Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

AdventHealth 400

(⏰ Sunday, 3 p.m. ET | FS1 | MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101

Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Track length: 1.5 miles
Cup Series race purse: $7,894,315
Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles
Stages: 80 | 165 | 267
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Starting lineup: Christopher Bell to lead field to green
Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
Defending winner: Denny Hamlin, May 2023

Key things to watch

Saturday sessions

Christopher Bell rocketed to his first Busch Light Pole Award of 2024, snagging the top spot in qualifying at 183.107 mph. Ross Chastain will join him on the front row with Noah Gragson, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch completing the top five on the starting grid.

Tyler Reddick came back to America’s heartland on a mission, with the defending winner at Kansas Speedway posting the fastest lap in Saturday’s practice session at 181.002 mph. William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Noah Gragson and Denny Hamlin completed the top five. Byron was quickest in both the 10-lap and 20-lap averages, with Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch being the next four fastest drivers in 20-lap averages. | Full Saturday recap

Big story line

Kansas sets up mid-spring battle of sport’s best in the Midwest

Last spring proved that Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin will do whatever it takes to win a NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. Hamlin got the edge after Larson’s No. 5 Chevy broke loose in Turn 2, leading Hamlin to contact Larson and send him into the wall before the pair finished 1-2.

That intensity sparked back to life one week ago at Dover Motor Speedway, when the two best drivers in the field statistically went head-to-head all over again. Hamlin is 6-0 in finishes where he and Larson have run first and second, respectively, but the respect level from one rival still stands strong.

“Kyle Larson is just a hard guy to beat, period,” Hamlin said at Dover. “He really is. I know when I’m on the outside of him, I trust him, probably more than he trusts me when I’m on the inside of him, and for a good reason. It does take a lot of trust because I can feel air he’s putting on my car at certain times. It’s pushing me up the track. It tells you how hard we were pushing for track position at that time.”

But that trust was tested a couple times last year. In addition to their last-lap battle at Kansas, Hamlin also walled Kyle Larson in a late restart at Pocono Raceway last summer while battling for the lead.

There is a good chance the duo will fight for victory this weekend once again. The two drivers rank first and second in laps led this season and have had successful trips to Kansas recently. Their latest chapter appears set to be written on Sunday — with eyes also on Larson’s teammates Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott along with Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr.

“The four or five of us are kind of on a different level compared to the field,” Larson said Saturday. “So yeah, I think when your teams are operating at a high level, then yeah, you’re gonna be battling for wins more often with each other.”

History tells us…

Look out for Toyota. Camrys have held a stranglehold over the 1.5-mile oval in the Sunflower State since 2019, with Toyota claiming the win in seven of the past nine Kansas races.

That dominance includes a streak of four consecutive wins for the manufacturer, with three wins for 23XI Racing’s No. 45 car — one each at the hands of Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick — and a victory for team co-owner Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing last spring. The last Chevrolet driver to win at Kansas? Kyle Larson in 2021. The last Ford? Joey Logano in 2020.

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

Alex Bowman. Bowman has never won in 16 prior Kansas starts, but he may be a great play this weekend, opening at 25-1 odds according to DraftKings. The driver of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet has three top fives and eight top 10s in his 12 Kansas starts with Hendrick.

It never hurts to have some momentum, either, and Bowman finally has some with three top fives and five top 10s in his last seven Cup races. Perhaps he will find himself in the mix for a victory once again this weekend. | Kansas odds

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. 

• Turning Point: Trends from Dover, arriving in Kansas | Read article
• Welcome back, Ricky: Stenhouse Jr. signs multiyear deal to remain with JTG Daugherty | Read article
• Jones cleared, but Heim in at Kansas: Corey Heim to drive No. 43 this week, Jones plans return at Darlington | Read article
• Throwbacks keep rolling in: A look at the blasts from the past set for next weekend | Photo gallery
• Honoring and remembering: Ryan Blaney pays respects at Arlington National Cemetery | Read article
• Kyle Petty Charity Ride returns: Homecoming, milestones as Victory Junction turns 20 | Read article
• The Field of 16: Last four in, first four out for Cup Series Playoffs | Latest projections
• Through the years at Kansas: Take a trip through legendary moments | Photo gallery
• NASCAR Classics: Picks to click from our Kansas video archives | Read article
• 36 for 36: NASCAR survivor pool picks for Kansas | Read article
• Fearless prediction: Racing Insights projects Sunday’s final race results | Read article
• Fantasy Fastlane: Lineup pointers for Kansas | Sleepers, drivers to avoid
• Paint Scheme Preview: Truck, Cup colors shining in Sunflower State | Pick your favorite
• Power Rankings: Once foe, now friendly Kansas coud click for Kyle Busch | Latest driver rankings

