What to Watch: Kansas provides perfect storm for intense action

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Cameron Richardson

Track: Kansas Speedway
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Track length: 1.5 miles
When: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,055,250
Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles
Stages: 80 | 165 | 267
Defending winner: Kyle Larson, May 2024
Starting lineup: Kyle Larson nudges Chris Buescher from P1 to take Kansas pole

Team execution amid chaos is key to success Sunday at Kansas

If Saturday afternoon’s practice session was any indication, Sunday’s Cup Series race will be unpredictable.

Teams pushed the limits to find speed and were aggressive on air pressure in their tires which led to multiple issues for the likes of Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Zane Smith to maximize pace during the short-run sessions. While teams will be more conservative in maintaining their cars for potential long runs Sunday afternoon, Kansas still provides treacherous moments for when drivers choose to push hard.

During practice, two-time Kansas winner Kyle Larson scrubbed the wall running the top line on the progressively banked Turns 3 and 4. Despite the contact, Larson still put in the ninth-best single lap of the session and was the fastest overall in 10-lap consecutive averages.

MORE: Cup Series standings | Full 2025 schedule

According to data from NASCAR Insights, all signs point toward Toyota taking back the reins at a track that they dominated in 2022 and 2023.

Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick are all listed in the top five in speed rating during the Next Gen era at Kansas, and three Toyota teams also have the best pit crews so far in 2025 with the No. 23 (Bubba Wallace), No. 54 (Ty Gibbs) and No. 11 (Hamlin) teams.

Three of 23XI Racing’s eight Cup wins have come at Kansas, but both Wallace and Reddick were snubbed from top 10s in both events last year.

From Wallace: “We wanted to give everybody else a chance,” he said with a smirk on Saturday during at-track media availabilities. “We decided to try something different and it didn’t work for us. I, myself, was very adamant on getting back to where we need to be when we show up to this place because when you show up to places that you’ve had success in, it breeds confidence, right? When you go into it and you have a lackluster day like my two races last year were, it hurts a little bit. Nothing’s ever the same. No matter how good you have it going, you always have to continue to evolve and somewhere we got off the path, but hopefully get it back.”

Both Reddick and Wallace were top 10 in single-lap practice speed Saturday. In qualifying, Reddick posted the fourth-best time while Wallace will start 15th for Sunday’s 400-miler.

MORE: Full Saturday recap

Logan Riely | Getty Images

From atop the pit box …

What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?

With Kansas’ tendency to provide great racing from start to finish, the final laps can come down to a pass in the final corner or who was just thousandths of a second quicker coming to the start/finish line.

The most recent spring edition at Kansas gave just that as Kyle Larson outdueled Chris Buescher by a mere 0.001-second margin in the closest Cup Series finish in history. For Buescher’s crew chief Scott Graves, seeing the replays make it almost impossible not to dwell on.

“The part that makes it hard is it they show it all the time, right?” Graves told NASCAR.com. “Guys that were on the Ricky Craven, Kurt Busch cars from the closest finish at Darlington — there was a guy that still works in the garage that was on the losing end of that one, and he thanked me last year after that finish because he’s like ‘now I don’t have to look at it every year.’ The ones that are that close, you always look at and think about what if, but you try to move on. You look ahead and you know that it’s a good track for us, so we always circle it as one that we can be really competitive at.”

MORE: Power Rankings for Kansas

Kansas has also been a track that shows a full team result where the driver and pit crew have near equal input in how they finish their race. Last year’s playoff race saw Denny Hamlin lose lots of track position on pit road as the No. 11 crew struggled to have a clean stop, but Hamlin was able to grind out a top-10 result to net a good points day.

Cliff Daniels, crew chief for Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, noted that their team has also had its pit-road woes at the 1.5-mile oval but that Larson has been able to make up for it.

“You can run so many different lanes,” Daniels told NASCAR.com. “Got cars that are good around the bottom, then you’ve kind of got a lane off the wall, then you’ve got a lane at the wall. It just makes for a really, really fun and exciting race. When you do have the track position, the critical aspects of keeping it are the details of the pit stop and being good enough on pit road and executing those couple restarts that are really critical to maintain your day.”

Kansas has been the home to the most speeding penalties at intermediate ovals in the Next Gen car with 37 since the spring race in 2022.

