Posted on by Dustin Albino

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — It could be argued that with Kyle Larson’s three victories (tied for second among all drivers) and crossing the millennium mark in laps led throughout his career at Kansas Speedway (most in track history), that he is the alpha dog at Kansas. 

Larson expects to run at the front of the field at the high-banked, 1.5-mile intermediate. And that’s exactly what he did in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400.  

“It’s cool to be the all-time lap leader here; that’s pretty awesome, especially for as long as this track has been going and guys that are still racing have been going for a long time,” Larson said of becoming the new laps-led leader at Kansas after leading 78 circuits. “Proud of that, proud of the day and the [No.] 5 team, keep inching at it.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Kansas

Larson was a mainstay inside the top five for the duration of 400 miles, finishing runner-up to Hamlin in Stage 1. He took the lead during the second stage, winning his third stage of season, tying Hamlin for the series high. 

The No. 5 car dropped two positions on pit road at the stage break and lost two more during the opening laps of the run. With the laps clicking away, he was in line to finish third, more than 10 seconds behind the battle with Hamlin and Tyler Reddick. 

But when Cody Ware spun to bring out the race’s only natural caution with two laps remaining in regulation, Larson was among the biggest beneficiaries. Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 car, elected to take right-side tires, as did the entire top 10. Larson exited pit road in third, choosing the inside line of the second row for the overtime finish.

When the green flag waved, Larson dropped to the apron, getting underneath Hamlin. He was able to clear both the No. 11 car and Reddick to be the leader at the white-flag lap by more than a quarter of a second. The No. 45 Toyota dove deep into Turn 1 to get next to Larson and was able to clear the No. 5 car for the lead through Turns 3 and 4. Larson was 0.118 seconds from capturing the checkered flag, as his winless drought extended to 33 races. 

“The restart worked out perfect for me,” Larson said of the overtime sprint. “Denny was stretching away and [Brad Keselowski] gave me a tap and let me rebuild my momentum and was able to do a later move getting to the inside of Denny into 1. [Reddick] had to protect his outside, so it made him go the long distance. I got clear of the lead and was happy — really happy. 

“But then I went down into [Turn] 3 and I couldn’t carry the throttle and speed; I was super tight and didn’t get through there like I needed to. Tyler had a big run behind me and knew I was going to be in trouble either lane I went.”

MORE: Race recap from Kansas | Top highlights

The runner-up finish for Larson is his second consecutive podium effort in 2026. It’s his fourth second-place result since his most recent triumph. 

“It was a solid day,” Larson added. “About normal for us at Kansas. We always run inside the top five here, lead lots of laps, get stage wins and stuff like that and have gotten a lot of race wins. It was a normal day and I would say these tracks, we’re fine at. It’s the short tracks that we are really far off right now, so we will keep working at that.”

Posted on by Dustin Albino

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When Denny Hamlin fulfilled his required media availability on Saturday, he emphasized how many races that the No. 11 car has dominated at Kansas Speedway in recent seasons. Yet over the last 11 races entering Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, Kyle Larson was the only driver with multiple victories.

Add another close defeat to the list for the 61-time Cup victor.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Kansas

Entering the second consecutive Kansas overtime race, Hamlin chose the inside line as the race leader. That put Tyler Reddick to his outside with Larson bumper-to-bumper with the No. 11 car on the inside of the second row. Hamlin knew what was coming.

At the drop of the rag, Larson dipped to the inside line, putting Hamlin vulnerable in the middle lane. Both the No. 5 car and Reddick cleared Hamlin, as he made contact with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell down the backstretch. Reddick made a last-lap pass on Larson while Hamlin settled for fourth position.

“I think Denny is just mad and wishes he hadn’t taken the bottom and had taken the top because it’s a little different in overtime,” Chris Gayle, signal caller for the No. 11 Toyota, told NASCAR.com. “When [Larson] lines up behind you, there’s some history of [him] not pushing because it’s a two-lap shootout and nobody is going to give pushes like they would have earlier in the race because they can split and go three-wide. Maybe you at least force somebody to push you if you take the top, I think is the issue there.”

Each time the field chooses for the restart, the No. 11 team leaves the decision to Hamlin to pick which lane he prefers. The core group studies data infinitely, but knows that with a two-lap dash, those statistics can be altered.

