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  • Matt McCall set for 200th Cup race as crew chief at Kansas

    Matt McCall set for 200th Cup race as crew chief at Kansas

    When the green flag waves on Thursday, July 23, for the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway, Matt McCall will achieve a significant milestone of his racing career. McCall, who currently serves as crew chief for Kurt Busch and the No. 1 Monster Energy/Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team, will reach 200 starts as a Cup crew chief.

    A native of Denver, North Carolina, and a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a major in mechanical engineering, McCall started his racing career at age nine as a go-kart driver. He would go on to win the 2004 Super Sport track championship at Hickory Motor Speedway. He also achieved two UARA-Stars titles in 2005 and 2009. In October 2003, he made his NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway. Driving the No. 56 Denver Marine/Hot Wheels Chevrolet for Danny McCall, Matt McCall finished 21st, two laps behind, in his series debut.

    In 2006, McCall competed in five NASCAR Xfinity Series races and two ARCA Menards Series races. In February, driving the No. 55 CitiFinancial Ford for Yates Racing, McCall started and finished in the runner-up spot behind veteran Bobby Gerhart at Daytona International Speedway in his ARCA debut. His other ARCA start was at Kentucky Speedway in May, where he started fifth and finished third. McCall’s first Xfinity race was at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he qualified 21st and finished 24th in Yates Racing’s No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford. His other four Xfinity starts came at Nashville Superspeedway in April, Dover International Speedway in June, Nashville in June and at Martinsville Speedway in July, where his respective finishes were 42nd, 41st, 34th and 26th.

    After being released from Yates Racing, McCall joined Richard Childress Racing as a race engineer. In July 2013, McCall served as an interim crew chief for veteran Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In McCall’s first NASCAR race as a crew chief, Burton finished 43rd, last place, due to a mechanical issue. McCall also made one Truck start at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and in the No. 92 BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors Chevrolet for team owner Ricky Benton, where he started 27th and finished 22nd.

    Following the 2014 season, McCall departed RCR and joined Chip Ganassi Racing to serve as a Cup Series crew chief for Jamie McMurray and the No. 1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet team. In McCall’s first full season as crew chief, McMurray achieved four top-five results, 10 top-10 results and made his first Chase for the Cup before settling in 13th in the final standings and despite achieving no wins throughout the season. Between 2016 and 2017, McMurray and McCall did not win, but they achieved a combined five top-five results, 29 top-10 results and made the Chase in both seasons, finishing 13th in the 2016 standings and 12th in the 2017 standings. In 2018, McMurray and McCall did not win and they did not make the Playoffs as they only achieved two top-five results, eight top-10 results and a final points result of 20th.

    In 2019, McCall remained with Chip Ganassi Racing, but was paired with the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch, who replaced McMurray as driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet with Monster Energy sponsoring him. For the first 17 Cup races of the season, McCall and Busch achieved four top-five results, two runner-up results, nine top-10 results. The following race at Daytona International Speedway, Busch and McCall were in position to win before they, along with others, decided to pit late in the race for tires and fuel. The strategy, however, did not fall into the favors for Busch when a lightning strike near Daytona paused and eventually, made the race official as Busch was scored back in 10th.

    The following race at Kentucky Speedway, McCall achieved his first NASCAR Cup Series win as a crew chief when Kurt Busch held off brother, Kyle, in a two-lap shootout to grab a thrilling win, a victory that guaranteed Busch and the No. 1 team a spot in the 2019 Cup Playoffs. Busch and McCall would record seven more top-10 results for the remainder of the season before settling in 13th in the final standings. The combo also achieved three stage wins throughout the 2019 season.

    Through the first 18 Cup races of this season, McCall and Busch have achieved a pole, a stage win, four top-five results and 11 top-10 results. They are ranked ninth in the regular-season standings and are 108 points above the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs.

    Catch McCall’s milestone start in the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Vargas to return to JD Motorsports at Kansas

    Vargas to return to JD Motorsports at Kansas

    Coming off a career run at Pocono Raceway, Ryan Vargas announced via Twitter that he will return as driver of the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, July 25.

    A two-time Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award winner and a NASCAR Next alumnus, the 19-year-old native from La Mirada, California, made his NASCAR national touring series debut in 2019 after previously racing in Super Stock and super late models and the 2018 ARCA Menards Series East season for Rev Racing, where he finished sixth in the final standings and achieved six top-10 results in the 14-race schedule. Driving the No. 15 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller in the Xfinity Series, Vargas finished 17th in his series debut at Iowa Speedway on July 27. He returned for two more races with the team and in the No. 4 Chevrolet. He finished 18th at Road America in August and 26th at Phoenix’s ISM Raceway in November to attain an average result of 20.33 in his three-race Xfinity slate. When he was not competing in NASCAR, he was contending for the 2019 Irwindale Track Championship.

    On June 22, Vargas and JDM reached a multi-race agreement for the 2020 NASCAR season. Last weekend at Pocono Raceway, Vargas had a career run in the making as he dodged a series of late carnages to place himself in contention for a top-five run. On the final lap during an overtime restart, Vargas was running inside the top 10 when he made contact with the outside wall and the incident dropped him to 13th in the final running order. The top-15 result, nonetheless, was Vargas’ best in his fourth Xfinity career start and he was one of four JDM competitors to finish in the top 20 as teammates Jesse Little, B.J. McLeod and Jeffrey Earnhardt finished 10th, 14th and 16th. Following the Xfinity Series’ last race at Pocono, JDM entries have recorded a combined 27 top-20 results with its four-car operation through the first 12 races.

    While Vargas does not have a current full-time ride in NASCAR, he continues to pursue sponsorship availabilities and enough financial support that would enable him to gain more seat time in the sport and compete against NASCAR’s elite along with his fellow competitors.

    Catch Vargas’ second Xfinity Series race of 2020 with JDM at Kansas Speedway on July 25 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas in a cut-off race that narrowed the field to eight drivers.

    “Anytime it’s an elimination race,” Hamlin said, “things can get crazy. So, even though this race was sponsored by Hollywood Casino, ‘all bets were off.’”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch took third in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.

    “This is the time of year when pressure builds,” Busch said. “That was evident in Saturday’s Xfinity race when Daniel Hemric and Cole Custer were involved in an altercation. Things got physical, and a little sexy, because the ‘fight’ was really just a very intense hug.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished sixth in the Hollywood Casino 400 and joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin in the Playoff Round of 8.

    “It’s me, Denny, and Kyle,” Truex said. “Some people would call that ‘Two Men And A Baby.’”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Inspection issues forced Harvick to start 40th but he worked his way through the field to post a ninth. He heads to Round 3 of the Playoffs in fifth, 18 out of first.

    “I didn’t even get to qualify,” Harvick said. “But there’s something cool about starting at the back of the field. Starting at the ‘ass-end’ of the field, you get a true perspective of the ‘ass-end’ of talent in this series.”

    5. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 14th in the Hollywood Casino 400 and is seventh in the Playoff points standings, 35 out of first.

    “I had a run-in with the lapped car of Joey Gase,” Larson said. “He was in my way and I needed to be somewhere, so I moved him. It’s football season so I gave Joey the ‘punt, the pass, and the kick (to the curb).’”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano survived a late accident and slide through the grass to finish 17th at Kansas and advanced to the Round of 8, where he’ll be the sole representative of Penske Racing.

    “I feel like it’s me against the world,” Logano said. “So, I’m gonna go out there and be a ‘world beater.’ Unfortunately, no one will care, because the general opinion of me is a ‘world of indifference.’”

    7. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished second at Kansas which was good enough to secure the final playoff spot.

    “That was close,” Elliott said, “and I get the cigar. And, as the kids say, it was ‘lit.’”

    8. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 21st at Kansas and heads to Martinsville eighth in the Playoff points standings.

    “I’m last among the eight drivers in the Playoff field,” Blaney said. “I feel like I’m the forgotten driver in the Playoffs. But I very well could quietly sneak in and eliminate the rest of the field. Then you could call me ‘champion,’ and Kurt Busch could call me ‘assassin.’”

    9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 18th at Kansas and narrowly missed advancing to the next round of the Playoffs.

    “Had a late caution came out just a fraction of a second later,” Keselowski said, “I’d be in the Playoff field. But we all know NASCAR wanted that extra restart. I’d like a do-over because I have some ‘un-finish-ed’ business I’d like to take care of.”

    10. William Byron: Byron finished fifth at Kansas and failed to make the Playoff Round of 8.

    “You probably heard about the flock of birds flying into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame,” Byron said. “I guess they really wanted to get in. But come on birds, show some manners. Don’t you know, ‘Birds of a feather knock together.’”

  • Kurt Busch remembers favorite moment racing with Dale Earnhardt

    Kurt Busch remembers favorite moment racing with Dale Earnhardt

    Kansas City, KS – At the Charlotte Roval this year, Kurt Busch surpassed the career total starts that Dale Earnhardt had at 676 in his NASCAR Cup Series career. After this weekend, Busch now has 680 starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

    Busch is one of the few active drivers in today’s sport that was lucky enough to race against Dale Earnhardt back in the day. In fact, the Las Vegas native raced with Earnhardt for seven races in the year 2000, Busch’s partial rookie season in the Cup Series. Those races were at Dover, Martinsville, Charlotte, Rockingham, Phoenix, Homestead and what was then the season finale at Atlanta.

    “It was fun to have and intimidating with those races against Dale Sr.,” Busch said. “I raced against him seven times and it was amazing. You could feel his presence on the track and the intimidator factor was there.”

    Busch even recalls a moment that has always stuck with him throughout his career.

    “My favorite moment with him was my first qualifying attempt at Dover. I qualified 10th. As I walking back to the garage, he came up to me and said, “Son, I didn’t think you were ever going to lift.”

    “At the time, I didn’t know whether to take it as a compliment or if I was doing something wrong, because Dale Sr. would intimidate you every time he saw you.”

    Kurt Busch only finished ahead of Earnhardt one time in his Cup Series career, which came at Homestead-Miami Speedway back in November of 2000 when Busch finished ahead of
    Earnhardt in 19th while Earnhardt placed 20th.

  • Gragson and Allgaier leave Kansas with solid runs

    Gragson and Allgaier leave Kansas with solid runs

    Kansas City, KS – Justin Allgaier was still looking for his first career Xfinity Series win of the 2019 season heading into Saturday’s race at Kansas Speedway. He came close a couple of weeks ago at Dover, dominating the race before losing it late. The JR Motorsports driver had high hopes coming into Kansas looking to get that elusive victory to get him into the Championship 4.

    Allgaier qualified seventh, ran strong most of the day, finished fifth in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. However, Allgaier ultimately brought home the No.7 Trademark Nitrogen/Brandt Chevy Camaro in the fifth position.

    “To be honest with you, we weren’t a top-five car today,” Allgaier said. “We struggled all day and didn’t have the speed we were looking for. Some timely cautions and some cars that had some trouble really helped us out to get our top five. The guys worked hard, we battled. At one point, we were way off of where we needed to be at. We were able to come back and had a good finish out of it.”

    “It helps in the points, we scored stage points in both stages. It’s not over by any stretch of the imagination. There’s a lot of guys right there on our tail, but it makes you feel better going into Texas in a few weeks.”

    Playoff driver and Allgaier’s teammate Noah Gragson had an up and down day, finishing third in Stage 1 before ultimately finishing 13th. With Gragson sitting seventh in the standings after Kansas, he still believes that he is not in a must-win situation going forward.

    “Not a bit,” Gragson said. “The way we picked up stage points, the speed we had today definitely not. We have the car to do it and I don’t think we’re in a must-win situation. We’re a contender and we can win. I’m really proud of the effort at JR Motorsports and ready to get on to Texas.”

  • John Hunter Nemechek earns top-10 finish at Kansas

    John Hunter Nemechek earns top-10 finish at Kansas

    Kansas City, KS – By finishing seventh at the Charlotte Roval and eighth at Dover, John Hunter Nemechek came into Kansas looking to keep that consistency going into Kansas.

    Nemechek has faced an up and down season throughout most of the Xfinity Series season in 2019, earning four top fives and 16 top-10 finishes but with five DNFs along the way. He had some especially bad luck in July at Daytona that continued through Loudon.

    Nemechek was once again hoping for a solid effort with his No. 23 Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet. The GMS Racing driver started 15th and finished ninth in the first stage. However, things got interesting for Nemechek during the second stage.

    A few laps after the restart on Lap 74, Austin Cindric accidentally made contact with Nemechek which almost sent Nemechek spinning but he did get sideways coming out of Turn 4. As a result of the contact, Nemechek was unable to earn a top-10 finish in Stage 2 and barely missed out on getting stage points.

    The No. 23 GMS Racing team fought their way back up after changes made to the car and ultimately came home with another top-10 finish by finishing eighth.

    “We needed more speed,” Nemechek said. “We fought handling all day, spun out and went a lap down and recovered from that. That’s about the way our season has gone, just trying to rebound from things. It’s a good day to rebound to eighth. We didn’t really think we were going to finish there. Overall, a solid day. Thanks to all the Fire Alarm Services people that are here. All of our GMS Racing crew for giving me this opportunity.”

  • Hamlin hangs on to win in overtime restart at Kansas

    Hamlin hangs on to win in overtime restart at Kansas

    Kansas City, KS – After two attempts in overtime, Denny Hamlin held on to win at Kansas Speedway for his fifth victory this season. It’s his second victory at Kansas and his first since 2012.

    Hamlin took the lead on Lap 227 and never looked back to score the victory in the conclusion of the Round of 12.

    “Everything is good,” Hamlin said about the win. “The cars are fast, we’re executing well. I feel like I’m giving the right information to the crew chief to let him make adjustments if he needs to make it faster. I thought practice was a telling sign for us. Every time we came into the pits to work on it, when it came out, it was better. We did a really good job of making our car better throughout the weekend. We didn’t qualify all that well, being 23rd or so. I knew we were going to have a car that was going to go to the front and that’s what we had.”

    Prior to the Hollywood Casino 400, Daniel Hemric qualified on the front row for his first career pole in his career. Kevin Harvick didn’t get to put a qualifying lap down due to failing inspection and as a result, the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing driver started last. Stages were 80/80/107 laps to make up the 267-lap race.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 80

    There were barely any incidents during the first stage. However, there were many lead changes. Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano all swapped the lead between each other. The yellow flew late in Stage 1 on Lap 76 for debris in Turn 4 after contact was made between Roush Fenway Racing teammates Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Newman. Newman got the worse of the damage and wound up in last place.

    A late-stage restart came on Lap 78. Logano won the stage after Larson’s crew had trouble during the caution prior to the restart. Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Hamlin, Erik Jones and Stenhouse were the top-10 finishers.

    During the stage break, Kyle Busch’s team had to fix the right side quarter panel of his car after damage from the restart. Alex Bowman was also on pit road to fix his damage.

    Stage 2: Lap 86- Lap 160

    Just a few laps after the start of Stage 2, Larson made contact with the No. 66 of Joey Gase which sent him spinning toward the inside grass. This brought the caution out on Lap 113. The leaders came down pit road to make a pit stop under the caution. During that round of pit stops, playoff drivers Kyle Busch and Larson were penalized. Larson was penalized for an uncontrolled tire and Busch for too many crew members over the wall.

    From there, Hamlin took the lead on Lap 124 and went on to win the second stage. Blaney, Truex, Byron, Elliott, Harvick, Logano, Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer and Busch completed the top-10 finishers for Stage 2.

    Stage 3: Lap 166- Lap 277

    There was a long green-flag during the final stage. Hamlin had the dominant car, taking the lead on Lap 126 and leading for 93 laps. After green-flag pit stops, a caution came on Lap 265, just two laps before the race ended.

    The No. 43 of Bubba Wallace’s tire hub broke off coming out of Turn 2 forcing the race to go into overtime. The No. 36 of Matt Tifft was also involved.

    After the caution, the field was bunched up to do it all over again and hope to complete the race in two laps. However, right before Hamlin took the white flag, an accident on the front stretch occurred. Keselowski and Suarez made contact with each other off Turn 4. Hemric, Logano and Austin Dillon were also involved.

    Despite the two overtime restarts, Hamlin held off a hard charging Chase Elliott for the win.

    “It just depends,” Hamlin said in regard to winning his first championship. “We believe a successful year is making it to Homestead. Anything can happen in one race. I don’t think you should necessarily deem your season off one race. I think this year as a whole, we consider this a successful season, even if something were to happen in the next round. We certainly wouldn’t be pleased about it but everyone tries to do the best of their job and let the chips fall where they may. We’re not going to let one race dictate whether this year is a success or not.”

    Hamlin finished eighth in Stage 1, won Stage 2 and led three times for 153 laps to earn six playoff points.

    The Hollywood Casino 400 was a cut off race and Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney all advanced to the Round of 8 that begins next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

    Official Results

    1. Denny Hamlin, won Stage 2, led 153 laps
    2. Chase Elliott, led four laps
    3. Kyle Busch
    4. Kurt Busch
    5. William Byron, led one lap
    6. Martin Truex Jr., led 33 laps
    7. Erik Jones
    8. Clint Bowyer
    9. Kevin Harvick
    10. Jimmie Johnson
    11. Alex Bowman, led seven laps
    12. Ryan Preece
    13. Chris Buescher
    14. Kyle Larson, led 60 laps
    15. Matt DiBenedetto
    16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    17. Joey Logano, won Stage 1, led four laps
    18. Paul Menard
    19. Brad Keselowski, led two laps
    20. Austin Dillon
    21. Ryan Blaney, led two laps
    22. Ty Dillon, one lap down
    23. Aric Almirola, three laps down
    24. Michael McDowell, three laps down
    25. Matt Tifft, four laps down
    26. David Ragan, four laps down
    27. Ross Chastain, five laps down
    28. Corey LaJoie, five laps down
    29. Parker Kligerman, six laps down
    30. J.J. Yeley, six laps down
    31. Daniel Hemric, OUT, Crash
    32. Daniel Suarez, OUT, Crash
    33. Reed Sorenson, nine laps down
    34. Garrett Smithley, 10 laps down
    35. Bubba Wallace, OUT, Crash
    36. Josh Bilicki, 15 laps down
    37. Landon Cassill, OUT, Vibration
    38. Joey Gase, OUT, Crash
    39. Timmy Hill, OUT, Too Slow
    40. Ryan Newman, OUT, Crash

    Up Next: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers take to Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 27 to begin the Round of 8.

  • Brandon Jones breaks through for first career Xfinity win at Kansas

    Brandon Jones breaks through for first career Xfinity win at Kansas

    Kansas City, KS – Brandon Jones scored his first career Xfinity Series win today after race leaders Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell took each other out late in the race. Jones took the lead on Lap 191, never looked back and went on to win at Kansas for the first time.

    “This is incredible,” Jones said. “I knew this was going to happen – that we were going to come here and have an amazing run like we did today. It’s only because of those guys here. They have fought with me for a long time and this feels way better because it has been tough to get to this point. Everyone that has been a part of my career to this point – Flow was on today, a new sponsor with us, we have had Menards in the past, iK9, Toyota, for all they do. I don’t think I could have done this without the manufacturer. I wish my parents were here. They have been through a bunch of wins with me. All in all, I cannot wait to celebrate with these guys.”

    Qualifying was held prior to the race and playoff driver Christopher Bell captured the pole. The stages were 45/45/110 laps to make up the 200-lap race that began the Round of 8 for the Xfinity Series Playoffs.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 45

    It wasn’t all Brandon Jones when the race began. In fact, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Bell had the best car of anyone for Stage 1. However, playoff driver Austin Cindric had his troubles early. Cindric bounced off the wall a couple of times and had to come down pit road on Lap 36. Tyler Reddick also slightly scraped the wall just 10 laps before Cindric did. Ryan Truex who was making his final Xfinity start of the year blew up early and finished last.

    There were no cautions during the first stage and it remained green the whole way. Bell led all 47 laps to win Stage 1 followed by Cole Custer, Noah Gragson, Reddick, Justin Allgaier, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Jones, John Hunter Nemechek and Michael Annett rounded out the top-10 finishers.

    Stage 2: Lap 51- Lap 90

    While Stage 1 did not see much action, the intensity picked up for Stage 2. Custer took the lead on Lap 64 after slight contact with Bell in Turn 1. The third caution flew on Lap 71 for the No. 18 of Harrison Burton after contact with Cindric in Turn 4. The contact was major enough that Burton had to go to the garage and wound up a disappointing 34th.

    Numerous drivers also had incidents in this stage. Cindric continued to have his own problems making slight contact with Nemechek and then having a flat tire, causing him to pit on Lap 79 to fix the damage. The Team Penske driver was back on pit road again on Lap 87 for another flat tire.

    Custer took the lead on Lap 62 and for the final time in Stage 2 on Lap 75. Then the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing driver went on to take the stage win that ended on Lap 90. Bell, Reddick, Allgaier, Briscoe, Gragson, Annett, Chastain, Jones and Justin Haley completed the top-10 finishers in Stage 2.

    Stage 3: Lap 96- Lap 200

    The lead was swapped between Bell and Custer once more before Custer went on to lead from Lap 102 to Lap 151. Then Chase Briscoe came into the mix and took the lead on Lap 152. At this point in the race, Briscoe was the dominant car. Even two cautions for Michael Annett on Lap 146 wouldn’t slow him down.

    Under that caution, the race leaders came down pit road but Annett stayed out to assume the lead. However, the strategy didn’t quite work out for the JR Motorsports driver as he would fall back quickly and Briscoe took the lead once again.

    A major turning point in the race happened for the leaders on Lap 185. Briscoe and Bell came up on a lap car off Turn 4 and made contact with each other. Both Bell and Briscoe had heavy damage with Bell spinning in the grass. Another caution was also seen with just a few laps left between Noah Gragson and Joey Gase in Turn 1.

    Then enter Jones who had never won a NASCAR Xfinity Series race in his career. But, the caution set up a late-race restart that saw Jones on the front row. He took the lead with just 10 laps left and scored his first career Xfinity Series victory in his 134th career start.

    “I had a conversation with my dad before this weekend. Dover was a big hit to the head, not even making a lap at that track,” Jones added. “I said to myself, you watch, we’re going to come to this race or even Texas, I know it’s a great track for me as well. We’re going to win one of these races and have a shot to go to Homestead. It doesn’t matter though. This is what we’re trying to do every single week is win these races and run consistent, not have bad things happen to us. It’s unfortunate, but it still shows if we go back and look, we could have made it there. I know the ability is there and the drive is there.”

    Jones led one time for 10 laps en route to his first career Xfinity Series victory. There were eight cautions for 41 laps and 12 lead changes among five different drivers.

    Points Standings

    1. Christopher Bell
    2. Cole Custer, -11
    3. Tyler Reddick, -12
    4. Justin Allgaier, -47
    5. Chase Briscoe, -49
    6. Michael Annett, -59
    7. Noah Gragson, -64
    8. Austin Cindric, -77

    Official Results

    1. Brandon Jones, led 10 laps
    2. Tyler Reddick
    3. Chase Briscoe, led 33 laps
    4. Michael Annett
    5. Justin Allgaier
    6. Jeremy Clements
    7. Justin Haley
    8. John Hunter Nemechek
    9. Ryan Sieg
    10. Ross Chastain
    11. Cole Custer
    12. Christopher Bell, won Stage 1 led 69 laps
    13. Noah Gragson
    14. Ray Black Jr.
    15. Alex Labbe, one lap down
    16. Dillon Bassett, one lap down
    17. Gray Gaulding, one lap down
    18. Brandon Brown, three laps down
    19. B.J. McLeod, three laps down
    20. Matt Mills, three laps down
    21. Josh Williams, three laps down
    22. Kyle Weatherman, four laps down
    23. David Starr, four laps down
    24. C.J. McLaughlin, five laps down
    25. Austin Cindric, six laps down
    26. Chad Finchum, six laps down
    27. Stephen Leicht, six laps down
    28. Tyler Matthews, six laps down
    29. Josh Bilicki, six laps down
    30. Vinnie Miller, six laps down
    31. Bobby Earnhardt, eight laps down
    32. Joey Gase, 16 laps down
    33. Garrett Smithley, OUT, Accident
    34. Harrison Burton, OUT, Accident
    35. Bayley Currey, OUT, Suspension
    36. Landon Cassill, OUT, Vibration
    37. J.J. Yeley, OUT, Electrical
    38. Ryan Truex, OUT, Engine

    Up Next: The NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers take one week off before continuing their Round of 8 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, November 2.

  • Daniel Hemric speeds to first career pole at Kansas

    Daniel Hemric speeds to first career pole at Kansas

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Daniel Hemric captured the pole for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway with a time of 30.32 and 178.047 mph. This was Hemric’s first career Cup Series pole.

    Hemric is looking for a new ride next year and this pole is good timing for the rookie driver.

    “I’m not really going to say it boosts confidence,” Hemric says regarding the pole. “It’s cool to get a checkmark off this race team. Myself being a small part of it, it’s good to get that. Through all of this stuff, I haven’t felt like my confidence has not wavered on way or another, but in the makes of everything going on right now, to a personal side to a racing side trying to align all of that stuff and position yourself in the future, it doesn’t hurt to win the pole.”

    With Hemric qualifying on the pole, the starting grid will have some different faces at the top for the start of tomorrow’s race. David Ragan put down a lap of 30.36 in his No. 38 Ford Mustang to put himself in second which was his best qualifying effort of the season.

    “I hope we can be the fastest on Sunday too,” Ragan said. “We made adjustments on our Ford Mustang last night anticipating a little warmer race on Sunday. We looked at the weather and we looked at what we did here in the spring and so we really didn’t think much of qualifying. It is what it is on these impound races. I was surprised to see the speed that Michael (McDowell) had in his car. I was optimistic knowing our cars were pretty close. To be on the Front Row is awesome for the start of the race on Sunday. Hopefully, we can make some adjustments and be a top-10 or top-15 car on Sunday.”

    Ryan Blaney was third, Brad Keselowski fourth, Kyle Larson fifth, Michael McDowell sixth, Ryan Newman seventh, Daniel Saurez eighth, Austin Dillon ninth and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top-10 qualifying spots.

    Kevin Harvick was not able to put down a lap in today’s qualifying session. Harvick failed inspection three times before passing on the fourth time due to a tech issue. With the issue, the No. 4 Stewart Haas Racing driver will start last in tomorrow’s race.

    The No. 19 of Martin Truex Jr. also had tech problems prior to qualifying. Truex failed twice and lost his car chief for the weekend plus the loss of 15 minutes of practice time for next weekend at Martinsville. However, Truex gets to keep his spot (11th).

    Official Qualifying Results

    1. Daniel Hemric
    2. David Ragan
    3. Ryan Blaney
    4. Brad Keselowski
    5. Kyle Larson
    6. Michael McDowell
    7. Ryan Newman
    8. Daniel Suarez
    9. Austin Dillon
    10. Bubba Wallace
    11. Martin Truex Jr
    12. Jimmie Johnson
    13. Aric Almirola
    14. Chase Elliott
    15. Kurt Busch
    16. Alex Bowman
    17. Matt Tifft
    18. Kyle Busch
    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
    20. Erik Jones
    21. Clint Bowyer
    22. Paul Menard
    23. Denny Hamlin
    24. Ty Dillon
    25. William Byron
    26. Chris Buescher
    27. Matt DiBenedetto
    28. Ryan Preece
    29. Joey Logano
    30. Landon Cassill
    31. Corey LaJoie
    32. Parker Kligerman
    33. Ross Chastain
    34. Reed Sorenson
    35. Garrett Smithley
    36. J.J. Yeley
    37. Josh Bilicki
    38. Timmy Hill
    39. Joey Gase
    40. Kevin Harvick

    The start of tomorrow’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET live on NBC for the final race in the Round of 12.

  • ARCA Menards Series Preview-Kansas

    ARCA Menards Series Preview-Kansas

    After 19 races of ARCA Menards Series action, the season is coming to a close Friday night in the heartland at Kansas Speedway where a champion will be crowned. It will be decided between two Venturini Motorsports drivers, Christian Eckes or Michael Self.

    While a champion will be crowned, there will also be a race winner who will go to victory lane. Although some say to win the championship, you must win the race.

    That goes for Michael Self and his No. 25 Sinclair Venturini team. Self spent most of the summer leading the ARCA standings, racking up race wins and building a sizable lead over his teammate, