you steal one I don’t feel too bad about it."
 
After the race, Crafton’s crew chief, Carl Joyner gave credit to a particular fuel cell which he said has given his trucks better fuel mileage for some reason.
 
Sprint Cup regular Ryan Newman, driving a truck owned by former Kansas Sprint Cup race winner Joe Nemechek and making his first truck series start since 2013, finished second.
 
Newman was in the seat as a favor to Nemechek, who is in the process of grooming his son John Hunter for the ride.
 
"Trying to teach John Hunter a little bit of what I’ve experienced on pit road, how to get everything you possibly can," Newman said. "But that wasn’t my main goal. My goal was to come here and win."
 
Johnny Sauter finished third. Rounding out the top five were veteran Timothy Peters and rookie Cameron Hayley.
 
Jones, who won the pole earlier in the day with a lap at 179.396 mph, led the first 43 laps.
 
For the first 30 or so laps of those, Crafton stayed close to the young driver from Michigan. But then Jones began to pull away. On Lap 38, Jones’ lead over Crafton was four seconds.
 
But on Lap 41, a caution flag waved and on the ensuing stops, Crafton beat Jones out of the pits to take the lead.
 
On Lap 48, back came Jones to take the lead and once out in clean air again, he began to pull away. On Lap 60, his lead was 2.9 seconds. He would lose that margin – and the lead – as he was beat out of the pits after yellow flag stops that began on Lap 67 by Newman.
 
But on the restart, he left Newman behind. By Lap 88, Jones’ lead was six seconds. By Lap 105, it was over 10 seconds on Newman.
 
On Lap 109, the caution waved again and, once again, Jones’ lead was erased as he was beaten off pit road by Reddick, who was involved in a crash with his Brad Keselowski Racing teammate and started the race from the back in his backup truck.
 
But once again the restart, Jones moved back to the front and began to move to a seemingly comfortable lead.
 
But only seemingly.
 
"I didn’t know how short we were, but I knew the fuel window," Jones, who will make his first Sprint Cup Series start Saturday night in Kansas, said. "I knew we had to save and I couldn’t give the lead up to the 19 (Tyler Reddick) at that point. If a caution would have come out – losing track position is so big this year, if we would have lost the lead then we would have never been able to get it back. It’s just a shame. I saved as much as I could there later on and it just wasn’t enough. Eight laps short, we just couldn’t do it. We had a fast Tundra and it’s just a shame we couldn’t bring it home for these guys."

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Team Penske takes two of top three spots in the starting grid

SHOP: Logano gear | RELATED: See all 43 cars at Kansas | Full starting lineup

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Joey Logano strengthened his standing as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ 2015 Qualifying Meister on Friday night as he won the Coors Light Pole Award for Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).
 
The pole was the fourth in 11 attempts this year for the Team Penske driver and his second in the last three weeks.
 
"Definitely cool to get another pole," Logano said.

Logano, who had never won more than two poles in a season in his previous six full seasons in Cup, was asked about his sudden ability to dominate in qualifying.
 
"Last year it took us pretty much the whole year to get one pole," he said. "We won a lot of first and second sessions but we’d fall on our face in the third session. So it’s pretty special to be able to figure out these third sessions and still have a lot of speed in our car when we get to those rounds. You don’t get anything for winning the first and second rounds is what I figured out last year."
 
Logano nailed the pole with a lap at 192.397 mph and in 28.067 seconds in his Team Penske Ford. It was a lap that knocked teammate Brad Keselowski (who posted a lap at 191.857 mph/28.146 seconds) off the pole and it was a lap that kept Kasey Kahne  (191.911 mph/28.138 seconds) of Hendrick Motorsports from knocking Logano off late in the third and final round of knockout qualifying.
 
Keselowski will start P3 on Saturday.
 
Next to him in the second row will be Martin Truex Jr. in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet.
 
There were several surprises in Friday’s qualifying session.
 
Perhaps the biggest of those was the performance of Erik Jones. The 18-year-old Jones, who is occupying the seat of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota because of the injury to regular driver Kyle Busch, was making his first qualifying run in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jones responded by advancing to the final round and then putting down a lap that was sixth fastest.
 
"I thought it was pretty good," Jones, who earlier in the day posted the fastest lap in the final Cup practice of the day, said. "It was nice to make the final round, it was good for us. Our teammates are pretty fast this weekend and I’ve been leaning on them."
 
Another interesting surprise was Greg Biffle. Biffle, driving the No. 16 Ford, became the first Roush Fenway Racing driver to advance to a final round of knockout qualifying. His lap at 191.015 mph was the seventh fastest of the final round.
 
"We just got a little better speed in our car and this race track has been pretty good for us," Biffle, a former winner at Kansas, said. "We barely made the first round and barely made the second and then I just drove it – over drove it. I just said I was going to go for it. I didn’t care what happened. I was 11th so I kind of had nothing to lose and that is a hell of an improvement and a great accomplishment. The fact is though that we have to find that speed for the race now and we are celebrating a seventh and three years ago we would be mad right now. I am excited we are seventh and not 27th but at the same time we will keep our head down and keep improving on it."
 
Carl Edwards, who during a press conference earlier on Friday beat himself up pretty badly for getting off to a slow start in his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing, advanced to the final round of qualifying and will start fifth.
 
"We’ve really tried to focus all of our efforts," Edwards said after qualifying. "We’ve had bad luck and some problems and it’s time to really get going here. Everybody has really stepped up and our Stanley Toyota is great. If we can just have a good, solid race tomorrow and perform the way we know we can, then it’s going to be great. And Erik Jones has helped a ton today too so everybody is coming together and hopefully it yields a good result."

Edwards led the first round of qualifying as he went out early in the 20-minute session, posted a lap at 192.342 mph. Second fastest was Logano of with a lap at 191.904 mph.
 
In the second, 24-driver round, Truex Jr. went out to take his lap with just over five minutes left in the 10-minute round and responded with a session-best lap at 191.986 mph. It was a lap that kept Edwards from topping both sessions.
 
Failing to make the third round were such notables as six-time champion Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports, teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., and former series champions Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth.
 
The only driver to miss the race was Brendan Gaughan, who was driving the No. 62 of Premium Motorsports.