Fast facts ⏩

Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• Ford has one win on a 1.5-mile track in the last 10 races (Ryan Blaney in the 2023 Coke 600).
• Hendrick Motorsports won four of the last five races on 1.5-mile tracks with three different drivers.
• There were 37 lead changes at Kansas in May 2023, the most in a 400-mile race on a 1.5 mile track in series history.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When Bubba Wallace woke up Monday morning, hours after his second straight bummer of a NASCAR Cup Series race, he noticed a new candle warmer courtesy of his wife, Amanda.

“Yes. Did you see what it says on it?” she said, as Wallace recalled Saturday at Kansas Speedway. “It says, ‘It’s a new day.’ I got that for you.”

A fitting and thoughtful gift for a driver in search of a good day like Bubba Wallace is right now.

MORE: Cup standings

Wallace has finished 36th and 32nd in the past two Cup races, at Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway respectively. The 23XI Racing pilot has totaled seven points combined in those two events, a stark contrast from the two weeks prior where he scored 51 points at Martinsville with a fourth-place finish and 40 with a seventh-place run at Texas.

“We’re excited to get to Kansas and turn the ship around,” Wallace said.

If ever there was a track for Wallace to look forward, Kansas sure seems like the spot. Wallace scored his second career Cup win at Kansas in the fall of 2022, driving the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI in place of the injured Kurt Busch, who won in that number just months prior. Wallace’s current teammate, Tyler Reddick, scored the victory the last time NASCAR raced in the Sunflower State in October 2023.

For Wallace — now an expecting father — a shift in mindset has been key in helping his approach to future events and the adversity they may present.

“It’s, I think, learning you know how the sport can go,” Wallace said. “You can start your year off the best we’ve ever done and you got to be mindful that it can go south quick — which it has. But that shouldn’t deter you from the path that you’ve set yourself up for the start of the year. And so you can be frustrated and pissed off all you want, but as long as you make it constructive criticism, giving yourself and the team the right feedback to keep the needle forward, that’s what I’ve been trying to do.

“Basically, it’s easier for me to put it to the side, but it’s still frustrating. It’s still hard. It is what it is though. The sport doesn’t stop; time doesn’t stop for you. So no need to sit and dwell on it. There’s a lot of people in your corner that are looking for good things out of this weekend, so we’ve got to go out and do that for them.”

Wallace has three top 10s in 12 Kansas starts, but all of them came within the past four visits to the Midwest — a 10th-place run in the spring of 2022, his win and a fourth-place finish last spring. With that sort of resume at a track that reappears in the playoffs this season, Wallace is doing his best to keep his head up.

“I mean, that’s all you can do,” Wallace said. “You got to look back at the things that you are in control of. You know, we were doing everything right. We weren’t up in the top five all day. We weren’t leading laps at Dover. But we knew it was gonna be a grind. And you know, I ate that up and I was along for the task, along for the ride and things were OK. You know, we were looking at a top-10 day and then your 32nd, so it is what it is.

“I mean, what are you gonna do? You can’t go back and change the results now. Only thing you can do is start a new result this weekend.”

Posted on by Dustin Albino

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — It was only a month ago that it seemed like a given Ty Gibbs was going to be the next first-time Cup Series winner. The No. 54 team was a threat to win weekly. 

After a middle-of-the-road Daytona 500, Gibbs reeled off five consecutive top-10 finishes, the longest streak of his career. The success kicked off with a 10th-place effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway before he picked up his first top-five effort of the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gibbs was in command for 57 laps at Phoenix Raceway and was third-in-class to a dominant final stage from Christopher Bell. 

The Cup Series was thrown for a loop at Bristol Motor Speedway when tires were wearing at a rapid pace. Yet, Gibbs managed the first half of the race to near perfection, sweeping both stages and leading a career-high 137 laps. The No. 54 car finished ninth. 

Going into the series’ first road course at Circuit of The Americas, Gibbs was among the favorites to win. William Byron controlled the race, however, and a late surge from Bell dropped Gibbs to third in the finishing order.

RELATED: Kansas schedule | Cup Series standings

After six races, Gibbs was second in the regular season championship standings, five points behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr.

