Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Christopher Bell is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Playoff event at Kansas Speedway, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry will achieve 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Norman, Oklahoma, and a champion of the Camping World Truck Series in 2017, Bell made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February 2020. By then, he was coming off two full-time seasons in the Xfinity Series that was highlighted with 15 victories and two Championship Round appearances. Driving the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota Camry, Bell finished 21st in his Cup debut after being involved in a late multi-car wreck while running towards the front.
After finishing no higher than 21st during the first five scheduled events, Bell managed to finish 11th at Darlington Raceway in May before achieving his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit by finishing ninth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Despite collecting his first top-five career result at Pocono Raceway in June along with three additional top-10 results throughout the regular season stretch, he struggled with maintaining on-track consistency as he did not make the 2020 Cup Playoffs. During the final 10 scheduled events, he managed to finish 10th at Kansas Speedway and collect a season-best third-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in October before settling in 20th place in the final standings.
When Leavine Family Racing ceased operations following the 2020 NASCAR season, Bell reunited with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team he competed in two full-time Xfinity seasons, to pilot the No. 20 Toyota Camry, where he replaced Erik Jones. After finishing 16th in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, Bell scored his first Cup career victory during the following weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course after passing Joey Logano prior to the final lap. The victory made Bell the 197th different competitor to win in NASCAR’s premier series and the 11th to do so for Joe Gibbs Racing as he snapped a one-year winless drought for JGR’s No. 20 team. In the process, Bell became the first Oklahoma competitor to win in the Cup Series.
Following his breakthrough victory at Daytona, Bell notched three additional top-five results, including two runner-up results (Road America in June and New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July), and nine top-10 results before making his first entrance in the Playoffs as one of 16 competitors vying for the 2021 title. Despite finishing 20th, third and 29th respectively in the Round of 16, he was one of 12 competitors to advance to the Round of 12. His title hopes, however, came to an end during the second round after finishing 24th, fifth and eighth respectively. Nonetheless, Bell finished in the top 10 three times during the final four scheduled events before settling in 12th place in the final standings. By then, he nearly quadrupled his top-five results achieved in a season from two to seven, doubled his top-10 results from seven to 16 and improved his average-finishing result from 20.3 to 15.8 in comparison to his rookie Cup season.
Remaining at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022, Bell rallied from finishing no higher than 10th through the first five scheduled events by notching nine top-10 results through the following 14 events. By then, he had achieved his first three career poles in the Cup circuit. He then became the 14th different winner of the 2022 Cup Series season after earning his second career victory at New Hampshire in July. The New Hampshire victory along with a total of seven top-five results, 14 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.5 throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch were enough for him to make his second consecutive appearance in the Cup Series Playoffs. Coming off a fifth-place run in the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, Bell is ranked in fourth place in the Playoff standings and is 28 points above the top-12 cutline to transfer into the Round of 12 field, which will be determined at Bristol Motor Speedway in mid-September.
Through 99 previous Cup starts, Bell has achieved two victories, three poles, 17 top-five results, 38 top-10 results, 380 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.0 while he pursues his first Cup Series title.
Bell is scheduled to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 11, with the event’s coverage scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
In a season mired with constant trials and struggles both on and off the track, Kurt Busch and 23XI Racing triumphed at the Heartland State after emerging victorious in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 15.
The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, led five times for a race-high 116 of 267 laps as he prevailed after a fierce battle with Kyle Larson during the final 10 laps to snatch the lead and claim his first Cup Series victory of the season and his first driving for 23XI Racing.
With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Christopher Bell notched his third pole position of his career and of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 179.575 mph in 30.071 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Tyler Reddick, who recorded a qualifying lap at 178.855 mph in 30.192 seconds.
Prior to the event, Denny Hamlin, rookie Todd Gilliland and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. In addition, Chris Buescher and Joey Logano also dropped to the rear in backup cars.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Bell and Reddick dueled for the top spot through the first three turns until Bell managed to clear Reddick and the field entering Turn 4 to lead the first lap. With Reddick settling in second in front of Kyle Larson, rookie Austin Cindric battled with Kurt Busch for fourth place as Kyle Busch joined the battle. Meanwhile, Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman dueled for seventh place in front of Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney.
During the fifth lap of the event, the first caution flew when Briscoe got loose and spun across the frontstretch grass, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage to his No. 14 Rush Truck Center/Cummins Ford Mustang.
Four laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Reddick received a push from Kyle Busch to assume the lead as Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson battled Bell for the runner-up spot, with Larson taking the spot.
At the Lap 10 mark, Reddick was leading ahead of Larson, Kyle Busch, Bell and Cindric while Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola, Blaney and Kurt Busch were in the top 10.
Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Reddick extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson while Bell, Kyle Busch, Cindric, Suarez, Chastain, Almirolam Kurt Busch and Blaney were in the top 10. Running in 11th place was Martin Truex Jr. followed by Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell. Cole Custer was in 21st ahead of Justin Haley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Dillon and Corey LaJoie while Brad Keselowski, rookie Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Briscoe and Chris Buescher were in the top 30. Meanwhile, Joey Logano, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Darlington Raceway, was mired in 31st while rookie Todd Gilliland was in 33rd.
Fourteen laps later and just as Larson overtook Reddick for the lead, the caution flew due to BJ McLeod spinning and stalling his car past the frontstretch. At the moment of caution, Logano dodged losing a lap to the leaders. In addition, Chris Buescher made a pit stop.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Bell reassumed the lead after exiting pit road with the top spot followed by Reddick, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Chastain and Truex. During the pit stops, Hamlin and Austin Dillon were penalized for equipment interference while Cindric was penalized for an uncontrolled tire penalty. In addition, Justin Haley, who was having his pit service complete, had a left-rear tire fall off of his car as he exited his pit stall and caught on fire.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 39, Bell cleared the field entering the first turn to assume the lead. Through the backstretch, Kyle Busch took over the runner-up spot while Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain and Suarez overtook Reddick for third and fourth. Soon after, Truex mounted a challenge on Reddick for a top-five spot.
Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Bell was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch while Chastain, Suarez and Reddick were in the top five. Truex, meanwhile, settled in sixth followed by Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Almirola and Byron while Larson, who endured a slow pit stop during the previous caution, was in 12th behind teammate Chase Elliott. In addition, Kurt Busch was back in 14th ahead of Kevin Harvick while Blaney was back in 18th ahead of Denny Hamlin and Logano.
Eleven laps later, the caution flew when Suarez, who was being pressured by Truex for fourth place, got loose, spun and made contact with the outside wall entering Turn 4 as his No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stalled at the entrance of pit road. Things then went from bad to worse for Suarez as he needed a wrecker to have his car towed back to his pit stall due to flat-spotting his tires. During the caution period, Almirola pitted when pit road was not open for the field.
Under caution, the majority of the field, led by Bell who had a flat left-rear tire, pitted while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Corey LaJoie and Austin Dillon remained on the track.
When the race restarted on Lap 67 amid a jumble and scramble within the field, Kyle Busch drove his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry to the lead on fresh tires while Chastain rocketed to the runner-up spot as Austin Dillon drifted toward the middle of the pack. As the field continued to scramble for positions while fanning out to multiple lanes, Elliott was up in third place followed by Reddick, Byron and Truex while Erik Jones was getting shuffled back to seventh in front of Wallace, Blaney and Stenhouse.
Under the final 10 laps of the first stage, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Chastain while Elliott trailed by seven-tenths of a second.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Kyle Busch notched his first stage victory of the season while leading by more than a second over Chastain. Chastain settled in second followed by Elliott, Reddick, Byron, Truex, Wallace, Erik Jones, Blaney and Bowman.
Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Elliott exited with the top spot ahead of Chastain, Truex, Byron and Reddick. Disaster struck, however, for Elliott as he dropped to the rear of the field due to equipment interference. During the pit stops, Hamlin was also penalized for equipment interference while Wallace was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall during his service. In addition, Kyle Busch dropped from first to 10th after parking his car too close to his pit wall as he endured a slow pit stop. Following the pit stops, Harvick, Almirola and Buescher made another trip to pit road. Among those who pitted for a second time was Erik Jones as his crew was enduring constant issues removing the right-rear tire of his No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
The second stage started on Lap 87 as Chastain and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain and Truex dueled for the top spot through the backstretch before Byron made a bold three-wide move on both entering the frontstretch to take the lead. Behind, Reddick fended off Blaney for fourth place while brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch battled for sixth.
At the Lap 100 mark, Byron was leading by more than a second over Chastain followed by Reddick, Truex, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Bowman, Bell and Larson. Cindric was in 11th ahead of Stenhouse, Keselowski, Elliott, Harvick, Logano, Custer, Wallace, Hamlin and Buescher while Michael McDowell, Briscoe, Ty Dillon, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, Josh Bilicki, Gilliland and Almirola were in the top 30.
Eleven laps later, Kurt Busch leaped his No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota TRD Camry way into the runner-up spot after rocketing past Chastain as Byron stretch his advantage to nearly three seconds. By then, names like Almirola and Erik Jones were lapped by the leader.
On Lap 113, disaster struck for Byron as his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 suffered a flat left-rear tire while leading as he fell off the pace below the frontstretch apron. With Byron out of contention, Kurt Busch took over the lead followed by Chastain, Truex, Reddick and Kyle Busch.
Shortly after, disaster then struck for Reddick as he blew a right-rear tire and smacked the outside wall as he limped his way to pit road. Reddick’s misfortune allowed Kyle Busch and Blaney to gain spots in the top five.
Nearing the Lap 125 mark, green flag pit stops occurred as Truex pitted. In the midst of the pit stops, the caution flew on Lap 126 when Harvick, who was just exiting pit road following his pit stop, spun his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang due to a shifter issue.
During the extended caution period, some drivers including Elliott, Logano, Cole Custer, Michael McDowell, Ty Dillon, Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland and Josh Bilicki pitted as they had not yet pitted prior to the previous caution while the rest, led by Kurt Busch, remained on the track.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 136, Kurt Busch and Blaney dueled for the lead as the field fanned out entering the first two turns. Through the frontstretch Kurt Busch and Blaney made contact as they continued to battle for the lead before the former managed to clear the latter during the following lap. In the midst of the battles, Kyle Busch overtook Blaney for the runner-up spot while Truex and Keselowski were in the top five.
By Lap 150, Kurt Busch remained as the leader by half a second over brother Kyle while Blaney, Truex and Cindric were in the top five. Elliott, meanwhile, was in sixth followed by teammate Larson, Chastain, Keselowski and Logano while Stenhouse, Hamlin, McDowell, Wallace, Gragson, Bell, Burton, Bowman, Custer and Ty Dillon occupied the top 20. Byron was back in 22nd ahead of Harvick while Reddick was in 28th, a lap behind the leaders.
With five laps remaining in the second stage, Kurt Busch extended his advantage to more than one-and-a-half seconds over brother Kyle while Blaney, Truex and Cindric remained in the top five.
Then, during the final lap of the second stage, Truex dropped off the pace due to a flat left-rear tire of his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota TRD Camry. Despite the issue, Truex elected to nurse his car around the circuit for a final lap. In the midst of the issue, Kurt Busch went on to capture his first stage victory of the season on Lap 165. Brother Kyle settled in second followed by Blaney, Cindric, Elliott, Larson, Chastain, Hamlin, Logano and Wallace.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch retained the lead after exiting pit road with the top spot followed by Blaney, Kyle Busch, Larson and Cindric.
With 94 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Kurt Busch and Blaney dueled for the top spot for a full lap before the former managed to clear the field entering the backstretch. Behind, Larson and Cindric battled for third place in front of Hamlin. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch, who endured a slow pit stop, was penalized for speeding on pit road.
Under the final 90 laps, the battle for the lead intensified between Kurt Busch and Larson as the former continued to retain the top spot over the latter. Then with 86 laps remaining, Larson, who made a move beneath Busch for the lead through Turn 1, slid up and got super loose in front of Busch, but Larson managed to straighten his car through the backstretch as Busch reassumed the lead.
With 75 laps remaining, Kurt Busch continued to lead by more than two seconds over his owner Denny Hamlin while Larson was back in third place. Blaney and Elliott occupied the top five in front of Wallace, Bowman, Cindric, Chastain and Bell.
Four laps later, the caution flew when Elliott lost a left-rear tire and spun in Turn 3 as he ended up getting his No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stuck in the infield grass.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch retained the lead after exiting his pit stall with the top spot followed by Larson, Blaney, Hamlin and Bell. During the pit stops, Wallace was penalized for an uncontrolled tire penalty as his tire was hit by Bowman and Chastain while Harvick was penalized for speeding on pit road.
With 67 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Kurt Busch and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. Then exiting the backstretch, Blaney attempted to make a three-wide move on both for the lead, but Larson managed to assume the top spot briefly until Busch rallied back on the inside lane and through the frontstretch.
Then with 63 laps remaining, Larson bounced off the outside wall entering the frontstretch while battling intensely against Kurt Busch for the lead, which allowed Busch to clear the field with the top spot. Despite the contact with the wall, Larson retained the runner-up spot in front of Bell, Hamlin, Blaney and Kyle Busch.
Under the final 60 laps of the event, Kurt Busch extended his advantage to more than a second over Bell while Larson and Kyle Busch battled for third place in front of Hamlin.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Kurt Busch stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Bell while Kyle Busch was in third ahead of Larson and Hamlin. Blaney was back in sixth ahead of Bowman, Chastain, Stenhouse and Byron while Cindric was in 11th ahead of teammate Logano, Truex, Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski.
Ten laps later, Kurt Busch continued to lead by more than two seconds over brother Kyle while Bell, Larson and Hamlin remained in the top five.
A lap later, the caution flew due to possible fluid coming out of Harvick’s car. Prior to the caution, Harvick had gotten loose entering the frontstretch. During the caution period, the field pitted for fuel and Kyle Busch exited with the top spot followed by Larson, Kurt Busch, Bell, Hamlin and Blaney.
With 33 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Kyle Busch and Larson dueled for the top spot for nearly a full lap until Larson managed to pull his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 out in front with the lead entering the fourth turn. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was locked into a battle with Bell for third place as Hamlin joined the battle.
Under the final 30 laps of the event, Larson was leading by three-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Kurt Busch trailed by less than a second.
Then with 22 laps remaining, Kurt Busch, who methodically narrowed the deficit between himself and the two Kyles, overtook brother Kyle for the runner-up spot as he went to work to track Larson.
With 15 laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by more than two-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch, who continued to pressure the former for the top spot.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson remained as the leader by less than three-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch as the leaders approached lapped traffic.
Then with nine laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Kurt Busch drew himself beneath Larson for the top spot from the backstretch through the frontstretch. Then during the following lap, Larson, who continued to rim-ride towards the outside wall, scrapped the wall entering the backstretch, which allowed Busch to drive away with the lead while Larson retained second ahead of Kyle Busch.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Kurt Busch was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Larson while brother Kyle trailed by more than a second and a half. Meanwhile, Hamlin stabilized his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota TRD Camry in fourth ahead of teammates Bell and Truex.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kurt Busch was ahead by more than a second over Larson and nearly two seconds over Kyle Busch. With no traffic interfering with his progress and Larson not able to make up the deficit, Kurt Busch cycled his way back around to the frontstretch as he claimed his first checkered flag of the season.
With the victory, Kurt Busch, who has now won in at least 19 seasons, notched his first victory at Kansas and his 34th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series, which placed him in sole possession of 25th place on the all-time Cup wins list. The victory was also the third of the season for Toyota, the second for returning crew chief Billy Scott, the second for 23XI Racing in the team’s second season of NASCAR competition and the first for Busch since he won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July 2021.
In addition, the Kansas victory made 23XI Racing the fifth different organization that Kurt Busch has won with throughout his Cup career. It also made Toyota the fourth overall manufacturer that Busch has won with after having previously won in the Cup circuit with Dodge, Ford and Chevrolet.
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – MAY 15: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Jordan Brand Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 15, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).
“It’s all about teamwork,” Busch said on FS1. “I don’t do this alone and the way that Toyota’s helped us, [Joe Gibbs Racing]. My little brother’s [Kyle Busch] been so important just on the family side of, ‘Hey, you gotta get through these steps.’ Bubba’s [Wallace] a tremendous teammate, but this is 23XI [Racing]. This is our first win for the No. 45 car. With Jordan Brand on the hood, I felt like I had to race like the GOAT [Michael Jordan] and I had to beat the Kyles. I beat both…I can get one Kyle, I’m like, ‘I can get both.’ I just had the confidence to know that our setup would do things on the short-run and long-run. This No. 45 car’s a winner now!”
“It’s the most gratifying [feeling] to work from the ground up with a brand new number,” Busch added. “Yes, I’ve been with a lot of teams, a lot of manufacturers, but it’s about family. I love my family at home, I love my KBI employees and everybody at 23XI. This is for us. This is what the hard work is all about no matter if you lose a couple spots on pit road, no matter if our car was a basket or whatever to start…I’m in Kansas! I’m loving it!”
Larson, who led 29 laps and won at Kansas in October 2021, settled in second place for the second time this season and for his sixth top-five result of the 2022 season.
“We were racing for the win there,” Larson said. “[Kurt Busch] never got into me, so I’m trying to squeeze throttle to get position on him. Just got tight. That was fun racing with Kurt. The last half of the race, I was trying hard to hold time. I about spun out in front of him at some point in the third stage. We just kept fighting through it. Thanks to my team for building me a war machine. I hit the wall a lot today. Just struggled like people could put air on me and get me really tight and then, I hit the wall. We’ll work on that and figure it out, but happy with my car. The Toyota’s are extremely good today. I think they’re all in the top 10. They had the handling as well as a lot of raw speed. It was hard to hold off Kyle [Busch] and then, I knew when Kurt got by him, it was gonna be really hard to hold him off. I did my best, but came up one spot short.”
Filling in positions third through sixth were all four Joe Gibbs Racing competitors led by Kyle Busch while Hamlin, Bell and Truex followed suit. To go along with his top-five run, Hamlin was left beaming and emotional over his first victory of the season as an owner.
“We, as an organization, let these guys down,” Hamlin, who congratulated Busch on pit road, said. “I’m talking about Bubba [Wallace] and Kurt. So many mistakes that we made on pit road and whatnot. Bubba got let down again on the last stop, but he was fast. I thought he was a little bit better than I was. We had to go to the back again three times today, but let’s talk about the positives. Just can’t thank Kurt enough. Jordan Brand’s first race [as a sponsor]. So jealous he gets to drive that car and to have that thing so fast there. I’ve never had this kind of feeling even for a win for me much less when I did win. Just different.”
Chastain, Stenhouse, Bowman and Bubba Wallace finished in the top 10. Austin Cindric was the highest-finishing rookie in 11th place ahead of teammate Blaney while Harvick settled in 15th ahead of Byron and Logano.
There were 18 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 47 laps.
With the first half of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch complete, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular-season standings by 52 points over Ryan Blaney, 58 over Kyle Busch, 60 over William Byron and 68 over Ross Chastain.
Currently, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, rookie Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin are tentatively locked into the 2022 Cup Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola are above the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs as winless competitors with Austin Dillon trailing by 11 points, Tyler Reddick by 22, Erik Jones by 32, Daniel Suarez by 49, Chris Buescher by 61, Bubba Wallace by 65, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell both by 77, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 95 and Ty Dillon by 100.
Results.
1. Kurt Busch, 116 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Kyle Larson, 29 laps led
3. Kyle Busch, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Christopher Bell, 37 laps led
6. Martin Truex Jr.
7. Ross Chastain, four laps led
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps led
9. Alex Bowman
10. Bubba Wallace
11. Austin Cindric
12. Ryan Blaney, one lap led
13. Austin Dillon
14. Brad Keselowski
15. Kevin Harvick
16. William Byron, 25 laps led
17. Joey Logano
18. Noah Gragson
19. Corey LaJoie
20. Ty Dillon
21. Harrison Burton
22. Cole Custer
23. Michael McDowell
24. Chase Briscoe, one lap down
25. Todd Gilliland, one lap down
26. Aric Almirola, one lap down
27. Chris Buescher, two laps down
28. Josh Bilicki, two laps down
29. Chase Elliott, three laps down, 10 laps led
30. Tyler Reddick, four laps down, 24 laps led
31. JJ Yeley, four laps down
32. Erik Jones, six laps down
33. Daniel Suarez, 11 laps down
34. Cody Ware, 12 laps down
35. Justin Haley – OUT, Electrical
36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Chassis
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ annual All-Star Open and Race events at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Coverage of the All-Star Open is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 22, at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1 with the All-Star Race to follow at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
A late-race caution with 13 laps remaining and an eight-lap dash to the finish could not stall Zane Smith’s dominant run in the Sunflower state as he went on to claim his third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season in the Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 14.
The 22-year-old Smith from Huntington Beach, California, led four times for a race-high 108 of 147 laps as he rocketed away from Ty Majeski, John Hunter Nemechek and the field during an eight-lap shootout to the finish to become the first three-time winner of this year’s Truck season.
With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, John Hunter Nemechek notched his third pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 176.644 mph in 30.570 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate and rookie Corey Heim, who qualified at 175.965 mph in 30.688 seconds.
Prior to the event, Tate Fogleman and Matt DiBenedetto dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks. In addition, Stewart Friesen started at the rear of the field after he was unable to participate during Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions amid a delayed flight from New York. As a result, NASCAR Cup Series competitor Bubba Wallace practiced and qualified Friesen’s truck in fifth place while Friesen arrived in time for the event.
When the green flag waved and the race started, teammates Nemechek and Heim battled dead even entering the first three turns until Nemechek gained a huge run on the outside lane to pull ahead and lead the first lap ahead of Heim, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and the field.
Two laps later, Nemechek and Smith engaged in a tight battle for the lead while Majeski battled and overtook Heim for third place. By the fourth lap, Smith moved his No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150 into the lead.
Through the first 10 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than a second over Heim. Meanwhile, Nemechek was back in third place while Majeski and Chandler Smith were in the top five. Behind, Derek Kraus was in sixth followed by Ben Rhodes, Tanner Gray, Matt Crafton and Colby Howard while Carson Hocevar, Chase Purdy, Riley Herbst, Tyler Ankrum and Christian Eckes were in the top 15. Hailie Deegan was in 16th ahead of rookie Jack Wood, Stewart Friesen, rookie Dean Thompsons and Grant Enfinger.
Shortly after, Blaine Perkins spun across the backstretch after making contact with Tate Fogleman, but he was able to nurse his truck back to pit road without sustaining any damage and the event remained under green.
By Lap 20, Zane Smith was being challenged by Heim for the lead. While Heim gained a huge run in Turn 3 to take the lead, Smith pulled a crossover move to issue another challenge for the top spot. Heim, however, gained another strong run through Turns 2 and 3 to assume the lead for good on Lap 22 amid lapped traffic.
At the Lap 25 mark, Heim extended his advantage to more than a second over Zane Smith while Majeski, Chandler Smith and Nemechek occupied the top five.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Heim streaked his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro across the start/finish line and claim his first career stage victory. Behind, Majeski overtook Zane Smith for the runner-up spot while Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Kraus, Rhodes, Crafton, Tanner Gray and Hocevar were scored in the top 10. By then, Friesen was up in 15th place while DiBenedetto was mired in 21st.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Heim retained the lead ahead of teammate Nemechek, Zane Smith, Tanner Gray, Rhodes and Ankrum.
The second stage started on Lap 36 as Heim and Zane Smith occupied the front row. At the start and with the front-runners locked in a tight battle through double lanes, Heim and Zane Smith dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Heim received a strong push from teammate Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to clear the field and assume the lead.
During the following lap, however, Zane Smith reassumed the lead and slowly pulled away as the field behind jostled for positions.
By Lap 40, Zane Smith was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Nemechek while Heim, Rhodes and Gray were in the top five. Behind, Friesen worked his way up to seventh behind Majeski while Hocevar, Colby Howard and Ankrum were in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by less than two seconds over Heim while Nemechek, Rhodes and Majeski remained in the top five.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 60, Zane Smith, who was leading by more than two seconds, claimed his fourth stage victory of the season. Heim settled in second followed by Nemechek, Majeski, Rhodes, Hocevar, Gray, Kraus, Howard and Friesen.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Rhodes assumed the lead ahead of Zane Smith, Heim and the field.
With the race reaching its halfway mark on Lap 67, the final stage started. At the start, Zane Smith muscled his way back to the lead ahead of Rhodes, Nemechek and the field with the competitors jostling for positions and fanning out to multiple lanes.
With 55 laps remaining, Zane Smith stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Heim while Rhodes, Nemechek and Majeski were in the top five. Meanwhile, Eckes was in sixth followed by Hocevar, Kraus, Purdy and Ankrum while Friesen was in 11th ahead of Chandler Smith, Colby Howard, Matt DiBenedetto and Hailie Deegan. Crafton was in 16th ahead of Grant Enfinger, Tanner Gray, Riley Herbst and Dean Thompson.
Eleven laps later, the caution flew for an incident involving Kris Wright in Turn 2. At the moment of caution, Zane Smith was leading by more than three seconds over Heim.
Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road for service and Heim reassumed the lead followed by Zane Smith, Rhodes, Nemechek, Majeski and Eckes.
With 39 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith and Heim made contact with the former assuming the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch while Nemechek and Eckes moved up to second and third. Meanwhile, Heim slipped back to fourth in front of Friesen and Rhodes.
Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than two seconds over Nemechek while Eckes, Majeski and Chandler Smith, who rallied from losing a lap to the leaders, were in the top five. Friesen was in sixth ahead of Heim, Rhodes, Kraus and Howard.
Shortly after, Heim’s strong run was spoiled after he made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 and made a trip to pit road, thus losing a lap to the leaders.
With 20 laps remaining, Zane Smith continued to extend his advantage to more than four seconds over Nemechek while Majeski, Chandler Smith and Eckes were in the top five.
Just then, the caution flew with 13 laps remaining when Dean Thompson spun in Turn 2. The incident all but evaporated Zane Smith’s advantage of more than six seconds over Nemechek and the field.
Under caution, some like DiBenedetto, Lawless Alan, Ankrum and Colby Howard pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track.
Down to the final eight laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith rocketed with the lead while Nemechek, who struggled at the start on the outside lane, slipped out of the top five as Majeski moved into the runner-up spot.
When the field returned to the start/finish line, Zane Smith was leading ahead of Majeski, Enfinger, Eckes and Chandler Smith while Nemechek was mired back in sixth place.
With less than five laps remaining, Zane Smith stabilized his advantage to nearly seven-tenths of a second over runner-up Majeski and more than two seconds over third-place Enfinger.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Zane Smith continued to lead by more than a second over Majeski. Having no competition coming close to his fast truck, Smith cycled his way back to the finish line as he capped off a dominant run with another victory of the season.
With his third victory of the season, all occurring in his first campaign with Front Row Motorsports, Smith also claimed his first win at Kansas and his sixth career victory in the Truck circuit.
“Just an unbelievable truck,” Smith said on FS1. “We, honestly, struggled there in the first stage. I feel like I made the mistake last week with adjusting too much in the heat of the day and wasn’t right in the night [conditions]. We just executed greatly with this truck. This was our Vegas truck. I feel like this would’ve been an image of Vegas what we’ve seen tonight if I didn’t get damage early in the race there. What a track record with Speedco and Love’s [Travel Stops]. Just so cool. That was one of my easier ones I’ve ever had to win, but that late-race restart scared me a little, but good thing I didn’t have another one there because I am stuck in fourth [gear].”
Finishing in a career-best runner-up spot was Ty Majeski, who also achieved his third top-five result of the season as he is currently campaigning in his first full-time season in the series with ThorSport Racing. Majeski’s second-place run occurred in his 28th series start.
“We were really close,” Majeski said. “We kept easing on the adjustments all night. Getting the balance better every run. Track was freeing up and we were just a little bit too free. We kept making small changes. The sun went down, I think we under-adjusted a little bit for that last stop. Just couldn’t attack it. Just a little bit too free. Overall, a really, really fast American Racing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. We’ve been really hitting it off this year. It’s been a ton of fun. Being in the shop every day with these guys and working with them. We have a great relationship and there’s a lot of great things coming. We’re right there.”
The third-place result was the second in a row in recent weeks for Enfinger, who is currently competing on a full-time basis with GMS Racing.
“[Crew chief] Charles [Denike], tonight, made some really good calls ‘cause we were terrible when we unloaded, terrible in qualifying,” Enfinger said. “I could drive it at the beginning of the race, but we were slow. [Denike] did a great job adjusting on it all night. I feel like he hit on something. The last two adjustments made a big difference.”
Chandler Smith came home in fourth place and Eckes completed the top five while Nemechek, who led the first three laps and who was coming off a win last weekend at Darlington Raceway, fell back to sixth place.
“[I] Spun the tires, didn’t get a good push from behind,” Nemechek said. “It’s on me. I spun the tires and that was pretty much it. That’s all she wrote. [I] Had a decently fast Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro tonight. We missed it. [Zane Smith] was definitely the dominant truck and he should’ve won the race. I feel like we should’ve finished second or third, but got to work on restarts, come back and we know what we need to do here coming back for the Playoff race. Proud of the guys. Proud of the effort. Still on a top-six streak here. Just got to continue on.”
Matt DiBenedetto, Kraus, Crafton and Rhodes finished in the top 10.
There were nine lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured four cautions for nine laps.
With the first half of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch complete, Ben Rhodes leads the regular-season standings by 20 points over John Hunter Nemechek and 21 over Zane Smith. Currently, Zane Smith, Rhodes, Nemechek and Chandler Smith are tentatively locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the top-10 cutline by 20 points, Derek Kraus trails by 37, Tyler Ankrum trails by 45, and Matt DiBenedetto trails by 66.
Results.
1. Zane Smith, 108 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Ty Majeski, one lap led
3. Grant Enfinger
4. Chandler Smith
5. Christian Eckes
6. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps led
7. Matt DiBenedetto
8. Derek Kraus
9. Matt Crafton
10. Ben Rhodes, four laps led
11. Colby Howard
12. Riley Herbst
13. Chase Purdy
14. Stewart Friesen
15. Carson Hocevar
16. Tyler Ankrum
17. Hailie Deegan
18. Tanner Gray
19. Lawless Alan
20. Tate Fogleman, one lap down
21. Tyler Hill, one lap down
22. Dean Thompson, one lap down
23. Austin Wayne Self, one lap down
24. Jesse Little, two laps down
25. Kris Wright, two laps down
26. Jack Wood, three laps down
27. Timmy Hill, four laps down
28. Ryan Huff, four laps down
29. Trey Hutchens, four laps down
30. Josh Reaume, five laps down
31. Spencer Boyd, seven laps down
32. Blaine Perkins, eight laps down
33. Corey Heim, 10 laps down, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner
34. Matt Mills – OUT, Axle
35. Jesse Iwuji – OUT, Too slow
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, which will occur on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
1. Kyle Larson: Larson won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, winning his third consecutive race.
“I’m looking forward to a nice, leisurely drive at Martinsville,” Larson said. “On my bicycle, on Saturday.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fifth at Kansas and heads to Martinsville in third place in the playoff standings.
“Martinsville is my home track,” Hamlin said, “so I’m going there with the goal to both bring it home and send home four drivers.”
3. Chase Elliott: Elliott tried to chase down Kyle Larson late at Kansas, but couldn’t get close after hitting the wall. Elliott finished second and is second in the playoff standings.
“We’ve all been chasing Kyle this year,” Elliott said. “And we’re all hitting walls, both literally and figuratively. If Kyle wins at Martinsville and then doesn’t win at Phoenix, I bet he’ll be extremely mad, or, in other words, ‘huge upset.’”
4. Ryan Blaney: Blaney was wrecked when Austin Dillon made contact with 44 laps remaining at Kansas. Blaney finished 37th and is fifth in the point standings.
“I’m not sure what Dillon was thinking,” Blaney said. “I’m not even sure if he was thinking. Is there any point in getting revenge on a non-playoff driver? I mean, what does Dillon have to lose, except pretty much every race he enters?”
5. Joey Logano: Logano finished ninth at Kansas and likely needs a win at Martinsville to advance to the championship round.
“I like my chances to win at Martinsville,” Logano said. “I like my chances even more if I can get a signed affidavit verifying that Matt Kenseth won’t be there.”
6. Kyle Busch: Busch hit the wall twice at Kansas and limped to a 28th-place finish. He is fourth in the playoff standings.
“I did a lot of yelling over my team radio,” Busch said. “I know it’s not cool, but I’m trying to work on my attitude. In short, I need to temper my tantrums.”
7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished third in the Hollywood Casino 400.
“Nothing would have made me happier,” Harvick said, “than to tap Chase Elliott’s bumper three times, knock him out of the race, and say ‘You’re not in Kansas anymore.’
8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished seventh in the Hollywood Casino 400.
“We’re going to need a big day at Martinsville,” Truex said. “With massive amounts of pressure on me, it’s up to me to drive my best and produce. So, I’m gonna have to come through not only in the clutch but also in the brake and gas pedals.”
9. William Byron: Byron finished sixth at Kansas.
“I’m not in the playoffs,” Byron said, “but I can only imagine the pressure and anxiety playoff drivers are going to feel at Martinsville. Their stomachs are going to be in knots. If fans want to experience that same feeling, they can eat a Martinsville hot dog.”
10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski struggled at Kansas, finishing a lap down in 17th. He is seventh in the playoff standings.
“Martinsville is going to be a madhouse,” Keselowski said. “I predict wrecks, fights, and feuding. It’s going to be hell on the drivers, but the fans should absolutely love it. I think the state of Virginia should change its motto to ‘Virginia is for lovers of chaos.’”
With only one race remaining before the NASCAR Cup Series 2021 champion is crowned at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 7, Kyle Larson is the only driver in the Playoffs who has secured a spot in the championship finale.
As the series travels to Martinsville Speedway next week, the competition will be fierce with everything on the line for the remaining seven drivers in contention for the title.
Here’s what the Playoff drivers had to say following Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway.
Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports:
Larson has nine victories this season. He has won three races in a row, twice, including the first two playoff races in the Round of 8 at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. He is the only driver currently guaranteed a spot in the Championship 4. After the race, Larson spoke about the significance of the win today at Kansas as he dedicated it to the 10 lives lost in 2004 in a plane crash near Martinsville, Virginia. The victims lost included Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky and his brother, John.
“Yes, I want to dedicate this win to Rick and Linda (Hendrick). I didn’t ever get to meet Ricky (Hendrick) or the other men and women who lost their lives that day, but I felt the importance of this race, no doubt. It’s crazy how it kind of all worked out there for me to win. I know they were all looking down and helping me out there with all the restarts and stuff after getting into the wall. Again, thank you to Rick Hendrick. I know this means a lot to you and I’m glad I could get it done.
“It’s cool to get another win and I don’t really know how that happened but, our HendrickCars.com Chevy was really fast. I thought we were like a third-place car, really. William (Byron) was really good. I hate to see that unfortunate luck there again for that team. They’ve been really, really strong. I’m glad we could capitalize and get another win. I hope we can go to Martinsville and get a clock.”
Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports:
Elliott finished second in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas and is second in the Playoff standings entering the last race in the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway next weekend. He has two wins this year and six runner-up finishes including a second-place finish at Martinsville in April.
Although he appears to be in position to make the cut for the Championship 4, with a cushion of +34 points, Elliott is taking nothing for granted.
“I don’t know if it allows you to do much of anything now. As you saw today, I am not sure that any amount of points is safe. I think anyone in this Round can win next week. So, we are really going to have to be on it, but looking forward to the opportunity and excited for the challenge.”
Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing:
Hamlin drove his No. 11 Toyota for a fifth-place finish at Kansas. Since the Playoffs began, his consistency has been a key factor, capturing wins at Darlington Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He has only finished outside the top ten once with 11th place at Texas, five top-fives and three top-10s. Heading to Martinsville, he is third in the standings with a 32-point buffer.
After the race, he emphasized the importance of minimizing mistakes, earning stage points and finding some extra speed as the team prepares for the next race at Martinsville.
“Just tried to optimize our day, that’s really all we could do. The second half we were much, much better, but by then it’s just so hard to pass. Decent day overall. The FedEx Camry was okay, we optimized. We didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes and we really swung a whole lot of things at it to try to make it better, but fourth or fifth is about where we were at.
“A nice, solid day next week will be okay. You just never know what can happen. Just need to make sure I get some stage points and don’t give it away early and I think we’ll be alright. “We just don’t have the speed. We’re just off on the 550 tracks. We have too much drag and not enough downforce. We’ve had these bodies on these Camrys for a really long time and it doesn’t do what we want it to do on the 550s.”
Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs Racing:
Busch and the team head to Martinsville in a precarious position, up by only 1 point in the standings after finishing 28th today at Kansas as he struggled with the handling of his Toyota. With only two top-fives since the Playoffs began, it’s been an uphill battle.
He spoke about his finish today, saying, “I was expecting much worse. Still a shot, it’s just going to be tough. Just going to be a hard-fought dog fight for that final spot.” When asked about his strategy for next week at Martinsville and if he would have to go for a win, Busch was non-committal.
“I wouldn’t say that. I don’t know, I haven’t seen what it looks like. Third to seventh looks pretty tight I guess so there’s still a race. It’s going to come down to points. If there’s a winner from below us, so we’re going to have to beat them.”
While all eyes will be on the top four contenders, there are four more drivers who will be fighting for those spots. Win and they’re in. Ryan Blaney (-1), Martin Truex Jr. (-3), Brad Keselowski (-6) and Joey Logano (-26) will each hope to play the spoiler as they attempt to pull off the upset for their shot at the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series title.
Ryan Blaney – Team Penske:
Blaney has two runner-up finishes at Martinsville in 2020 and is hoping to make up the points he lost at Kansas when he was hit by Austin Dillon and sent into the wall, ending his day early.
He was frustrated after the race and said, “Obviously it hurts. Finishing 37th is not prime. We didn’t have a great day but we did a good job of fighting back and getting back into the top-10 but then just got wiped out when we had plenty of room.”
Martin Truex Jr. – Joe Gibbs Racing
Truex won at Martinsville earlier this year in April and is looking for a repeat next week.
“I feel good about that. We’re going to have a good starting position now and good pit selection. The place has been good to us. If we can get up there and win a couple stages and battle for the win, I think we’ll be able to get ourselves in. We’ll wait and see how it goes; you never know how these things are going to play out. Excited for the opportunity and thankful for everybody for all their hard work.”
Brad Keselowski – Team Penske:
Keselowski had a disappointing day as he finished 17th at Kansas but is hopeful that he can make the cut at Martinsville.
“That was a heck of a race. We are all just fighting to hard. I am bummed I didn’t get more out of it. I had a heck of an opportunity to score a lot of points and make next week easy. We still aren’t in a bad spot but not as good as spot as we could be.”
Joey Logano – Team Penske:
Logano made up some points today with a ninth-place finish but is concerned that it may not be enough.
“It is pretty far out still. All things considered, it isn’t just that it is 20-something points out, but I am still eighth. I have three or four cars in front of me that I have to get in front of, assuming there isn’t a different winner. It is still pretty much a must-win situation. It would be far-fetched for it to happen. But hey, look at today. Maybe it could happen.”
Kansas City, KS – On what has already been a dominant season for Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team, Larson entered Kansas Speedway looking for his ninth win of the year.
The California native started on the pole and led a race high 130 laps, then lost the lead temporarily before regaining the top spot with 39 laps to go. He eventually went on to win for the first time at Kansas.
The victory was special for Larson and his team as 17 years ago to the day, Hendrick Motorsports lost 10 people, including Rick Hendricks’s son Ricky and his brother John, in a tragic plane crash while on their way to the Martinsville Speedway fall race in 2004.
“Yes, I want to dedicate this win to Rick and Linda (Hendrick),” Larson said. I didn’t ever get to meet Ricky (Hendrick) or the other men and women who lost their lives that day, but I felt the importance of this race, no doubt. It’s crazy how it kind of all worked out there for me to win. I know they were all looking down and helping me out there with all the restarts and stuff after getting into the wall.
“Again, thank you to Rick Hendrick. I know this means a lot to you and I’m glad I could get it done. It’s cool to get another win and I don’t really know how that happened but, our HendrickCars.com Chevy was really fast. I thought we were like a third-place car, really. William (Byron) was really good. I hate to see that unfortunate luck there again for that team. They’ve been really, really strong. I’m glad we could capitalize and get another win. I hope we can go to Martinsville and get a clock.”
Thanks to the qualifying metric system, Larson started the race from the pole position. Stages of 80-80-107 laps made up the 267-lap race.
During the first stage, there was inclement weather impacting the area. The race was able to start on time but was red flagged just 10 laps in due to a rain shower. Thankfully, the shower was brief as the event was halted for 15 minutes and 46 seconds. The green flag came back out on Lap 15 with Larson up front, but the first race caution occurred shortly when the No. 18 of Kyle Busch blew a right-front tire.
Afterward, the Hendrick Motorsports teammates traded the top spot as Chase Elliott assumed the lead from Larson on Lap 33. Soon after Elliott took over the lead, he made his scheduled green-flag pit stop right before the halfway mark in the stage. Byron also took the lead momentarily, but Larson cycled back into the lead and led the final 51 laps in Stage 1 to take home the stage victory. Byron, Elliott, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick rounded out the Top 10 finishers.
When Stage 2 began on Lap 87, there was a 75-lap green flag run toward the conclusion of the second stage. The only major incident of note was when Kyle Busch got into the wall again after a right-rear tire went down in Turns 1 and 2. Meanwhile, playoff driver Joey Logano was using a different strategy in hopes of catching a caution and led 22 laps out front before coming down pit road for a Lap 146 pit stop. As Logano surrendered the lead, Larson’s teammate William Byron led 18 laps in the top position and went on to claim the second stage. Elliott, Larson, Kurt Busch, Harvick, Reddick, Bowman, Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and Chastain completed the Top 10.
Even though the first two stages were quiet, there were three cautions during the final stage. Quite possibly one of the most biggest impacts of the race was due to the final caution when the No. 3 of Austin Dillon accidentally spun the No. 12 of Ryan Blaney in Turn 2 on Lap 225. The accident was severe enough that Blaney was unable to continue in the race, relegating him to a 37th place finish. He now faces a must-win situation entering Martinsville.
The final restart came with 39 laps to go with Larson, Elliott and Harvick up front. The lead was split in a fierce battle in hopes of stopping Larson from winning the race. Larson pulled away in the remaining laps with Harvick and Elliott trailing behind in his tire tracks. Elliott was able to make the pass for Harvick on second, but in the end, Elliott’s rally was too late as Larson went on to win for the 15th time of his career. Elliott, Harvick, Kurt Busch and Hamlin rounded out the top five finishers.
“Really proud of the effort,” Elliott said. “Our entire NAPA Chevrolet team did a great job today and I felt like we had something for Kyle (Larson) there. Just got the wall there off of (turn) two. It’s so hard to get up to him when you are running the fence like that. It’s just tough because every few feet you get closer, the harder it gets. It was a lot of fun. I’m really proud of the way we ran today. I feel like it was a really nice step in the right direction.”
“More importantly, just thinking about Hendrick Motorsports and the family that is Hendrick Motorsports. Obviously, this is a day that nobody is ever going to forget. Just thinking about Mr. Hendrick and all the families that were affected 17 years ago today. Just proud to be a part of their family and hope we can make them proud these next two weeks.”
Larson led nine times for 130 laps en route to his ninth victory of the 2021 season.
There were seven cautions for 33 laps and 23 lead changes among eight different drivers.
Official Playoff Standings heading into the elimination race at Martinsville Speedway:
Kyle Larson, clinched Championship 4 spot
Chase Elliott, +34
Denny Hamlin, +32
Kyle Busch, +1 Below the cut line
Ryan Blaney, -1
Martin Truex Jr, -3
Brad Keselowski, -6
Joey Logano, -26
Official Race Results following the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Kyle Larson, led 130 laps, won Stage 1
Chase Elliott, led 42 laps
Kevin Harvick
Kurt Busch, led four laps
Denny Hamlin
William Byron, led 57 laps
Martin Truex Jr
Christopher Bell
Joey Logano, led 22 laps
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallace
Daniel Suarez
Michael McDowell, 1 lap down
Brad Keselowski, led two laps, 1 lap down
Cole Custer, 1 lap down
Chase Briscoe, 1 lap down
Parker Kligerman, 1 lap down
Ryan Preece, 2 laps down
Tyler Reddick, led six laps, 2 laps down
Matt DiBenedetto, led four laps, 2 laps down
Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 2 laps down
Corey LaJoie, 4 laps down
Aric Almirola, 4 laps down
Ryan Newman, 4 laps down
Kyle Busch, 6 laps down
Erik Jones, 7 laps down
B.J. McLeod, 8 laps down
Cody Ware, 9 laps down
Joey Gase, 11 laps down
Josh Bilicki, 11 laps down
David Starr, 12 laps down
Quin Houff, 12 laps down
Ryan Ellis, 13 laps down
Ryan Blaney, OUT, Crash
Anthony Alfredo, OUT, Crash
Justin Haley, OUT, Engine
Chad Finchum, OUT, Handling
Up Next: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Martinsville Speedway Sunday, Oct. 31 for the conclusion of the Round of 8, live on NBC at 2 p.m. ET.
Kansas City, KS – After a dominant race by the 2021 ARCA Menards Series champion, Ty Gibbs, a late-race caution played spoiler. In a green-white-checkered flag finish at the 1.5-mile speedway, the victory went to Nick Sanchez who rallied to claim his first-ever ARCA series victory in just 21 starts.
“This win is pretty surreal,” Sanchez said. “I feel like there should have been other times this year where we should have been in victory lane and I’m just glad we were able to capitalize off this season.”
As Sanchez celebrated his victory, there was another career first. Ty Gibbs won his first ARCA Menards Series championship Saturday night at Kansas Speedway. With the help of 10 career race wins in 2021 and only 24 cars entering the race, all Gibbs had to do to clinch the championship was start the race and take the green flag, barring any mechanical failures.
When the green flag flew, Gibbs became the champion but still had a race to win. The 18-year-old started on the pole and led his closest competitor Corey Heim to the green. Gibbs had a rocket ship No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota and led all the laps to the competition caution on Lap 50. In fact, Gibbs’ car was fast enough that he had lapped up to third place prior to the yellow flying at halfway.
After the halfway point, a light mist began to fall in the area causing the race to be delayed slightly with laps run under caution. Following the 15-lap yellow flag, the race was restarted with 35 laps to go with Gibbs, Sanchez and Heim starting up front. Despite the long yellow, Gibbs continued to have the strongest car and led until a caution flew with five laps to go for the No. 7 of Eric Caudell.
The late-race caution set up a two-lap dash to the finish with Gibbs and Sanchez on the front row. Sanchez powered to the front of Gibbs as Gibbs tried to chase him down on the back straightaway. Knowing he would have one last show at the win, the North Carolina native was looking to make a move on Sanchez out of Turn 4, but Gibbs came up just short of scoring his 11th career victory of the season.
Gibbs became the 37th different ARCA Menards Series Champion in series history. Earlier in the day prior to the ARCA race, Gibbs also won the NASCAR Xfinity Series event.
Gibbs became the 37th different ARCA Menards Series Champion in series history. Earlier in the day prior to the ARCA race, Gibbs also won the NASCAR Xfinity Series event.
“It was a wonderful day. You know I wish we could have won the (ARCA) race but that’s part of it,” Gibbs said. “Sometimes you’re going to win and sometimes you’re going to lose these things at the end of them. More importantly, we were thinking big picture of winning the championship and we can home with it.”
There were two cautions for 21 laps and two lead changes among two different leaders.
Official Race Results following the Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway.
Nick Sanchez, led two laps
Ty Gibbs, led 99 laps
Corey Heim, led one lap
Drew Dollar
JP Bergeron
Kris Wright, 1 lap down
Kyle Sieg, 1 lap down
Dean Thompson, 1 lap down
Rajah Caruth, 1 lap down
Parker Chase, 2 laps down
Connor Mosack, 2 laps down
Scott Melton, 2 laps down
Andy Jankowiak, 2 laps down
Greg Van Alst, 2 laps down
Ron Vandermeir Jr, 3 laps down
Toni Breidinger, 4 laps down
Zachary Tinkle, 8 laps down
D.L. Wilson, 8 laps down
Eric Caudell, 10 laps down
Arnout Kok, OUT, Rear End
Kyle Lockrow, OUT, Engine
Tony Consentino, OUT, Brakes
Brad Smith, OUT, Vibration
Wayne Peterson, OUT, Did Not Start
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series 2021 season is now complete and the series will turn its focus to the 2022 season. However, the ARCA Menards West Series still has one more race to go that is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 6, live on Trackpass.
Kansas City, KS – After passing race leader Austin Cindric with 16 laps to go, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs took home his fourth career win of the 2021 Xfinity Series season.
“He (Austin Cindric) got a little bit free and kind of slowed down in (Turns) 3 and 4, and I could get to his left rear and side-draft him and get away from him,” the 19-year-old Gibbs said of the winning pass.”
“I got loose a couple of times over there (pointing to Turns 3 and 4), but I was just trying to give it my all, trying to come back with a win. To have four wins this year in the Xfinity Series is just unbelievable.”
Kansas Speedway hosted the second round in the Round of 8 Playoffs on a cool Saturday afternoon. Daniel Hemric was on the pole by virtue of the qualifying metric system. Stages of 45/45/110 laps made up the 200 lap event.
Hemric maintained the lead early on in the first stage before Austin overtook him for the top position after nine laps. While it looked as though Cindric was going to leave the field high and dry, a caution on Lap 28 for the No. 48 of Jade Buford bunched everyone up for a restart with eight laps to go in the first stage. As the green flag came back out, AJ Allmendinger assumed the lead for a brief while and battled Hemric in the last remaining laps in Stage 1. Allmendinger eventually held off Hemric and won the first stage.
Hemric, Cindric, Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Myatt Snider, Noah Gragson, Brandon Jones, Justin Haley, and Harrison Burton completed the top 10 finishers.
As the second stage began, last year’s Xfinity Series champion, Cindric, won the race off pit road and was out front once again with Gibbs right beside him in second place. Cindric had the dominant car and never surrendered the lead, leading all the laps in the second stage to take the Stage 2 victory. Gibbs, Hemric, Gragson, Snider, Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Allgaier, Haley, and Riley Herbst rounded out the Top 10.
The third and final stage was the wildest stage of the afternoon with seven cautions. The biggest caution occurred with 23 laps to go as the No. 9 of Gragson and No. 20 of Harrison Burton collided on the front stretch after contact with the No. 8 of Sam Mayer. The vehicles of playoff drivers, Burton and Gragson, had major damage and were out of the race. The drivers were checked and released from the infield care center, but now face a must-win situation heading into Martinsville next weekend.
Following the cleanup, the field restarted with 16 laps to go and Cindric seemed poised to score the win and lock into the Championship 4. While Cindric had the faster car in Stage 2 and early in the final stage, Gibbs chased him down. took the lead and held on, for his fourth career win of the year.
Gibbs led three times for 14 laps en route to victory. There were 10 cautions for 46 laps and 19 lead changes among six different drivers.
Cindric led the most laps, 151, but came up short and earned his 20th top five of the year. The Team Penske driver also earned his 11th stage win of the year after winning the second stage.
“It was a great points day in our Odyssey Battery Ford Mustang,” Cindric said about the second place finish. “I really would have loved to lock our way in and race for a win at Martinsville, that would be huge for us. Congrats to the 54, Ty (Gibbs). That whole team has been on it no matter who is in the car. They have earned it. It sucks to lose one that late in the race. Not the first time, but I didn’t spontaneously crash in the playoff Kansas race this time, so it is okay I guess. I hate losing but we will move on. In the bigger picture, it was a good day.”
Playoff Standings with one race left in the Round of 8:
Austin Cindric, +47
A.J. Allmendinger, +47
Justin Allgaier, +9
Daniel Hemric, +7 Below the cut line
Justin Haley, -7
Noah Gragson, -24
Brandon Jones, -40
Harrison Burton, -51
Official Race Results following the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway
Ty Gibbs, led 14 laps
Austin Cindric, led 151 laps, won Stage 2
A.J. Allmendinger, led 10 laps, won Stage 1
Justin Haley
Ryan Sieg
Brett Moffitt
Michael Annett
Sam Mayer
Justin Allgaier
Myatt Snider, led one lap
Brandon Jones
Jeb Burton
Riley Herbst
Brandon Brown
Daniel Hemric, led 15 laps
Bayley Currey
Jeremy Clements
Garrett Smithley
Landon Cassill
Jordan Anderson
Kyle Weatherman
Ryan Vargas
Tommy Joe Martins, 1 lap down
Patrick Emerling, 1 lap down
Matt Mills, 1 lap down
Josh Williams, 2 laps down
Dylan Lupton, 2 laps down
Jeffrey Earnhardt, 2 laps down
Joe Graf Jr, 2 laps down
Jesse Little, 3 laps down
Spencer Boyd, 4 laps down
Loris Hezemans, 8 laps down
Alex Labbe, 9 laps down
Harrison Burton, OUT, Accident
Noah Gragson, led nine laps, OUT, Accident
David Starr, 48 laps down
Mason Massey, OUT, Accident
Jade Buford, OUT, Accident
Gray Gaulding, OUT, Engine
Joey Gase, OUT, Electrical
Up Next: The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for the conclusion of the Round of 8 where the Championship 4 will be set for Phoenix. It will air live on NBCSN and MRN Radio at 6 p.m. ET.
Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Noah Gragson is within reach of achieving a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Playoff event at Kansas Speedway, the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro will make his 100th career start in the Xfinity circuit.
A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Gragson made his Xfinity Series debut at Richmond Raceway in April 2018. By then, he was also competing in his second full-time season in the NASCAR Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, Gragson notched an impressive runner-up finish in his series debut following a late battle with teammate/eventual winner Christopher Bell.
Gragson returned for the following two Xfinity events at Talladega Superspeedway in April and at Dover International Speedway in May, where he finished fourth and seventh respectively.
After settling in the runner-up position in the 2018 Truck Series drivers’ standings, Gragson moved up to the Xfinity Series on a full-time basis in 2019, where he took over the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. By the, JRM’s No. 9 team was coming off back-to-back Xfinity championships. Starting the season with an 11th-place result at Daytona International Speedway in February, Gragson achieved nine top-five results, 22 top-10 results and an average result of 9.3 throughout the 33-race schedule. He made the 2019 Xfinity Playoffs and made it all the way to the penultimate round before being eliminated from title contention and settling in eighth place in the final standings.
Gragson kicked off the 2020 Xfinity season on a high note by achieving his first Xfinity Series career victory at Daytona in February after assuming the lead on a two-lap shootout and retaining the lead on the final lap when a multi-car wreck concluded the race under caution. Six races later, he achieved his second series win at Bristol Motor Speedway in June despite being involved in a late-race incident with teammate Justin Allgaier.
Gragson went on to make the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs for a second consecutive season, but he came up short in making the Championship Round finale as a title contender after he was eliminated following the Round of 8 in October. Overall, Gragson went on to achieve his first two Xfinity career victories, 17 top-five results, 25 top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 8.8 and a fifth-place result in the final standings.
After finishing no higher than 23rd through the first three Xfinity races of 2021, Gragson recorded eight top-five results and 14 top-10 results during the following 20 events. Then at Darlington Raceway in September, he made his yearlong return to Victory Lane after holding off former teammate Harrison Burton in a two-lap shootout. The momentum for Gragson did not stop there as he muscled his way to back-to-back victories and a fourth Xfinity career win at Richmond Raceway following a seven-lap shootout. The victories were enough for him to earn a Playoff spot for a third consecutive season.
Finishing in the top 10 twice during the Round of 12 were also enough for Gragson to advance in the Round of 8, where he is coming off a strong third-place effort at Texas Motor Speedway. Gragson is currently ranked in fourth place in the Playoff standings and is two points above the top-four cutline to advance to the Championship Round and contend for his first NASCAR national touring series championship.
Through 99 previous Xfinity starts, Gragson has achieved four career wins, 40 top-five results, 69 top-10 results, 902 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.1.
Gragson is primed to make his 100th Xfinity Series career start at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, October 23, with the event scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
NASCAR travels to Kansas Speedway as the Cup Series and Xfinity Series compete in the second race of the Round of 8. Kyle Larson earned a spot in the Round of 4 last weekend with a win at Texas, leaving seven drivers to compete for the remaining three spots.
Currently, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch join Larson as the top four drivers above the cutline. Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Joey Logano are on the outside looking in with only two more chances to move into the top four and contend for the season championship.
The Xfinity Series will also compete in the second race of the Round of 8. With John Hunter Nemechek taking the win last week at Texas Motor Speedway, none of the drivers who are eligible for the championship have secured a place in the finale.
The Camping World Truck Series is off and will return on Oct. 30 at Martinsville Speedway.
The ARCA Menards Series will crown their champion at Kansas Saturday afternoon. Ty Gibbs can clinch the title when he takes the green flag if there are fewer than 28 cars starting the race. At this time there are only 25 entries.
All times are Eastern.
Saturday, October 23
3:00 p.m.: Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 race Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 300 Miles NBC/MRN/TSN4/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Pole: Daniel Hemric
7 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Reese’s 150 100 Laps, 150 Miles MAVTV/TrackPass/MRN
Sunday, October 24
3 p.m.: Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 race Stages 80/160/267 LAPS = 400.5 Miles NBC/MRN/TSN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Pole: Kyle Larson
Kansas Speedway Data
Season Race #: 34 of 36 (10-24-21) Track Size: 1.5-miles Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 17 to 20 degrees Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 17 to 20 degrees Banking/Frontstretch: 10 degrees Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees Frontstretch Length: 2,685 feet Backstretch Length: 2,207 feet Race Length: 267 laps / 400.5 miles Stage 1 & 2 Length: 80 laps (each) Final Stage Length: 107 laps
Kansas Speedway Qualifying Data
Track qualifying record: Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet (197.773 mph, 27.304 secs.) on 10-03-14. 2020 pole winner: Metric Qualifying, Kevin Harvick started from the first position.
Three drivers have started all 31 NASCAR Cup Series races and lead the series in starts at Kansas Speedway – Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Ryan Newman.
Brad Keselowski (23 starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in an average starting position at Kansas of 9.826.
Kevin Harvick leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Kansas Speedway with five poles (fall 2013, 2014 sweep, spring 2018, and spring 2019).
The youngest series Kansas pole winner: Ryan Blaney (May 13, 2017 – 23 years, 2 months, 43 days).
Four manufacturers have won poles at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series; led by Chevrolet with 11 poles; followed by Ford (nine), Toyota, and Dodge have four each.
Kansas Speedway Race Data
Track race record: Chase Elliott, Chevrolet (152.057 mph, 02:38:02) on 10-21-18. 2020 race winner: Joey Logano, Ford (138.329 mph, 02:53:43) on 10-18-20.
Five drivers are tied for the lead all-time in wins in the NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway with three victories each: Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002, 2014), Kevin Harvick (2013, 2016, 2018), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2011, 2015), Denny Hamlin (2012, 2019, 2020) and Joey Logano (2014, 2015, 2020).
The youngest series Kansas winner: Chase Elliott (October 21, 2018 – 22 years, 10 months, 23 days).
A total of six of the 31 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway (19.3%) have been won from the pole or first starting position; the most proficient starting spot in the field.
The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Kansas Speedway is 25th, by Brad Keselowski in the spring of 2011.
Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are tied for the lead in the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Kansas Speedway with seven victories each.
Four manufacturers have won at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series; led by Chevrolet with 12 victories, Ford with nine, Toyota has eight and Dodge has two.
Kyle Larson favored to make NASCAR history – Larson is given +240 odds, or an implied 29.4% chance to win the Hollywood Casino 400. The next best odds are given to Denny Hamlin at +550, or an implied 15.4% chance. So, Larson is the clear strong favorite to win this one.