“I have to recognize that I know [Larson] is going to do that move, and I have to make sure that if it happens, I do everything I can to let [Reddick] win,” Hamlin told reporters. “I got beat by that a few years ago and knew in my mind that the top was the place to be, but the numbers say the bottom. In these green-white-checkered scenarios, you can throw the numbers out. I will certainly learn a lesson there.

“It’s a double-edged sword. I need the push, but I know that the first opportunity, [Larson is] going to go bottom, so I need to do everything I can. If that happens, then the 45 wins, which he did.”

MORE: Race recap from Kansas | Top highlights

Prior to overtime, Hamlin and Reddick were having a fierce battle in a clean race. Gayle called Hamlin to pit road five laps prior to Reddick and Christopher Bell at Lap 216 to gain track position. With the laps winding down, Reddick got closer and took the lead with 10 circuits remaining.

Hamlin cooled the tires down and made one last push to make a late rally. The No. 45 car stumbled with three laps remaining, allowing the No. 11 car to take back the lead. Cody Ware spun on the next lap, setting up the overtime finish just before Hamlin could take the white flag.

Before overtime, Hamlin felt as though he was in the catbird seat.

“Even when the 45 got around, I felt pretty confident I was going to get back around him on the last lap if I hadn’t already,” Hamlin said. “He made the mistakes coming to two to go. It allowed us to capitalize, and I knew from that point on, chaos was going to happen.”

Instead, Hamlin has led 290 laps over the last two Kansas races and has seen two possible victories slip away.

“I hate it for all of the guys,” Gayle stated. “I thought we had a great car. We were in position, and then talk about an up-and-down deal with the 45 out of fuel and then getting this caution. I guess Cody Ware spun out on the apron, and somehow, we couldn’t have made that about a lap later. It’s tough.”

Fortunately for the No. 11 team, Toyota has been the class of the field at intermediate races, and there are seven more 1.5-mile events upcoming on the schedule.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR heads to Kansas Speedway for a high-speed weekend featuring the Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Bookmark this page for everything you need — from qualifying order and practice speeds to results and more.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | TV listings

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FOX. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Ten sets for the weekend (eight new race sets, one set transferred from qualifying and one for practice).

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Race day: Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Six sets for the weekend (four new race sets, one set transferred from qualifying and one for practice). 

NOTE: Practice and qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather. The starting lineup will be set by the rulebook.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Starting lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on by Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Tyler Reddick scraped the outside wall in the closing laps. His fuel system stumbled at a critical moment. He collided with fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell in overtime. He fell behind defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson on the final restart.

Yet, in a magical season for the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, Reddick won Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in spite of all the adversity.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Kansas

The catalyst was Cody Ware’s spin on Lap 266, the penultimate circuit of the scheduled regulation distance. That incident caused the third caution of the race one lap after Denny Hamlin had retaken the lead from Reddick, who switched to pump 2 in his Camry after the car sputtered with two laps left.

Ware’s spin sent the race to overtime, and all 16 cars on the lead lap came to pit road for tires, with Hamlin, Reddick, Larson, Bell, Bubba Wallace and five cars behind them taking right-side tires only.

Moments after the overtime restart on Lap 273, Larson steered to the inside of Hamlin on the bottom row and charged into the lead. Reddick fell back after his contact with Bell’s Toyota forced Bell into the outside wall.

SHOP: Race winner gear

But the outside lane opened up for Reddick, whose handling was superior to Larson’s in overtime. Reddick mustered a huge run in the top lane, then drove to the inside of Larson’s Chevrolet, which tightened up on corner entry.

Reddick cleared Larson through the final two corners and crossed the finish line 0.118 seconds ahead of the reigning champion.

“Just really blessed with the late caution,” said Reddick, who won for the fifth time this season, the second time at Kansas and the 13th time in his career. “Was that nuts or what? I couldn’t believe it.

“I mean, first off, I feel like I have to say, obviously, just for how I feel. I never like being on the inside of it – really hate that for Christopher Bell. Good, hard racing. The 11 (Hamlin) came up. I mean, I took off tight. Not thrilled I got Christopher there. I hate that for him because he was having a good, solid day.

“Man, these late race restarts get crazy. I obviously had a run on the 5 (Larson). I was shocked I was able to get to his inside there. An incredible SupplyHouse Toyota Camry all day long.”

Reddick is the first driver since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 – and fourth all-time – to win five of the first nine races of a season in NASCAR’s top division. His series lead increased to 105 points over second-place Hamlin, who won the first stage.

NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who co-owns 23XI Racing with Hamlin, was elated with the victory.

“This kid is on fire,” said Jordan, who has witnessed all five of Reddick’s victories this season in person. “I don’t know how I can ever cool him down. He is unbelievable. Unbelievable last couple laps. I’m proud of the whole team.”

MORE: Hear from MJ | See photos from Reddick’s celebration

Larson, who led 78 laps and won the second stage, executed the overtime restart to perfection but couldn’t hold the lead.

“I got to the lead, and I thought I could cruise right there to the checkered flag, but my balance on two tires was just super, super tight,” said Larson, whose winless streak grew to 33 races. “I didn’t get through (Turns) 3 and 4 fast enough, and then the No. 45 (Reddick) had such a big run on me from behind.

“I thought I could go to the top to get some load into my front tires, but it still didn’t turn there. That was a bummer, but just overall happy with the day we had.”

Chase Briscoe finished third on four new tires, with Hamlin and Wallace running fourth and fifth, respectively. Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

Bell, who led 47 laps, spun coming to the white flag in overtime and finished 20th.

Hamlin led a race-high 131 laps and was positioned for the victory until Ware’s spin.

“I mean, obviously it’s not winning,” Hamlin said of the way the race played out. “It’s Cody Ware, six laps down, wrecking. I don’t know. It just added up.

“I fell for the same move that the 5 (Larson) got me a couple years ago when I was on the inside. I got to learn from those mistakes that I make, not executing those last few laps.”

The NASCAR Cup Series races next in the Jack Link’s 500 next Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET on FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Reddick won the spring race at Talladega in 2024.

Stage 2 recap

Kyle Larson won Stage 2 of the Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway (FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), leading 77 laps in pursuit of ending his 32-race winning streak.

Denny Hamlin finished second, Tyler Reddick third, Chase Elliott fourth and Christopher Bell fifth. Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top 10.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Larson hopped out to his first lead of the afternoon, clearing Hamlin on the Stage 2 restart. Hamlin, who won the opening frame, faded to fourth, settling in behind polesitter Tyler Reddick.

During the stage, Larson passed Kevin Harvick (949) for the most all-time laps led at Kansas.

The green-flag pit cycle began on Lap 120, with Gibbs’ No 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota the first machine coming for service. Unlike the opening stage, the cycle completed without issues, but shortly afterward, Reddick brushed the wall in Turn 1 and reported his steering column was slightly off-center.

Ryan Blaney finished 21st in the stage, but according to Racing Insights, the No. 12 pit crew turned its quickest stops of the season over the first 165 laps in the Heartland.

Stage 2 was completed without a caution.

Stage 1 recap

Denny Hamlin led 75 of 80 laps for a dominant Stage 1 victory in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.

Kyle Larson finished second, followed by Tyler Reddick in third, Ty Gibbs in fourth and Christopher Bell in fifth. Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace and Corey Heim rounded out the top 10.

MORE: Stage 1 results

Hamlin and Reddick battled side-by-side for three laps at the start, making contact on Lap 2 before the No. 11 driver cleared into the lead at Lap 4.

Cars started peeling toward pit road on Lap 33, with Ryan Preece the first driver exiting the track for service, surrendering a top-10 starting position. Hamlin came in from the lead on Lap 38, one lap after Reddick pitted from second.

During the pit cycle, Ryan Blaney, with a new jackman on the No. 12 Ford, had a clean stop but made contact with AJ Allmendinger as the No. 16 Chevrolet entered his box. Blaney left unscathed, but Allmendinger fell two laps down. Additionally, Carson Hocevar, who was running inside the top 10, had a 15-second pit stop after a pit gun broke during his service window.

The opening stage was completed without a caution.

Note: Post-race inspection was completed in the Cup Series garage without issues, confirming Reddick as the race winner.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Bubba Wallace made his 300th career NASCAR Cup Series start after taking the green flag in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.

The driver of the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing is competing in his ninth full-time season at NASCAR’s top level and has amassed three wins while qualifying for the Cup Series postseason twice (2023, 2025).