The No. 54 team hit a slump beginning at Richmond Raceway that spanned a month. In the four races between Richmond and Talladega Superspeedway, Gibbs had an average finish of 17.5.

“We have been really strong and just missed it for a week,” Gibbs said Saturday at Kansas Speedway. “With the way the cautions fall at the end of these races, it didn’t help us out at all. Sometimes, it’s just the nature of the racing and how it goes.”

The No. 54 team stopped the bleeding last weekend at Dover Motor Speedway by rounding out the top 10. Gibbs felt he could have finished even higher, but Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson were the beneficiaries of having a caution during the middle of a green-flag pit stop cycle. 

“I felt like we were really fast, it was just track-position dependent, and we didn’t have that,” Gibbs said. “Towards the end, we cleaned it up and got up there.

“It’s always ideal to have a great weekend, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen, and you have to take what it gives you.”

With the one-third mark of the season wrapping up on Sunday at Kansas, Gibbs has dropped to eighth in the standings, losing 82 points to the lead over the last five races. He still believes the No. 54 team can rattle off a victory at any time. 

“I think the team is strong and only getting stronger,” Gibbs stated. 

With how dominant Toyota has been at Kansas Speedway in the Next Gen car — the manufacturer is undefeated in four races — Gibbs has high expectations for the weekend. He won his first start at the 1.5-mile track in the Xfinity Series in 2021 but has a pair of DNFs in three Cup starts.

Posted on by Staff Report

Granite State Derby

Monadnock Speedway

  • Qualifying results
Pos. Car No. Driver Sponsor Best Time Best Speed
1 60 Matt Hirschman Elite 11.637 77.34
2 19 Anthony Sesely Franzosa Trucking Co/Karchner Warehousing 11.717 76.811
3 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 11.743 76.641
4 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 11.744 76.635
5 79 Jon McKennedy Christopher’s Towing 11.759 76.537
6 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 11.791 76.329
7 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara 11.806 76.232
8 3 Jake Johnson Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 11.814 76.181
9 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 11.837 76.033
10 25 Brian Robie Maurice Enterprises 11.87 75.821
11 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 11.877 75.777
12 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 11.887 75.713
13 32 Tyler Rypkema Musco Lighting/Northeast Drilling 11.908 75.579
14 58 Timmy Solomito GAF Roofing 11.94 75.377
15 92 Anthony Nocella Nocella Paving/K and D Associates 11.964 75.226
16 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 12.043 74.732
17 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric 12.048 74.701
18 15 Joey Cipriano III* Dependable Energy & Bass Plating 12.107 74.337
19 43 Matthew Kimball J&M Towing and Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 12.125 74.227
20 81 Nathan Wenzel* 1812 Auto Body 12.197 73.789
21 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating Inc. 12.275 73.32
22 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 12.359 72.821
23 4 Tim Connolly Connolly Companies, LLC 12.42 72.464
24 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 12.9 69.767
Posted on by Staff Report

Granite State Derby

Monadnock Speedway

  • Practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 60 Matt Hirschman Elite 11.602 77.573 43 53  —
2 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 11.641 77.313 40 47 0.039
3 19 Anthony Sesely Franzosa Trucking Co/Karchner Warehousing 11.642 77.306 58 61 0.04
4 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 11.648 77.266 57 58 0.046
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric 11.656 77.213 67 70 0.054
6 79 Jon McKennedy Christopher’s Towing 11.665 77.154 46 49 0.063
7 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 11.729 76.733 53 53 0.127
8 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara 11.738 76.674 37 37 0.136
9 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 11.739 76.668 38 58 0.137
10 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 11.747 76.615 63 67 0.145
11 25 Brian Robie Maurice Enterprises 11.756 76.557 50 54 0.154
12 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 11.757 76.55 40 42 0.155
13 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 11.764 76.505 42 52 0.162
14 32 Tyler Rypkema Musco Lighting/Northeast Drilling 11.774 76.44 61 62 0.172
15 3 Jake Johnson Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 11.785 76.368 59 64 0.183
16 58 Timmy Solomito GAF Roofing 11.812 76.194 68 70 0.21
17 92 Anthony Nocella Nocella Paving/K and D Associates 11.826 76.104 25 27 0.224
18 43 Matthew Kimball J&M Towing and Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 11.891 75.687 36 70 0.289
19 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating Inc. 11.908 75.579 62 72 0.306
20 15 Joey Cipriano III* Dependable Energy & Bass Plating 11.946 75.339 41 42 0.344
21 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 12.011 74.931 40 41 0.409
22 4 Tim Connolly Connolly Companies, LLC 12.083 74.485 33 35 0.481
23 81 Nathan Wenzel* 1812 Auto Body 12.112 74.306 10 52 0.51
24 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 12.679 70.984 9 31 1.077
Posted on by Steve Luvender

NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Kansas Speedway.

