Statistically speaking, Kyle Busch had a perfect night at Kansas Speedway on Friday, sweeping both stage victories in the Wise Power 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, leading the most laps and earning his series record 61st trophy.
But the veteran had to earn that joyous finish, rallying from a fourth-place starting position on the final overtime restart to take the lead in a three-wide battle. He ultimately led the final two laps to take the checkered by .665-seconds over Ross Chastain. It marked the second win of the season for Busch. He’s either won or finished runner-up in his four Truck Series races this season.
Despite the dominance of Busch’s No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, he was on the radio with his team during the race’s final caution, worried there may have been some sort of technical problem with his truck. But at the drop of the green, he maneuvered around the front-running trucks of Chastain and Austin Hill, pulling away on the final lap.
Busch’s win marks the fifth straight this season for his Kyle Busch Motorsports. His 59 laps out front were most on the night. It’s Busch’s third victory in his last four Kansas starts.
“No restarts actually went our way tonight, I was shocked, we definitely missed something just being able to come up through the gears and get going,” said the Las Vegas native who turns 37 Sunday.
“It just would not go. Those guys would just swarm us. I think we saw it one of the restarts with the 4-truck (Nemechek) too, he got run over. So all and all, great job by KBM and Toyota, TRD, this Cessna Beechcraft Tundra was awesome.”
Hill finished third, behind Busch and Chastain. Christian Eckes and Busch’s teammate John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top five. Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith, Raphael Lessard, Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes completed the top 10.
Series rookie Hailie Deegan finished a career-best 13th and was running as high as eighth place, before pitting just before the final restart.
As with Busch, at one point Hill was worried about his truck’s performance – pitting twice during the first stage break but steadily making his way back up through the field. Last year’s regular-season champion, Hill hasn’t won since September 2020 and the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway is statistically his best track.
“I thought I did everything right on that restart, threw it on the apron and saw Chastain go up to block whoever was coming on his outside and got beside him and from there on out it was a drag race, I was wide open the whole green-white-checkered,” Hill said, adding, “Good finish, finishing third with everything we had going on. I want to win so bad, so just really frustrating right now.”
With his fifth-place finish, Nemechek – a two-race winner in 2021 – maintains a 33-point lead over fellow two-race winner Ben Rhodes in the championship standings. And that was good enough to earn Nemechek’s No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports team a $50,000 mid-season “road crew” bonus from series sponsor Camping World.
The series next race, the LiftKits4Less.com 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway is Friday night at 7:30 p.m. (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Notes: The race-winning No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota of Kyle Busch passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection.
Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway (⏰ 3 p.m. ET | 📺 FS1 | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s race, the 11th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.
Where: Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile track located in Kansas City, Kansas Green flag: 3:13 p.m. ET TV/Radio: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Forecast: Cloudy with a high near 80 degrees and a 23% chance of rain. Winds from the north around 15 mph, according to NOAA.gov National anthem: Country music star Willie Jones Grand marshal: The Busch Guy Race Distance: 267 laps, 400 miles Stages: 80 | 160 | 267 Pit-road speed: 45 mph Caution car speed: 55 mph Kansas 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: See the full lineup Pit-stall assignments: See who is pitting where | Expert breaks down pit selectionsKyle Rivas | Getty Images
Five to watch
Here are five big story lines we’ll be following at Kansas Speedway.
1. This could very well be the weekend that Denny Hamlin finally gets his first victory of the 2021 season. Hamlin has won two of the last three races at Kansas. Hamlin has eight top fives and eight top 10s to in the first 10 races of the year, which solidly places him first in the series’ points standings. Oh, and Vegas has him as the odds-on favorite, too. The sportsbooks usually don’t lie.
2. William Byron is chasing history this weekend at Kansas. The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports driver has eight straight top-10 finishes. If he can score a top 10 on Sunday, he’ll be the youngest driver to achieve nine straight top-10 results. Jeff Gordon holds the current record at 24 years and 22 days. He’ll have a good shot, too. He heads into Kansas with three straight top 10s at the Kansas City, Kansas track.
3. It’s nowhere near time to panic for Chase Elliott, but a first win in 2021 at Kansas would surely cure the post-championship hangover. The defending title winner has three top fives and four top 10s in the first 10 races of the season. His only top-10 finish in the last nine 1.5-mile races was a sixth at Kansas back in October of 2020. Elliott is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver yet to win this year, but that could very well change on Sunday.