“We’re aware of it. It’s part of what we review every week, which I’m sure everybody does,” Graves said. “There’s hot spots on pit road that we’re aware of, and if you’re in a spot, you can pick in that area on pit road so it kind of takes those out of play. If not, then you just, you got to be aware of them and be careful. There certainly are some here. For the benefit you get from pushing pit road, it’s just not worth the penalty of having to go to the back of the field.”

Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

History tells us …

Dominating Kansas doesn’t guarantee a win. The driver leading the most laps failed to win the last five Kansas races, the longest streak ever at the track. Moreover, the pole sitter has not won at Kansas in the Next Gen car and has only won once since 2018 (Kyle Larson, fall 2021).

He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …

ROSS CHASTAIN. A 23.5 average starting position through 11 races this season has been by far the worst for the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing driver since joining the team in 2022, but it hasn’t stopped the 32-year-old journeyman from grinding out top 10 after top 10. He’s tallied five of them in the last seven races and enters Kansas, where he won last fall, coming off a runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend.

Fantasy update

NASCAR Fantasy Live expert Dustin Albino provides insight for your race-day lineup.

For the second straight year through practice and qualifying in the spring Kansas weekend, Chris Buescher leads the charge of drivers challenging Hendrick Motorsports and Toyota. Buescher had threatening pace over the long haul, ranking second on 10-lap averages and fourth over a 20-lap run. I’ve added the No. 17 car to my lineup in place of Kyle Busch, who had speed in practice but slapped the outside wall during his qualifying run. An early qualifying draw dropped Alex Bowman to 21st in the starting lineup, but the No. 48 car is plenty fast to have available come Sunday.

Lineup: Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher.

Garage: Alex Bowman.

MORE: Get lineup advice in Fantasy Fastlane

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• NASCAR at Kansas: Key information, links, results through the weekend | Read more
• Welcome back, Miami: Homestead returns as Championship Weekend host in 2026 | Read more
• Clearing the air: Hocevar details midweek conversation with Preece after Texas comments | Watch video
• Rebound on the way?: JGR has cooled over the last few weeks, but is reignition on the horizon? | Read more
• Blaney’s best: Where can the 2023 Cup champ get to Victory Lane before playoffs begin? | View gallery
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 | Read more
• Turning Point to Kansas: Where chaos becomes the standard | Read more
• At-track images: Best photos, scenes from Kansas doubleheader | View gallery
• NASCAR Classics: All the thrills and intense finishes from the Sunflower State | Watch races
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs ready to tackle Kansas | View gallery

Logan Riely | Getty Images

Posted on May 10, 2025May 10, 2025 by Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — If Chris Buescher wasn’t tired of Kyle Larson after last year’s record-close finish at Kansas Speedway, he certainly should be after Saturday’s qualifying session at the 1.5-mile track.

Running what he called “a perfect-feeling lap,” Larson, the last driver to make a run during time trials, knocked Buescher off the provisional pole for Sunday’s Advent Health 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Larson scorched the intermediate speedway with a lap at 183.730 mph (29.391 seconds), beating Buescher (183.374 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.057 seconds — a much wider margin, relatively speaking, than the heartbreaking 0.001-second advantage Larson held over the RFK Racing driver at the end of last year’s spring race at Kansas.

The Busch Light Pole Award was Larson’s first of the season, his first at Kansas and the 22nd of his career. The pole is the 14th at Kansas for Chevrolet and the seventh this season for the automaker.

“The qualifying lap felt really good,” Larson said. “You’re watching SMT (data), and you can see that drivers are starting to hold it easy wide open in (Turns) 1 and 2. In (Turns) 3 and 4, some guys were getting tight.

“Buescher was able to run a good 3 and 4. I kind of had a plan on the line I wanted to run and just try to match it with the throttle, and fortunately, everything went great. My balance felt really good, I felt like I hit my marks and came up to speed through 3 and 4 good, so it was a perfect-feeling lap.”

In last spring’s race, Larson surged forward at the finish to edge Buescher by less than four inches. The fact that Buescher was again the victim of the speed in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was not lost on the pole winner.

“It’s definitely ironic and really cool,” Larson said. “I think it adds to the story line of what happened last year and probably builds anticipation for the race (on Sunday). I won’t be thinking about it, I guess, when we’re rolling around under caution, but, yeah, it’s ironic and funny and cool all at the same time.”

MORE: Multiple teams hit with tire issues | Weekend schedule

Christopher Bell (183.268 mph) was third fastest in time trials, falling two positions short of his fourth straight Kansas Speedway pole.

Tyler Reddick qualified fourth at 183.150 mph, followed by last Sunday’s Texas winner Joey Logano at 182.871 mph.

Ty Gibbs, William Byron, Daniel Suárez, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney will start sixth through 10th, respectively.

Kyle Busch and Josh Berry both hit the outside wall during their qualifying laps and will start 35th and 38th in Sunday’s race.

Posted on May 10, 2025May 10, 2025 by Zach Sturniolo

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Texas-sized dustup between Carson Hocevar and Ryan Preece in Fort Worth has been resolved one week later at Kansas Speedway.

Hocevar, Spire Motorsports’ speedy sophomore, reached out to Preece via text midweek after an incident May 4 at Texas Motor Speedway ultimately resulted in Hocevar putting both himself and Preece into the outside wall, creating a crash exiting Turn 2.

MORE: Kansas schedule | Cup standings

After being evaluated and released from the infield care center, Preece told FOX Sports: “He (Hocevar) just seems to be proving me right over and over again. … Just got ran into the fence by somebody that has no respect for his equipment, anybody else’s equipment and any other driver out there. He’ll have his day.”

Hocevar extended his apologies to Preece and the No. 60 in post-race interviews but made sure to touch base with Preece in the aftermath as well ahead of Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I reached out and texted him, and we reached out and we talked a little bit just this afternoon in person,” Hocevar told NASCAR.com Saturday at Kansas. “I thought it would be healthy to do it in person, not a phone call or text, and shook each other’s hand and have a really good understanding of where each other’s at.

“I thought it was very productive,” he said during a press availability. “I thought he heard my point of view, and I heard his and I think we have a really good understanding to go forward.”

Hocevar explained he had just completed a pass on Chris Buescher on entry to Turn 1 and was unwinding the wheel on corner exit when his car began pushing toward the outside wall. Simultaneously, Preece had pounced to Hocevar’s outside. As the handling of Hocevar’s car grew tight, Preece was squeezed into the outside SAFER barrier and spun to the inside retaining wall, where he was then struck by a spinning Cody Ware who was collected in the aftermath.

“I think he was very understanding of it,” Hocevar said. “Obviously we both wrecked, and it wasn’t good for either of us. And we’re both around the same points situation and he’s having a good year. I feel like we’re faster than expected. I think we just both have the understanding that we don’t want to ruin the momentum each other has moving forward.”

RELATED: Kansas at-track photos

Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet, has been making starts across NASCAR’s national series since 2019, but Preece has been doing so since 2013, the same year he won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship. As a veteran, he sees the speed Hocevar has — and simply wants him to harness it.

“What he did is he explained what happened, what he was hearing, and why he made the decisions he made,” Preece said Saturday. “Then I tried to give him a different perspective of what I would have done if I was in his situation. You know, it’s up to him to choose whether he’s going to put himself and myself or another racer in those type of positions. And I think with the intentions and him coming over, hopefully, that’s the case. And I hope moving forward, you don’t hear him in controversy.”

Preece shared his perspective later Saturday with hopes that Hocevar would use better judgment moving forward.

“It’s going to be up to him to hopefully do the things that he said when we talked to each other and prove to everybody around that he’s just going to make better decisions. I hope he does. He’s a good racer. I told him that when we were in the trailer. So I think moving forward, it’s going to be up to him to make good decisions.”

Hocevar has had a fair share of detractors, earning criticism for his on-track aggression — evidenced at Atlanta where veterans Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney spoke with him post-race — mixed with his impressive speed — evidenced at Texas by earning his first career Busch Light Pole Award. The 22-year-old is careful what comments he lets impact his perspective as he adapts to racing at NASCAR’s top level.

“I mean, there’s certain things that are said in the heat of the moment, and then when you go talk to them, it’s a different conversation, right?” Hocevar said. “And I think that’s, a lot of times, what happens. You get the radio transmission or you see the talks after the race, or interviews and everything, and then when I have that conversation, it’s just different. It’s heat of the moment. I mean, there’s so many times where I feel like drivers will say something on the radio and they don’t even remember they said it, right? I mean, you saw it with teammates before, right? So there’s so many different things, and it’s just balancing that and knowing, for me, the intent of it.”

Hocevar’s decision to reach out to Preece was a welcomed one, but Hocevar’s future actions are what Preece will be watching.

“It’s a step, but I think moving forward, you prove it on the race track,” Preece said. “I think that’s your next opportunity. Words are words — and I think he really does mean what he’s saying. And moving forward, I hope we’re not talking about incidents. We’re talking about good runs or whatnot.”

Posted on May 10, 2025May 10, 2025 by Staff Report

Two NASCAR Cup Series teams were penalized Saturday for trouble getting through opening inspection Saturday at Kansas Speedway.

The No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford team (driver Todd Gilliland) and the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota group (driver Tyler Reddick) each failed inspection twice before qualifying for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The car chief for each team was ejected, and both teams also lost pit-stall selection for Sunday’s 400-miler.

The respective crew chiefs who were ejected for the balance of the race weekend:

Joe Marra, No. 34 FRM Ford
Michael Hobson, No. 45 23XI Toyota

Reddick qualified fourth and Gilliland 23rd in the 38-car field.

Posted on May 10, 2025May 10, 2025 by Staff Report

Multiple teams suffered tire issues in NASCAR Cup Series practice Saturday afternoon as Ty Gibbs — one of the drivers affected — topped the speed chart at Kansas Speedway.

Five teams slowed with flat rear tires during the session, which was divided into two groups with 25 minutes of track time each. The practice marked the first on-track time for the Cup Series ahead of Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and Gibbs’ No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led the way with a best lap of 180.144 mph — the only car to break the 30-second barrier in practice at 29.976 seconds.

The other four teams that were hampered by flats were:

No. 6 RFK Racing Ford for driver/owner Brad Keselowski
No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for driver Chase Briscoe
No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford for Zane Smith
No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet for Shane van Gisbergen

Four teams had trouble with their left-rear tires; only Smith’s FRM team had a right-rear tire issue, and his No. 38 was the only car to make contact with the wall because of it.

“I was going through (Turns) 3 and 4, and it felt a little soft,” said Keselowski, “and thankfully it did give me a warning, so I didn’t spin out and crash. But we’re just all pushing the cars to the limit. I didn’t think we were going to be that close, but we’ll work on it and get it better for Sunday.”

Goodyear officials indicated earlier this week that teams are running a different left-side tire this weekend, changing up the compound to promote wear and more fall-off in lap times. While new to Kansas, the same tire combination was also used at similarly sized tracks like Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway earlier this season.

“Everybody is getting as aggressive as they can be with those rear air pressures, trying to get that back end down,” Goodyear product manager Rick Heinrich said after practice. “Speeds are up a bit, which is going to increase loads. That bump over the tunnel is also pretty aggressive. In a situation like this, where you start out with air pressure that low, the damage is done immediately, and they’re going out on the apron, they’re getting up and hitting that bump. When you cross that line on air pressure, the damage is going to happen pretty quick.”

MORE: At-track photos | Weekend schedule: Kansas

Behind Gibbs on the practice leaderboard was Michael McDowell, second-fastest at 179.456 mph in the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and William Byron completed the top five.

Kyle Larson, the defending race winner, scrubbed the outside retaining wall through Turns 3 and 4 nearly midway through the second practice group. His No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sustained a minor right-side scrape, and he drove back to pit road.

Larson was ninth on the speed chart but topped the category in 10 consecutive lap averages. He backed up that speed in pole qualifying, taking the No. 1 starting spot.

Posted on May 10, 2025May 10, 2025 by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

See where your favorite NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver will pit for the Heart of Health Care 200 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on May 10, 2025May 11, 2025 by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series and Truck Series are both in action this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Bookmark this page and come back often for your race-week essentials — from links to qualifying order, average practice speeds, results and more.

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: 10 sets for the event, including one set for practice and one set for qualifying. The qualifying set transfers into the race, making it nine sets for the 400-miler.

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 Craftsman Truck Series

Race day: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information is available.

Tires: Five sets for the event.

Entry list
Qualifying order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on May 10, 2025May 10, 2025 by Staff Report

The Nos. 88, 98 and 99 ThorSport Racing Fords and the No. 26 Rackley W.A.R. Chevrolet all failed pre-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series technical inspection twice at Kansas Speedway before passing on their third attempts.

As a result, the truck chiefs of all four vehicles were ejected ahead of Saturday’s Heart of Health Care 200 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The teams will also lose pit selection for the series’ next event at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

MORE: Kansas schedule | Truck Series entry list

Below are the truck chiefs associated with their respective vehicles:

Tucker Scanlon, No. 26 Rackley W.A.R. Chevrolet
Tyler Kontos, No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford
Brad Means, No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford
Derek Rohlfing, No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford

Ben Rhodes, driver of the No. 99 truck, and Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88, both scored top-10 finishes one week ago at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing sixth and seventh respectively. Rackley W.A.R.’s Dawson Sutton finished ninth at Texas for his first top 10 of the 2025 campaign. Defending Truck Series champion Ty Majeski, who pilots the No. 98 Ford, also brought home a 10th-place finish for ThorSport at Texas.

Posted on May 9, 2025May 9, 2025 by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR and JDV Productions announced today the Cheshire County Clash NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Monadnock Speedway has been rescheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, July 20.

The race was originally scheduled for May 3, but was postponed due to inclement weather.

Fans will now have the opportunity to watch a unique weekend double-header with the Whelen Modified Tour at Monadnock Speedway. Saturday, July 19, will feature the Duel at the Dog 200 presented by USNE Power before the teams return for Sunday’s event.

Each race will operate as a separate event day, including practice, qualifying and full points and payout awarded for the two races.

“We appreciate the collaboration with JDV Productions and Monadnock Speedway in finding a makeup date that will ensure we can put on a successful and entertaining race for our fans,” said Jimmy Wilson, Senior Director, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “While we can’t control the weather and it’s always disappointing to postpone a race, we are looking forward to a great weekend of racing at Monadnock in July.”

For updated event information as available, including the start time for the Cheshire County Clash and ticket information, fans may go to nascar.com/regional.

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Track Release

NORFOLK, VA. (May 8, 2025) — As a high-octane prelude to the nation’s most patriotic Memorial Day weekend celebration, Austin Dillon, Coca-Cola Racing Family driver and the winner of the 2017 Coca-Cola 600, continued Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600 tour with sailors at Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station, on Wednesday.

Dillon, alongside Richard Childress Racing pit crew coach Ray Wright, tested his prowess in the Navy’s state-of-the-art simulators, toured the expansive USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and donned firefighting gear in a simulated emergency response exercise. After eating lunch with sailors aboard the USS Cole (DDG 67) — which was bombed in a 2000 terrorist attack in Yemen — the group capped the day by visiting the station’s USS Cole Memorial. The memorial honors the 17 fallen sailors who were lost to that attack 25 years ago. The USS Cole has since been repaired and returned to service, recently returning from its latest combat deployment.

RELATED: NASCAR Salutes hub page

“The Navy has taken really great care of us since we’ve been here, showing us around, showing us the history of these ships,” Dillon said. “The USS Cole had some amazing history. I’m always grateful to meet these men and women that serve our country, who allow us the freedoms to go race on the weekend. These young people have a lot of pride; they know what they’re doing and do it at a high level of performance.”

Wright said hearing from a range of different personnel on the ship helped draw similarities between NASCAR pit crews and the units that serve the Navy.

“There’s a lot of correlation between this and pit stops,” he said. “Everybody pitches in to give Austin a victory. It reminds me of everything you see on these ships. You got bodies moving back and forth, going here and there, and everybody’s got a job and everybody’s got a task. We’ve always been big supporters of the U.S. military, and seeing behind the scenes what it’s all about, the muscle that we have in our Navy and the pride and the tradition, how they revere their history and they keep it going every day. It’s just been an honor to see it firsthand and something I will remember forever.”

The sailors also enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their mission capabilities and give Dillon and Wright a bit more insight into the day-to-day life in the Navy.

“It’s always great to have somebody of that high caliber and importance to come and see everybody — especially a NASCAR driver,” Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Cameron Dehart said aboard the USS Kearsarge. “I’ve been a huge NASCAR fan my whole life, so meeting him and seeing him come on board the ship and making those connections is very important. I grew up kind of a Kyle Busch fan — which is his teammate — but I’ve got to start cheering for the No. 3 (Dillon) now, for sure.”

Charlotte Motor Speedway