RELATED: Wallace through the years | Kansas race results

Wallace got the call-up to the Cup Series in the middle of 2017 to pilot the No. 43 for then-Richard Petty Motorsports (now Legacy Motor Club) after Aric Almirola suffered an injury. Wallace competed in four races that year before earning the full-time ride in the No. 43 for the 2018 season.

He collected three top fives in three seasons for RPM before a shockwave new ownership duo of Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan formed 23XI Racing and named Wallace its full-time driver for 2021.

Before Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions at Kansas, Wallace contemplated some of the moments from his racing journey, saying some of the lows of his career had stuck with him along with the highs.

“I reflect a lot, reflect a lot on the bad ones because we always say we can always remember the ones we lose, right?” Wallace said. “So, yeah, 300, it’s crazy. It’s cool to go through the motions with RPM and now 23XI and to build this team into what it is now, so it’s cool to play small parts.”

Wallace earned his first career victory at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2021, becoming the first Black driver to make the trip to Victory Lane since Wendell Scott in 1963.

Wallace scored his second Cup win in the 2022 postseason at Kansas Speedway and competed for the championship in 2023.

After a winless 2024, Wallace scored the biggest victory of his career in 2025 — holding off two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Larson to win the Brickyard 400 at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Wallace banked a top-five at Kansas, holding eighth in the Cup Series standings.

Posted on by Staff Report

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Two cars dropped to the rear of the field before the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway because of unapproved adjustments.

The No. 22 Team Penske Ford driven by Joey Logano and the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Noah Gragson fell back during pace laps before Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the 1.5-mile track. Logano had earned the 15th starting spot in Saturday’s qualifying session, and Gragson was set to start 28th in the 37-car field.

RELATED: Sunday’s starting lineup | At-track photos

Logano indicated on an MRN Radio broadcast Saturday that his team was set to change the steering rack on his No. 22 Ford after he experienced power steering issues in Cup Series practice. A Front Row Motorsports representative said that the steering column was changed on Gragson’s No. 4 Ford.

Sunday’s event is the ninth of 36 points-paying races on the Cup Series circuit. Logano enters the 400-mile race in 12th place in the series standings; Gragson ranks 31st.

Posted on by Zack Albert

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Ideally, NASCAR teammates work closely together. Camaraderie and collaboration usually follow. There’s a limit, however, to just how close that teamwork should be.

That hard lesson hit home for Richard Childress Racing stablemates Jesse Love and Austin Hill in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Kansas Speedway. Love came away with a fourth-place finish in the Kansas Lottery 300, but Hill’s day ended after completing just 37 of the 200 laps, losing control of his No. 21 Chevrolet and crashing after close-confines racing with Love.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Kansas

Hill battled alongside Love’s No. 2 RCR Chevrolet through Turns 3 and 4 when their contest for sixth place in the early going turned sour. Love held the middle groove to Hill’s high side, but offered little in the way of running room near the corner exit. Their proximity upset Hill’s aerodynamic balance, causing his No. 21 entry to slide out.

“Just battling hard there for the Stage 1 points,” Hill said after an evaluation at the infield care center. “You know, he got a run on me and slid me, so then I turned back under him and got beside him, and then I was trying to be a good teammate and not just go in there and slide him really dirty or anything. So I just kind of was content with just running the bottom (lane) and see if I could beat him on the bottom. And my spotter, Derek (Kneeland), told me that he was starting to get tight on my door, and what he was doing in the center of the corner was fine. There was enough air there. We were both racing hard.

“He was going to clear me down or at least be beside me, probably ahead of me, down the frontstretch, and that last little bit when we were coming off (Turn) 4, when he got all the way on my door, he knew what was going to happen. I mean, he put it right on my door. There was no air on the right sides. I don’t care how good of a race car you are, when there’s no air on the right sides, you’re going to spin out every time. So yeah, Jesse’s better than that, and we’re teammates. I would expect a little more room than what I was given. So unfortunate, just how our season has been going, though, man.”

Love, the defending series champion, was contrite after emerging from his No. 2 Chevy on pit road. He indicated he would make a point to discuss the incident with Austin before the night was out.

“Yeah, I was definitely hoping for a little bit more room, too — not in that instance, but maybe before,” said Love. “I felt like, look, I’m the reason that Austin got in that spinner crash, certainly. I didn’t really see a replay, but I hate that for him because, did I go overboard on how tight I ran him? You know, probably. I feel like I’m aware of that. I’ll obviously have to lean on the people around me with more experience to say what they think on it so I can get their two cents, but at the end of the day, we were both racing each other hard. Whether or not we need to be doing that from how far back I came from, maybe that’s a conversation me and him can have. But regardless, no matter what I feel about it, I just hate it for the 21 guys and (crew chief) Chad Haney and Austin and, of course, Richard and all of RCR. We want both of our cars up there competing. It makes both of us better.”

WATCH: Love clears the air on Hill contact: ‘I was racing hard’

Hill’s spin was nearly a harmless one, but as the No. 21 drifted toward the track apron, the car was T-boned by the approaching No. 18 Toyota of William Sawalich. The left-side damage was terminal to Hill’s Chevy.

“I have no idea where the 18 was going, but he KO’d us and ended our day,” Hill said. “I guess he closed his eyes when he went through the smoke. I’m not really sure.”

Said Sawalich, a first-time winner at Rockingham two weeks ago: “Yeah, I thought he was gonna keep rolling up the track, and I was just in the smoke and I didn’t see him until I was basically into him. So, just unfortunate.”

Love extended his series-leading streak of races without a DNF to 24. Before Saturday, his closest challenger in that category was Hill; the early exit snapped his streak of running at the finish at 18 races. While Love solidified his third-place stature in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings, Hill teetered to eighth place after a two-spot drop.

The two teammates should also figure prominently into the circuit’s next race, next Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Talladega Superspeedway. Hill swept last season’s O’Reilly Series events at the 2.66-mile Alabama track, and Love notched his first series win there in April 2024.

They’ll likely have to work closely again next weekend, but Hill said he expected little change to their dynamic.

“I’d say business as usual,” Hill said. “Talladega is a total different breed than Kansas is. So nah, we’ll be fine there.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The early bird got the victory on Saturday night.

The first of the frontrunners to pit during the final 95-lap green-flag run in the Kansas Lottery 300, Taylor Gray grabbed the lead during the cycle and held off charging Sheldon Creed to score the second NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of his career.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Kansas

Crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who won at Kansas with driver David Green in 2003, called Gray into the pits on Lap 143 of 200. Creed and Brandon Jones, running first and second on Lap 146, emerged from pit road after stops on Lap 147 roughly three seconds behind Gray.

Jones, winner of the first two stages, had to serve a pass-through penalty for a tire violation during his stop and lost the chance to win. But Creed, with Justin Allgaier behind him in third, began a methodical pursuit of Gray that ultimately came up 0.718 seconds short.

“How about Jason Ratcliff?” Gray exclaimed after climbing from his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “That pit call was awesome. We had a car capable of winning. I thought the 20 (Jones) was a little better than us before the green-flag cycle started, but we just had to stay locked in, and we had to be a little bit freer.

“Jason made a really good adjustment on the car and a really good pit call and got us in clean air. It’s been a long start to the year, man — not that we’re not bringing speed to the race track. It’s just that things haven’t really gone our way. So it’s nice to finally be able to close one out.”

Gray gained three positions to ninth in the series standings.

As it turned out, Creed also had plenty of reasons to celebrate. By finishing first among four eligible drivers, he earned a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the first time in his career. It was Creed’s fifth attempt to win the Dash 4 Cash prize money.

“It was a great day for us after starting in the back,” said Creed, who dropped to the rear of the field at the beginning of the race after his No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection. “I kind of knew right away my car was really fast, and I was able to drive to the front, and I just had a lot of fun today …

“It’s just really cool to be able to bring a hundred grand back to the Haas Factory Team. I definitely wanted to win and add to it, but the 54 (Gray) did a really good job short-pitting us. He ran a really good last 40 laps there, and got through traffic quick and made it where I never really got close enough.”

Allgaier came home third, followed by defending series champion Jesse Love and Brent Crews. William Byron, Cole Custer, Jones, Sam Mayer and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10 in a race that featured 11 lead changes among eight drivers.

Allgaier finished third in both stages and added one point to his series lead over second-place Creed. The margin is now 131 points.

Long before Gray took the checkered flag, there was plenty of action in the first stage.

The race wasn’t two laps old when an accident on the backstretch launched the No.1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Carson Kvapil into the air and sent it flipping down the backstretch.

Contact from Byron’s Chevy turned Kvapil’s car sideways near the front of the field. Parker Retzlaff’s piled into Kvapil’s car near the outside wall. The impact knocked the rear of Kvapil’s Camaro airborne, and the car proceeded to barrel-roll down the backstretch, coming to rest on its roof.

With the use of tethers and a tow truck, safety workers righted the car, and Kvapil climbed out before a mandatory trip to the infield care center.

“Maybe on dirt, I’ve flipped a few of them, but definitely never asphalt racing or a big stock car race,” Kvapil said after being evaluated and released from the care center. “It was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be, once I realized I was going over, but it just sucks.”

On Lap 38, Jesse Love crowded Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill down toward the apron as the two raced side-by-side in Turn 4. Hill spun sideways, and as he fought to control his No. 21 Chevrolet, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of William Sawalich plowed into Hill’s car.

MORE: Hear from Austin Hill

“I’ll remember this,” Hill promised on his radio, referring to racing from his teammate, whom he thought was unnecessarily close.

Hill fell out of the race in 34th place. Corey Day saw his streak of eight straight top 10s end with a 12th-place finish after rallying from an accident on Lap 101 and a subsequent flat tire.

Gray, Creed, Allgaier and Love qualified for the third Dash 4 Cash race of the season, Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Inspection was completed in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series garage without issues, confirming Gray as the winner. 

Posted on by Zack Albert

Track: Kansas Speedway
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Track length: 1.5 miles
When: 2 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: FOX, HBO Max, FOX One, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,233,037
Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles
Stages: 80 | 165 | 267
Sunday’s starting lineup | Cup Series pit stall assignments

Havoc in the heartland? Veterans, Toyotas find favor in Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kansas Speedway has built a solid reputation as a NASCAR crowd-pleaser, especially with a series of compelling finishes in recent years. Kyle Larson’s record-setting 0.0001-second margin of victory here two years ago stands out as an all-timer, and a bare-knuckle final lap last fall allowed Chase Elliott to squeak through for a crucial win.

Producing drama? Check. What Kansas has yet to produce in its 40-race Cup Series history is a first-time winner.

Veterans and proven winners will aim to hold serve in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, FOX One, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the ninth of 36 Cup races this season. One breakthrough winner has already emerged as the tour heads for the quarter pole, with Ty Gibbs notching his first victory last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Trends and history, however, indicate that another Victory Lane newbie is unlikely to break out here.

MORE: Weekend schedule, TV info | At-track photos

Each of the last 29 Kansas winners has had at least 100 Cup Series starts, and Kansas’ 40-race void for first-timers is the most of any active track on the circuit. With Gibbs finally relinquishing the title of “most likely first-time winner” last weekend, Carson Hocevar (starting sixth Sunday) and Ryan Preece (starting 12th) rocket to the top of the list of candidates who might buck the Kansas pattern with a breakthrough of their own.

As for pre-race favorites, Kyle Larson has the odds on his side to break a 32-race drought, but Saturday’s preliminary action points to a Toyota driver carrying the banner. Toyotas swept the top five positions in Cup Series practice, plus four of the top five in qualifying. The latter group was headlined by series points leader Tyler Reddick, who secured the automaker’s fifth pole in the last six Kansas races.

Another Toyota win Sunday would mark the first time since Chevrolet did it in 2007 that a manufacturer won seven of the season’s first nine events.

“(Ford driver Austin) Cindric was walking into qualifying with me. He’s like, ‘Oh man, we’re in Toyota territory,'” said Chase Briscoe, who starts fifth in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Camry. “Yeah, Toyota just seem to really run well here, just from a standpoint of how their downforce, I guess, is for the style of race track, it’s just really, really good. So I think we’ll be in the mix (Sunday). You know, I definitely think it’ll be a Toyota that’s going to be battling for the win, and I think the hotter temperatures (Sunday) will just help us even more. So yeah, hopefully that all plays into our favor.”

MORE: Sunday Setup: Weather, tire loads in focus

In the details …

Consistency is king across NASCAR’s intermediate race tracks, but wins share the reign. The importance of strong finishes is perhaps higher now than at any other time across the last dozen years, thanks to the onset of The Chase. Entering Sunday’s race, the longest top-10 streak across NASCAR’s 1.5-mile tracks belongs to Christopher Bell. But Bell’s last victory on a 1.5-mile track came back in 2024 in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Here’s who has the longest top-10 streaks at 1.5-mile tracks in the Cup Series, all but two of whom are looking for their first win of 2026:

DriverStreak
Christopher Bell6
Chase Briscoe5
Brad Keselowski4
Denny Hamlin3
Kyle Larson3
Tyler Reddick2

Speed reads

Race-day essentials:

• Kansas hub: Key information, pit-stall assignments, results | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh looks at Midwest doubleheader series in the heartland | View gallery
• Full race projection: Find out who is predicted to win on Sunday | Read more
• Hauler Talk: Officials talk with Eckes after Truck Series crash | Listen now
• Carson’s Turn?: Why Hocevar may be next for breakthrough first win | Neil Paine’s analysis
• Power Rankings: Cup Series’ top 20 drivers after Bristol | This week’s ranks
• NASCAR Classics: Inside the video vault from Kansas | Watch now

Contributing: Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR.com

Posted on by Staff Report

For just the second time this season, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to a traditional 1.5-mile track. This weekend, Kansas Speedway, site of Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Kansas is an important litmus test as the Cup Series begins a stretch of six intermediate-type tracks over the next eight points-paying races, stretching through Pocono Raceway in mid-June. The last time the Cup Series conquered a mile-and-a-half, Denny Hamlin prevailed at Las Vegas, and according to Racing Insights, he’s expected to be in the mix again on Sunday.

RELATED: Full starting lineup | Kansas preview

Kyle Larson is the defending race winner of the spring Kansas event, but despite earning the series title last fall, he hasn’t returned to Victory Lane since then. Racing Insights suggests that Larson’s 32-race drought will end this weekend, and he’ll return to prosperity in the heartland. Here’s a look at more drivers to keep an eye on, and full projections for 267 laps in the Midwest.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

CHRIS BUESCHER: The No. 17 RFK Racing driver paced the Blue Ovals with a seventh-place starting position and has generally been solid at 1.5-mile tracks. Buescher finished sixth at Las Vegas earlier in the spring, and two of his last four trips to Kansas resulted in top-10 finishes — including his 0.001-second runner-up to Larson in 2024. Through eight races this season, Buescher’s average finish is eighth-best in the series at 13.4.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: No matter where the Cup Series heads, Bell is a threat. While he hasn’t broken through with a heartland triumph, the Oklahoma driver has led in eight consecutive races — a track record. Bell’s finished inside the top 10 in each of the last five Kansas races, by far the longest streak among active drivers. His average finish is fifth best all-time at 11.6, so something has to finally give, right? He swept the stages at Las Vegas in the spring before finishing fourth.

ALEX BOWMAN: In his second race back from vertigo, the No. 48 driver will have some significant work to do starting 33rd — but Kansas is one of Bowman’s best tracks. He’s led 191 laps at the track, and his 14.8 average finish is his second-best among all ovals. Bowman’s turned top 10s 11 times at the Midwest venue, his most at any circuit, and enters Sunday with top 10s in six of his last seven races here. A 2026 turnaround could finally be in order for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

MORE: Saturday recap | At-track photos

FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR 2026 ADVENTHEALTH 400 (2 p.m. ET, FOX)

FINISHCAR NUMBERDRIVER
15Kyle Larson
220Christopher Bell
311Denny Hamlin
49Chase Elliott
545Tyler Reddick
612Ryan Blaney
717Chris Buescher
824William Byron
954Ty Gibbs
1022Joey Logano
1119Chase Briscoe
1260Ryan Preece
136Brad Keselowski
1423Bubba Wallace
1577Carson Hocevar
1648Alex Bowman
177Daniel Suárez
181Ross Chastain
198Kyle Busch
2038Zane Smith
2171Michael McDowell
2297Shane van Gisbergen
2334Todd Gilliland
242Austin Cindric
2521Josh Berry
2647Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2743Erik Jones
283Austin Dillon
294Noah Gragson
3016AJ Allmendinger
3142John H Nemechek
3267Corey Heim
3335Riley Herbst
3441Cole Custer
3510Ty Dillon
3688Connor Zilisch
3751Cody Ware