4. Speaking of Hendrick Motorsports, Kansas Speedway is a welcome sight for Kyle Larson. Since his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the No. 5 driver has three finishes of 18th or worse in the last four races. Last week at Talladega, Larson finished last in the 40-car field after overheating issues took him out before the race reached Lap 5. Larson has four finishes of eighth or better in his last six races at Kansas, so things could start looking back up for him to get back on track.
5. Kevin Harvick continues to search for some form of consistency this season. After a ninth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway and a 24th-place finish at Richmond Raceway, Harvick was able to score a fourth-place result in the craziness that was Talladega. He desperately needs to back that finish up with another top five, or even a win, to get the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team back in the conversation. Harvick has three wins in 30 starts at Kansas, with the last coming in 2018.
Race-day staples
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. •Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick set to turn loose in May | Scope the ranks •Paint Scheme Preview: Check out the designs taking on Kansas | See the schemes •Fantasy Fastlane: See which drivers to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice | Set your roster •Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show
Get in on the action
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy. • Betting odds for Kansas race | See the odds
• Kansas betting: Erik Jones is an intriguing long shot for Kansas | Find out why • Shop around for Kyle Larson, Team Penske betting value | Find out why • Chase Elliott’s 2021 winless season examined | Full analysis
• Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
• Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
Track history
Every track has a story to tell. Here’s what we’ve seen go down at Kansas Speedway in the past.
Kyle Rivas | Getty Images
•Remember this?: Memorable moments from Kansas | See the moments •Spring has sprung: Kansas’ all-time race winners | See the list
• Front of the pack: Top 10 lap leaders at Kansas | See the list
Fast facts
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights. • William Byron would become the youngest driver ever with a nine race top-10 streak if he finishes in the top 10 at Kansas. The current record is held by Jeff Gordon. • All three winners on 1.5-mile tracks (Byron, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney) got their first 1.5-mile track win this season. • Chase Elliott’s only top-10 finish in the last nine races on 1.5-mile tracks was a sixth at Kansas. • Denny Hamlin is the only winner at Kansas in the last 20 races that is not a series champion. Hamlin has won three times. • In the last 19 Kansas races, only once has a driver gotten their first win of the season.
Catch the pack
Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race. • Matty D: Matt DiBenedetto on 2022 plans: ‘Anything is possible’ | Watch more
• FORE!: Denny Hamlin on relieving stress on the golf course, Bubba Wallace’s surprise golf outing win | Watch more
• Do your part: Vote a driver into Wednesday’s Pro Invitational Series race at Darlington | Vote now
• Throwing it back: Throwback paint schemes for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington | See the schemes • NASCAR Salutes: Honoring military families and communities through NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola | Read more
• Hey now, you’re an All-Star: Six-round format announced for All-Star Race at Texas | Read more
Say what?
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
“I think we just go out every week with the hope to run a top 10. We’ve done that a few times. I think we are probably capable of doing it a few more; we just didn’t have things really work out for us. So, I think we’ve kept our expectations pretty similar to what we began the year with. And that’s just going out and trying to obviously, get those top 10s and take advantage of the places we know we can go up front and try to win at.” — Erik Jones, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet
“We have some good momentum as everybody has seen, so that’s encouraging. At the start of the season we had a lot of things out of our control that happened. There’s nothing we could do about that, and now we’re kind of on a roll and showing the strength that we do have as a team, that we’ve known that we had, so that’s awesome. It’s super encouraging. I’m feeling good about it.” — Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
“As soon as we win another race, hopefully soon, you guys will be forced to talk about us, and the competition will be forced to deal with us. But I think we’re running well. We’re in the mix every week. I feel like the competition around us probably knows that and understands that. So, I think it’s just a matter of continuing to execute, and put ourselves in position to make ourselves have a chance at winning more races. Honestly, I don’t focus much on the other people we are racing against. I just focus on doing what we can to try to win. We’re doing that every week so far.” — William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
“I think we have been doing a good job. But I think our potential is higher to be very honest with you. I think that we still have a few areas to improve, but this team is going to win races and I have no doubt about that. I’m hungry to be able to get there. I’m trying to be patient, but we are going to get there.” — Daniel Suarez, driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
The following article is brought to you by BetMGM.
When it comes to Kansas Speedway, you never know who might pull off the win. In fact, this Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has eight different past Kansas winners in the current starting lineup. That makes for an interesting field when you bet NASCAR online.
But of course that doesn’t mean you’ll see the same old drivers celebrating afterward, as you can see below. The youngsters have proven this year they are more than capable of overcoming the veterans. Five of this year’s races already have been won by drivers who’ve been full time in the Cup Series for less than seven years.
If you’re following the NASCAR odds this week, you’ll see some unique names, which we’ll discuss below.
Where is Denny Hamlin not good, right? More than half of his 552 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series are top-10 finishes, and more than one third of his starts are finishes within the top five — and he tops this Sunday’s NASCAR betting lines. He has two wins in his last three starts at Kansas Speedway. His recent success on this track, coupled with his torrid start to the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season (eight top-five finishes in 10 races), makes him a prime candidate to capture the checkered flag this weekend.
And frankly? He needs a win. He has dominated the season and sits atop the season’s standings — and it’s not even close. He is already 87 points ahead of the nearest competitor (Martin Truex, Jr.). But he’s also the only guy in the top six without a victory this year. While he’s still in great shape to make the postseason, a win would lock everything in for what has already been a dream season.
OTHERS: Right behind Hamlin in the odds are Kyle Larson (+650) and Truex (+650), while Kevin Harvick (+900) is a guy you never want to rule out (three wins, 17 top-10 finishes out of 30 starts). As usual, the veteran racers are threats. Brad Keselowski (+850) starts on the pole.
THE DARK HORSE THREAT
Chase Elliott (+900)
It won’t be long before calling Chase Elliott a dark horse threat just looks dumb. He’s good on road courses, he’s good on superspeedways — you name it. In fact, that may remind some big-time fans of his old man, 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Bill Elliott (44 career wins). But you can’t ignore the following data: In 10 career races at Kansas, Chase has a win, four top-five performances and six top 10s. He could be the happiest driver this weekend, but frankly — he could be that guy just about every weekend.
OTHERS: William Byron (+1400) continues to impress, and his BetMGM odds reflect it. He’ll start second this weekend. Don’t be surprised if he pulls off the win.
THE INTRIGUING LONG SHOT
Erik Jones (+10000)
Jones has a tough starting position at 27th, but he’s proven he races well when he races in The Sunflower State. During his short career at the NASCAR Cup Series level, he has five top-10 finishes and three top threes in just nine starts there. In two of his past three starts there, he has actually started out in the 20s, only to come home with fifth and seventh-place finishes. He knows how to navigate traffic at 1.5-mile oval tracks. On the intermediate tracks, his success percentages (top fives, top 10s and average finish) are his best among track types.
OTHERS: It’s funny, for a guy who actually has a pretty good record here, Chase Briscoe (+25000) isn’t expected to capture the checkered flag. Granted, he starts 19th on Sunday, but he’s won here on two junior racing circuits (Xfinity and ARCA). Joining SHR was his big Cup Series break. Who knows, right? If you take this guy and he rocks it, you’ll look really smart.
The 2021 NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola campaign is more than just a military appreciation platform — it’s a campaign that salutes our heroes next door. Each week, NASCAR.com will highlight multiple individuals in the week’s race markets that have made a difference with their service both in the military and to their communities.
In our second profile of a hero next door, NASCAR.com is highlighting U.S. Army Sergeant First Class (SFC) Robert Lovell, who is currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Lovell grew up in Martinsville, Illinois, and joined the Army in 2004 as an infantryman. During his 17 years in the Army, he has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, while also spending four years as a drill sergeant at Fort Benning, Georgia, helping to train, develop and mold young recruits. Following his last deployment, he received his current orders that placed him at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
At Fort Leavenworth, Lovell was able to channel his love of the outdoors — mainly fishing and hunting — into volunteer work with the non-profit The Fallen Outdoors (TFO) organization. Started in 2009 at a remote outpost in Afghanistan by three Army soldiers, TFO is an all-veterans volunteer group that unites veterans with each other and the great outdoors and serves thousands of veterans a year. The mission of the organization is to set up and organize outdoors adventures for veterans from all military branches — at no cost — and to teach them a skill and passion they can continue and maintain for a lifetime.
“Our major goal is to build a strong network of like-minded individuals,” Lovell said. “Getting veterans or active duty members out of the barracks or off the couch can do wonders on psychological problems they could be dealing with. Being a part of The Fallen Outdoors helps me connect with those guys and hopefully in some way give someone a new purpose or renewed joy in life that may have been in a rough spot.”
This year, the Team Kansas TFO — of which Lovell is a volunteer staffer — organized 231 hunting and fishing trips for 878 veterans throughout the state. He is currently working on a project leading a Wood Duck Box build with TFO and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. The boxes will be delivered to various landowners who help support TFO.
Courtesy photos from SFC Lovell
Lovell, who is married with five children, is currently working toward his Bachelor of Science degree in Fish and Wildlife Science through Oregon State University online. His additional volunteer work has included more outdoors work as he has worked with the installation biologist at Fort Leavenworth to plant spring pollinator plants and helped to cut and clear fallen trees from the various walking and horse trails around the installation. He has also participated in wetland seeding projects coordinated through the Leavenworth Ducks Unlimited Chapter.
Lovell is an avid NASCAR fan and his favorite driver is Kevin Harvick. He took his wife, brother and sister-in-law to their first race in 2019.
STAFFORD, Conn. — Patrick Emerling dodged the wreck. And then waited on the rain.
His reward? The Orchard Park, New York, driver is the 49th NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler winner Friday night. Rain ended the race after 130 laps at Stafford Motor Speedway.
To get the win, Emerling had to pilot the No. 07 Captain Pip Marina Chevrolet through a cluster of spinning cars after Ryan Preece and Ron Silk got together in Turn 2 battling for the win. The wreck also collected Anthony Nocella and Justin Bonsignore. Emerling, who was running fifth, went high and then dove between the pinwheeling Nocella and Bonsignore to get clear.
The red came out during the ensuing caution for developing rain showers, and the weather eventually forced NASCAR officials to call the event.
How about Patrick Emerling finding a lane through the spinning leaders?
It is Emerling’s second career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win in 112 starts over 11 seasons. He won at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2017 after leading 148 of 150 laps. On Friday, the only laps he led where the final seven under yellow.
Jon McKennedy finished sixth, followed by Andrew Krause, Chuck Hossfeld, Ronnie Williams and Kyle Bonsignore.
Justin Bonsignore was scored 13th, Silk 14th, Preece 17th and Nocella 18th after the late wreck.
Goodale leads Emerling by six points and Catalano 11 after two races. McLaughlin is fourth, while defending tour champion Justin Bonsignore is tied with his cousin Kyle for fifth.
Matt Swanson earned his first Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award earlier in the evening and led a race-high 84 laps, but a wreck ended his night after 111 laps and he finished 20th.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to action on Saturday, May 15, with the first of three trips to Riverhead Raceway on Long Island.
Patrick Emerling drove the No. 07 Captain Pip Marina Chevrolet to the win in the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Stafford Motor Speedway on April 30, 2021 in Stafford, Connecticut. (Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
STAFFORD, Conn. — Matt Swanson has ‘Ole Blue’ in a familiar spot, even if it’s entirely new to him.
The 21-year-old from Acton, Massachusetts, earned his first career Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award Friday in qualifying for the evening’s NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway.
While Swanson is looking for his first tour win, the No. 3 Propane Plus/Jericho Performance Chevrolet is one of the iconic rides in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour history. The Boehler family car won the first Spring Sizzler in 1972 with driver Fred DeSarro.
It was Swanson’s 75th career start. His previous best qualifying effort on the tour was a fourth, while his best at Stafford was a fifth in the 2019 Spring Sizzler in which he wound up out of the race after just 51 laps with a power steering issue.
He had a qualifying lap of 18.008 seconds (99.956 mph) Friday, and held on as Jon McKennedy – who was fastest in practice – went out last and qualified second at 18.051 (99.717).
Anthony Nocella, Woody Pitkat, Eric Goodale, Tyler Rypkema and Andrew Krause rounded out the top 10.
NASCAR Cup Series driver and former Spring Sizzler winner Ryan Preece qualified 11th, and defending tour champion Justin Bonsignore will start 15th.
The NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler is slated to go green shortly after 8 p.m., and fans can watch on TrackPass on NBC Gold.
Matt Swanson piloted the No. 3 Propane Plus/Jericho Performance Road Chevrolet to the Mayhew Tools Pole Award at Stafford Motor Speedway Friday. (Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
The Next Gen car will be unveiled to the public for the first time on Wednesday from Charlotte, and fans can watch the historic event with NASCAR.com’s live stream starting at 3 p.m. ET. The event will also air across NASCAR’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels.