With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name. 

Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess. 

We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?

Current Standings:

RankNamePointsBehind
T-1Steve Luvender284—
T-1Dustin Albino284—
3Cameron Richardson235-49
4r/NASCAR Community219-65

Race 12 of 36: Kansas

Last week’s race at Dover tightened up the race for the top spot among our pickers. Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson selected Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who crashed out of the race and earned just five points. That allowed Dustin Albino to capitalize in a big way — his pick of Martin Truex Jr. collected 51 points after a third-place finish, setting up for a tie atop the leaderboard after 11 races. The r/NASCAR community escaped with a solid 25-point performance from Ross Chastain’s 12th-place finish. 

Kansas is the next stop for our picking panel, and it just may be an unpredictable one. Between two races at the track last year, the caution waved 20 times in total, and seven different drivers have won the last seven races. 

Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 3, Austin Dillon

Dustin’s pick last week: No. 19, Martin Truex Jr.
Points earned last week: 51 (third-place finish)
Total season points: 284 (first place, tied)

Dustin: Thank you, Martin Truex Jr. With a big, 51-point day in Dover, I’m now tied for the points lead. Three weeks ago, this guy was in the cellar. But after putting a string of good performances together, we’ve jumped 68 points between Texas and Dover. We’re riding with another Bass Pro Shops driver — though he will be sponsored by Bioethanol this weekend — at Kansas in Austin Dillon. The beginning third of the 2024 season has been disastrous for the No. 3 team, but the series comes to one of its better tracks in recent years. Before finishing 33rd last fall at Kansas, Dillon had six consecutive top-15 finishes, including a trio of 10th-place results. It’s time for the No. 3 team to right the ship.

NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 42, John Hunter Nemechek

Steve’s pick last week: No. 47, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Points earned last week: 5 (35th-place finish)
Total season points: 284 (first place, tied)

Steve: What a disaster. A top-10 run for my Dover pick Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ended in a crash and a dismal five-point result last weekend, and now Dustin’s tied with me for the points lead. Onward to Kansas. I’m taking a chance on John Hunter Nemechek, who I believe is an overlooked choice. A quiet Cup Series season so far shouldn’t let you forget that JHN won at Kansas twice in the Xfinity Series — including last year — and he claimed the Craftsman Truck Series race trophy in 2022. Not for nothing, Nemechek also posted respectable top-20 finishes in the two races in the Sunflower State during his rookie Cup season driving for Front Row Motorsports in 2020. His father, Joe, won at Kansas in 2004, so I’d say let’s keep this family tradition going.

NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 11, Denny Hamlin

Cameron Richardson's 36 for 36 Kansas pick.

Cameron’s pick last week: No. 47, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Points earned last week: 5 (35th-place finish)
Total season points: 219 (fourth place)

Cameron: Two poor finishes in a row, so it’s really time for me to get back on track. I’m locking in Dover winner Hamlin for Kansas. Without a doubt, the first half of the season has been paced by Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports as Hamlin and William Byron have three wins apiece to lead the Cup Series. The No. 11 team also has a ridiculous 2.3 average finish in four Next Gen races at Kansas Speedway, including a win in this race last spring. Either I get a big points day in a few days, or I may just be bad luck to these drivers.

r/NASCAR Community: No. 23, Bubba Wallace

NASCAR Reddit community's 36 for 36 Kansas pick.

r/NASCAR’s pick last week: No. 1, Ross Chastain
Points earned last week: 25 (12th-place finish)
Total season points: 235 (third place)

The r/NASCAR community selected 2022 Kansas winner Bubba Wallace for this weekend. 

What Redditors said in the voting thread: 

u/PrimalCookie: “Kansas is 23XI’s playground, 3 wins in 4 NextGen races. I’d rather take Bubba this week and save Reddick for a road course (or even the other Kansas race), but either would be a fine pick here.”

u/Dont_Hate_the_8: “We’ve gotta pick a 23XI car this week. I say Bubba because Reddick is also a solid choice for road courses.”

u/Joey_Logano: “23XI has been super fast here since 2022.”

u/ChaseTheFalcon: “Definitely the right pick”

Check back next week to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.  

And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!

Posted on by Seth Sharp

Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.

Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The following suggestions are Ken‘s picks to watch before this weekend‘s Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway.

2001 Protection One 400:

The NASCAR Cup Series arrived at Kansas Speedway in September 2001 for the first time and it didn’t take long for Jason Leffler to shock the garage area.

Leffler, a rookie driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, failed to qualify for the previous week’s race at Dover Motor Speedway. He promptly beat out series points leader Jeff Gordon at the 1.5-mile speedway to capture the first pole of his career.

He was also looking to beat the streak of bad luck that the other four first-time pole sitters faced in 2001.

Stacy Compton grabbed the first pole of his career at Talladega Superspeedway in April and finished 43rd after engine issues. A few weeks later, Ryan Newman also finished 43rd after capturing his first. He was driving a partial schedule for Team Penske.

The unfortunate luck for these pole winners soon struck again, as Jeff Green finished 42nd at Bristol Motor Speedway and Kurt Busch finished 39th at Darlington Raceway.

Rising star Casey Atwood, who was coming off a season-best ninth-place finish at Dover, backed up his effort with a fifth-place start at Kansas.

Gordon entered the weekend up 212 points on Ricky Rudd in the standings, looking to capture his fourth NASCAR Cup Series championship. Tony Stewart sat third in points, a whopping 407 points behind the leader.

Once the green flag dropped for the first time at the new speedway, it looked like Rusty Wallace and Newman’s Penske-powered cars were the ones to beat.

Wallace led a race-high 117 laps, and Newman moved from a 17th-place starting position to the front of the field as well.

The lead changed 19 different times during the race, but it was Gordon who stayed out front for the final 22 laps to take the checkered flag.

Newman came home second, followed by Rudd, Wallace and Sterling Marlin.

24 crew celebrates at kansas
Getty Images

2004 Banquet 400 Presented by Conagra Foods:

Lakeland, Florida’s Joe Nemechek showed plenty of signs of speed during the first few months of the 2004 season, whether it be during qualifying or the race itself. He had yet to add a top-five finish to his resume but everything aligned perfectly at Kansas for a weekend worth remembering.

Nemechek put his No. 01 car on the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race on Friday and backed that up with a victory in the Xfinity Series race at the track on Saturday after leading the final six laps.

On Sunday, a handful of drivers paced the front of the field over 24 lead changes, with Nemechek being among the four drivers who led between 19 and 72 laps.

He returned to the front to lead the final 37 laps, but it wasn’t a cakewalk for the driver. Nemechek held off a strong, late charge from the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford of Ricky Rudd to capture the checkered flag.

It was the third and final victory of Nemechek’s Cup career.

The race also marked Kyle Busch’s fourth career start, driving a No. 84 car for Hendrick Motorsports. He was caught up in a crash and finished 37th.

Getty Images

2010 Price Chopper 400 Presented by Kraft Foods:

The 12-driver NASCAR Playoffs field arrived at Kansas Speedway in 2010 with just seven races remaining on the schedule, and drivers were caught up in a very tight battle for the championship.

Jimmie Johnson’s victory at Dover the previous week earned him 195 points, moving him up to second place in the standings and 35 behind Denny Hamlin. This left the top eight drivers in the standings separated by just 83 points.

The first 11 drivers in the standings at the time have all since been named to NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list in 2023.

Greg Biffle took the lead from Paul Menard and led the final 50 laps to capture the victory. He gained 20 points on Johnson in the standings, who finished runner-up.

All 12 of the playoff drivers finished inside the top 19, with the first seven finishing positions belonging to such drivers.

Johnson’s second-place finish catapulted him to first and eight points ahead of Hamlin, who finished 12th. 

Menard, driving the No. 98 car for Richard Petty Motorsports, was coming off an impressive seventh-place finish at Dover the previous race. He backed that up with a strong weekend at Kansas, starting second, leading 11 laps and finishing eighth. 

Getty Images

You can watch these three races and hundreds more by visiting NASCAR Classics.

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

Editor’s Note: Racing Insights’ playoff projections use a combination of current standings and historical performance at upcoming tracks to determine the probability of each driver winning or making the playoffs on points.

With the Cup Series Playoffs on the mind throughout the season, what if there was a way to project how the 16-driver field could look before each race weekend?

It now exists via Racing Insights. From now until the start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, ‘The Field of 16’ will give fans a weekly look at where their favorite drivers could potentially land in the postseason field – and the likelihood of having a shot at the Bill France Cup.

Here’s this week’s update on the projections heading into Kansas Speedway.

Kansas playoff projections
PROBABILITY CALCULATED BY RACING INSIGHTS AHEAD OF KANSAS SPEEDWAY, MAY 5, 2024

DRIVERS LOCKED IN

With multiple wins in 2024 already, William Byron and Denny Hamlin are safely into the Cup playoffs with 100% probability. Hamlin matched Byron with his third win of the season last weekend at Dover and moved up to the fourth in the Cup standings, now 49 points back of Kyle Larson for the points lead. Byron was involved in a late-race wreck with Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace at Dover and swapped points position with Hamlin as the No. 24 driver sits sixth.

DRIVERS LIKELY IN

Another top-three finish for Larson last weekend gives him three finishes of such over the last five races. He sits 15 points over Martin Truex Jr. for the Cup points lead. Each Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports vehicle is expected to be strong this weekend so it is imperative for the No. 5 team to post another strong result at Kansas to hold serve in front of the rest of the field.

Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick continue to land strong finishes and are among the favorites to secure the checkered flag Sunday.

Christopher Bell and Daniel Suárez have been trending downward since their respective victories earlier this season. Bell has just two top-10 finishes since his Phoenix win while Suárez only has one top-10 run outside of his rousing Atlanta win. Both drivers are outside of the top 16 in points but are provisionally in the playoffs due to their race wins.

LAST 4 IN

It’s getting really interesting the closer we get to the playoff bubble. Before Dover, Brad Keselowski was well into the projected postseason picture but has dipped into one of the last four drivers in after a dismal showing at Dover where he spun twice and finished 30th. The 2012 champion’s probability tanked 16 points after Delaware and that’s due to those below him slowly creeping up the standings.

Ty Gibbs, Wallace and Kyle Busch all jumped Keselowski in the field but have seen significant dips in their probability of entering Kansas outside of Busch, whose top-five result at Dover saw an eight-point rise compared to pre-Dover. Chris Buescher also dipped 12 points in his probability after a so-so showing last Sunday.

FIRST 4 OUT

Alex Bowman only saw a one-point dip leaving Dover, thanks to another top-10 result that brings him to a 13.6 average finish after 11 starts. It’s trending a career-high mark for him but the No. 48 team needs more with the strength of the current bubble.

Be on the lookout for Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson. The two have shown significant improvements in performance for both the No. 10 and No. 14 Fords. Briscoe has himself 12th in the Cup standings while Gragson is recovering nicely up into 21st after a significant points penalty post-Atlanta.

WHO CAN SHAKE UP PLAYOFF PICTURE AT KANSAS?

Of those in the projected field, I’d have to say Bubba Wallace. 23XI Racing has won three of the four Next Gen races at the 1.5-mile facility with the other being won by team co-owner Hamlin.

MORE: Racing Insights predicts Kansas | 2024 Cup Series schedule

My long-shot pick is Noah Gragson. There’s serious momentum within the No. 10 camp that one late restart with the team in the right position could steal a victory Sunday and really throw the Cup Series Playoff picture for a loop.

Before each race weekend, check back into The Field of 16 to see the latest projections of the 2024 Cup Series playoff field.

Posted on by Zack Albert

The Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America has clocked many miles in its 28 years of existence. The milestones along the way have also been significant.

This spring’s edition kicks off Saturday with plans to add many more miles to the annual philanthropic gathering of the NASCAR and motorcycling community – more than 2,100 on this year’s odometer, stretching from a start in Deadwood, South Dakota to its home base in Randleman, North Carolina. This year’s milestone has special meaning, celebrating the cause behind the long-running event.

This year’s charity ride marks the 20th year of the Victory Junction Camp, founded by the Petty family in memory of Kyle’s son Adam. The event also coincides with the Petty family’s celebration of 75 years of racing. Fittingly, the ride’s southern terminus is a homecoming, ending with the group’s arrival at the Randolph County facility – not far from the family’s Level Cross origins – to cheer the occasion.

“Twenty years, it’s hard to believe. It is absolutely hard to believe,” Petty said last month during pre-race festivities at Martinsville Speedway. “It’s hard to believe Adam has been gone 24 years — May 12. That still fascinates me, but it is hard to believe. I think we had such a passion for it to build it and to start it, that we never thought about it lasting. It’s just like, ‘Let’s build it. Now what are we gonna do with it?’ That kind of thing. So for it to be here 20 years and to survive and to flourish, it has been amazing.”

MORE: Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America | Victory Junction Camp

The ride has raised more than $21 million for the camp and other children’s charitable causes since it first hit the open road in 1995. Last year’s event alone raised more than $1.7 million for Victory Junction, which provides life-changing camp experiences for children with chronic medical illnesses.

Those sustaining gifts have helped Victory Junction with a full renovation of the camp’s waterpark area, which is set to greet campers this summer.

“That’s a big deal for us, too, to end there at camp and see what these people — the people who have ridden every year, the people that have ridden 25, the people that have ridden 10, 15, and the people that are first-year riders,” Petty says, “they contribute just as much because they contribute their time.”

Riders on the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, with scenic long-range mountains as a backdrop
Kevin Kane Photography

That group has grown into a tight-knit community in the years since the ride’s founding. Of the 250 scheduled to make the trip this year, 222 have participated in previous years – including 172 returning from the 2023 event. Three riders – Darrell Andrews, Jon Manafort and Len Sherrill – have joined Petty on every edition.

That continuity has sparked friendships for many riders that have extended beyond their cross-country springtime treks.

“It’s fascinating. Everybody, they do become family.” Petty said. “When somebody gets married, you go to a wedding, and there may be 15 or 20 charity riders at a wedding. If you go to a funeral, there may be 40 or 50 people there who come to pay their respects for somebody who’s been on the ride. So, it becomes more than the ride. It becomes like that summer camp for adults that you go to every year, and you just create such friendships. And in the end, you send kids to camp, so that’s what it’s all about.”

This year’s seven-day route traverses nine states with a theme that Petty has dubbed “AmerICON” for the landmarks along the way. Some of those iconic venues continue the automotive theme with stops at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and the National Corvette Museum, but also a midweek check-in at Churchill Downs – home of Saturday’s 150th Kentucky Derby.

Perhaps the most signature American sight on the trip is scheduled for Day 1 with a stop at Mt. Rushmore. Petty laughs as he recalls a previous attempt to see the historic monument during the ride a few years ago, when the contingent walked through the attraction’s gates only to see a bank of clouds obscuring the four presidential faces.

“We considered ourselves the only tour group that’s ever been to Mount Rushmore and didn’t see it,” Petty said, adding that the experience made him vow never to return. He laughed in mentioning that he’ll break that promise this year. “I got overruled,” he says. “We’re going back to see it.”

Several celebrities from the NASCAR world will be joining this year’s ride, including Richard Petty, David Ragan, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace and Max Papis. TV colleagues Rick Allen and Rutledge Wood are also scheduled to participate as well as Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker.

That list also includes a scheduled return by the splendid Hershel McGriff – 96 years young – who learned of his election to the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 while on the ride.

“I hope at 96 that I want to get on a motorcycle,” says Petty, a relative spring chicken at 63. “I’m not saying I’m going to get on one, but I hope I want to, because he can still do it.”

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

For the third consecutive season, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers and teams will have the opportunity to race for bonus bucks as part of JDV Productions‘ Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup.

The program, created by JDV Productions founder Josh Vanada, features $20,000 in available bonus money this season. Headlining that is the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup point found, which features $6,000 to be distributed among the top three in points during the three-race miniseries held at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, New Hampshire.

Saturday’s Granite State Derby, the Duel at the Dog 250 on July 20 and the Winchester Fair on Sept. 21 make up the 2024 edition of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup. Matt Hirschman won the 2022 edition of the Cup, and Doug Coby captured the 2023 crown.

Mods at Monadnock: Entries | Get Tickets

Doug Coby
Doug Coby won the 2023 Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup Championship. (Photo: Armond Feffer/NASCAR)

“This year, we changed the payout structure. We’re pumping more money into the teams,” said Vanada, who became the promoter of Monadnock Speedway prior to the 2024 season. “There are pit passes that are going to be credited to the teams so we can keep the teams coming back. That’s a change that was made. We made a change to the top-three payout, as well. Those are two of the bigger things. We also put some money into the 250-lap race that’s going to happen July 20, the Duel at the Dog 250.”

The program also features several unique bonuses, including a $250 Challenger Bonus that will be paid at each event to the highest finishing driver who competed in fewer than half of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events in 2023. A $1,000 bonus will be available to the driver who has the best average finish across all three events, and there is a $3,000 bonus available to any driver who can sweep all three races as part of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup.

In previous years, the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup was held at multiple tracks, but this year, all three events will be held at Monadnock. Vanada believes that gives him the unique ability to better promote not just the three-race series, but short-track racing as a whole.

“I think it gives us access to actually improve our promotion,” Vanada said. “Now we have access to use track social media channels in ways we haven’t in the past. We can have more time to dress things up around the facility and really increase the profile from top to bottom. It’s not like we’re coming in a day or two before the race. We’re there, and we can make a year-long investment into truly making these marquee stops on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.”

Vanada, in his first season as promoter at Monadnock, has put in the work to make the facility as welcoming as possible for competitors and fans.

For competitors, the speedway has received a fresh layer of asphalt on the racing surface for the first time since 1971. Fans will be greeted by updated bathrooms, as well as a new concession stand menu.

“I think you’re going to be able to see the competitors really go after it,” Vanada said about the new racing surface. “Of course, the beneficiary of that is going to be the fans.

“We encourage everyone to come out and enjoy it and take advantage of all the stuff we’ve done.”

(Photo: Nick Grace/NASCAR)

Redraw procedure to shuffle the deck for competitors at Monadnock

Saturday’s Granite State Derby will feature the debut of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s redraw. The procedure will be utilized at select events on the 2024 schedule.

The rules for the redraw procedure are as follows:

During driver introductions, the winner of the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award will spin a wheel that will determine the number of drivers that will redraw for their starting positions. That number could be four, six, eight or 10.

NASCAR officials will have buckets ready to immediately begin the redraw process. Drivers will redraw in the order in which they qualified. For example, the pole winner will redraw first, followed by the second fastest qualifier, third fastest and so forth.

The pole position and/or any bonus point(s), if applicable, will be awarded to the fastest qualifier and will be the pole of record.

If, due to adverse conditions, qualifying is canceled, the field will be set in accordance with the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Rule Book. The redraw procedure will still take place regardless of how the field is set.

However, pole awards and/or any bonus point(s), if applicable, will not be paid, if due to adverse conditions, the field is set in accordance with the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Rule Book.

This isn’t the first time the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has utilized a redraw. A similar procedure was last utilized during the 2010 season.

Jon McKennedy
Jon McKennedy (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

2022 Whelen Modified Tour champion Jon McKennedy returns

For the first time this season, 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Jon McKennedy will be in the field when the green flag waves Saturday evening at Monadnock Speedway.

McKennedy returns to the series for his 99th career start in his own No. 79. It’s the first of five Tour races McKennedy plans to enter this year. He also plans to race at Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway (June 1), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (June 22), Monadnock (July 20) and Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (Aug. 14).

From Chelmsford, Massachusetts, McKennedy has two Modified Tour wins to his credit. His first victory came at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 2018 while driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing. His second came at Claremont Motorsports Park during his championship season in 2022.

He most recently competed with the Modified Tour at Oswego Speedway last September. Piloting the No. 77 for team owner Mike Curb, McKennedy started sixth and finished seventh.

McKennedy has four previous Modified Tour starts at Monadnock with mixed results. In 2020 he started from the pole and led 61 laps before fading to a sixth-place finish. In his lone start at the track last year, he started 12th and marched through the field to finish second. He also has two finishes of 18th or worse at the quarter-mile track.

NOTES:

  • Justin Bonsignore enters Saturday’s Granite State Derby as the winner of three of the last four races at Monadnock. He’s the winningest driver in series history at Monadnock with five wins, and another would tie Ted Christopher for third on the all-time series wins list.
  • For the first time this season, Anthony Nocella will be in the field for a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event. The 2022 New Hampshire Motor Speedway winner has four previous starts with the series at Monadnock, including finishes of fourth and sixth.
  • After last competing with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2021, Joey Cipriano III will be among those competing Saturday at Monadnock. He has five previous series starts, with four coming at Stafford Motor Speedway and one at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
  • Brian Robie enters the Granite State Derby with momentum after winning the opening race of the 2024 season at Monadnock Speedway on April 20. In his rookie season with the Whelen Modified Tour, Robie has a best finish of 12th at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. He finished eighth in the Whelen Modified Tour event at Monadnock last fall.
  • For the first time this year, Timmy Solomito will take over driving duties of the No. 58 Goodie Motorsports entry. He is sharing driving duties of the No. 58 with his cousin, Eric Goodale, as the team pursues the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour owners championship.