NASCAR and its OEMs – Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota – have worked together to develop a car from the ground up that will help boost competition across the garage. Each manufacturer will reveal their unique look in anticipation of the Next Gen car making its competition debut for the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The production of the Next Gen car has been a collaboration of the brightest engineering minds in racing, with contributions coming from all sides of the NASCAR and automotive industries. The first prototype, built by Richard Childress Racing, was test driven by Austin Dillon in October of 2019 at Richmond Raceway.
The car was tested three more times in late 2019 and early 2020 before testing was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing resumed in August of 2020 at Dover International Speedway with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer behind the wheel.
In February of 2021, NASCAR announced that development on the Next Gen car was complete. Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota brought prototypes to Martinsville Speedway in April for testing. Then, Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick drove the car during a Goodyear tire test the following week at Darlington Raceway.
Stay tuned to NASCAR.com after the reveal for more news and updates about the Next Gen car.
STAFFORD, Conn. — Jon McKennedy has finished sixth and second in his last two trips to Stafford Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The Chelmsford, Massachusetts, driver got off to a fast start Friday as he looks for his first trip to Victory Lane at the historic half-mile.
McKennedy paced the one-hour practice session for Friday night’s NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler, posting a lap of 17.926 seconds (100.413 mph). His No. 7 Ultra Wheel Chevrolet was the only in the field to clock a lap faster than 100 mph.
Andrew Krause was second fastest at 18.048 (99.734), while Doug Coby’s lap in the final minute of practice of 18.087 (99.519) was good for third quick.
Craig Lutz and Timmy Solomito were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Matt Swanson was sixth, followed by Woody Pitkat, Ronnie Williams, Ron Silk and Dave Sapienza.
Championship points leader Eric Goodald was 18th, while defending tour champion Justin Bonsingore was 15th. NASCAR Cup Series driver and former Spring Sizzler winner Ryan Preece was 12th.
Kyle Larson sits atop the oddsboard at SuperBook USA in Las Vegas ahead of this weekend’s Buschy McBusch Race 400, as the market-making sportsbook rates the No. 5 Chevrolet a tick higher than competing betting shops around the nation.
The SuperBook, whose NASCAR numbers influence the broader betting market, prices Larson at 5/1 odds (+500, or bet $100 to win $500) to win Sunday at Kansas Speedway, making him the co-favorite with Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin. While BetMGM also lists Hamlin as the 5/1 favorite as of Friday morning, Larson is the 6/1 co-second choice along with Martin Truex Jr. Barstool has Hamlin +550 and Larson and Truex each at +650.
For more evidence of the SuperBook’s respect for Larson this week, the Hendrick driver is priced as a solid favorite in head-to-head matchup props over a suite of NASCAR heavyweights. Larson is -130 (bet $130 to win $100) over Hamlin, -130 over both Truex and Ryan Blaney, and large -140 chalk over Brad Keselowski.
This despite Larson’s solid yet unspectacular history at Kansas and a distant starting position of 32nd on Sunday.
Larson’s 17.4 average finish over the 10 most recent races at this track ranks just 15th, but he’s finished in the top eight in four of his last six Cup events here. For much of this season, he’s been running near the front in his new Hendrick equipment, and he’s been excellent on 1.5-mile tracks in 2021, finishing fourth at Homestead, first in Las Vegas and second in Atlanta. All three of those tracks are used as comparisons to Kansas by race handicappers.
Stacking up the SuperBook’s odds against Barstool, there’s value to be found in the latter’s matchup props, where Larson is a +115 underdog vs. Hamlin (-150). Betting against Hamlin, who’s finished in the top five in eight of 10 races this season, takes some gumption, but per the SuperBook’s usually sharp numbers, +115 represents 35 cents of value, a massive edge in any bet.
Oddsmakers disagree on Penske drivers
More odds discrepancies between the SuperBook and other betting locales can be found within Team Penske, as the Vegas shop lists Ryan Blaney with the shortest price of the three drivers in the garage, while BetMGM and Barstool have him with the longest.
At +600 on the SuperBook’s board, Blaney sits just behind Larson and Hamlin, equal with Truex and ahead of Penske teammates Keselowski (+800) and Joey Logano (+1000). Matched in a prop against Keselowski, Blaney is a solid -125 favorite.
This pricing suggests Blaney is an enticing play at 10/1 odds to win the race in the outright market. While Blaney has the skinniest number among Penske drivers at the SuperBook, he is the longest shot of the three at Barstool, where Keselowski is +850 and Logano is +900.
Also at Barstool, the No. 12 Ford is available at +105 in a matchup against Truex, 15 cents fatter than the SuperBook, which prices the Truex vs. Blaney matchup -110 coinflip. Similar to the Larson over Hamlin angle discussed above, while a play against Truex isn’t for the faint of heart, the difference in pricing suggests value on the underdog at Barstool.
After a less-than-impressive start to the season, Blaney has been rounding into form and climbing steadily up the driver rankings. Following a disappointing 29th at Homestead, his two most recent outings on 1.5-milers resulted in a fifth in Vegas and a win in Atlanta. He sits in fifth place in the standings heading into Kansas.
Still, his visits to Victory Lane have been infrequent — he has five career wins, one in each of the last five years — and his history at Kansas has been wildly inconsistent. Blaney’s 15.0 average finish over the last 10 races at the track ranks 12th.
Hesitance to back Blaney over his Penske teammates can be forgiven, as Logano won here in October, and Keselowski boasts an average finish of 10.9 over the last 10, including a win in May 2019.
Based largely on the strength of these three drivers, in addition to Stewart-Haas’ Kevin Harvick — who hasn’t been much of a threat this season but has been outstanding at Kansas and is +900 to win Sunday — Ford is the +170 favorite at Barstool to be the winning manufacturer, with Chevrolet +175 and Toyota +180.
Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.
The 2021 NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola campaign is more than just a military appreciation platform — it’s a campaign that salutes our heroes next door. Each week, NASCAR.com will highlight multiple individuals in the week’s race markets that have made a difference with their service both in the military and to their communities.
In our first profile of a hero next door, NASCAR.com is highlighting U.S. Army Sergeant First Class (SFC) Ashley Neago, who is currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Neago grew up in Massillon, Ohio, and joined the Army to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, who served under General George Patton in World War II. She enlisted in the Army in 2010 and completed her basic and advanced training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, before being assigned to the 165th Military Police (MP) Company in Fort Leavenworth as a Correctional Specialist. During her 11 years in the Army, Neago has been assigned to work in Cuba, Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in addition to Fort Leavenworth.
In addition to her duties working with the Director of Correction Programs (DCP) staff at the Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility at Fort Leavenworth, Neago has spent a lot of time volunteering in her local community. She has also encouraged and motivated the soldiers under her responsibility to do the same. Since joining her post at the DCP in September, Neago has completed over 150 volunteer hours. That level of community service resulted in her being awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for the second time in her Army career.
“I volunteer to make a meaningful difference in the lives of soldiers and their families and to make a difference in our Fort Leavenworth community,” Neago said. “By volunteering with my soldiers, it has further resulted in a sense of satisfaction and achievement within my platoon. We have been able to build new friendships and become a cohesive team.”
Neago and her team volunteer weekly at the Fort Leavenworth Animal Stray Facility and the Fort Leavenworth Frontier Army Museum. The team recently sanitized the museum in order for it to stay within COVID guidelines and remain open. The group has also been working on repairing a new exhibit by patching, sanding and painting the walls of the museum. Neago has also volunteered her time at the Mission Food Pantry, Fort Leavenworth Rod and Gun Club, Leavenworth Lions Club, Wreaths Across America, and Boys Scouts of America.
Her volunteer work with the annual Wreaths Across America event at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery left an indelible mark and was one of the most rewarding experiences she has had volunteering.
“This year due to COVID families with loved ones in the cemetery could not attend in person so each time we laid a wreath in front of a grave, we said the name of the soldier and had a moment of silence,” Neago said. “We did this in their honor as they paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
Courtesy photos from SFC Neago
Neago’s sense of community and service extends to her Army family as well. She organized a drive-by baby shower for a soldier in need that followed COVID guidelines. Over the holiday season, she volunteered her time to work for soldiers so they could spend more time with their families. She did this while also being a single parent herself to her daughter. Her selfless leadership traits have earned her a nomination for the Army’s 2021 Correction Professional of the Year.
When not serving her country, community and raising her daughter, Neago is working toward her Bachelor Degree in Homeland Security. She is an avid NASCAR fan who counts Kurt Busch as her favorite driver.
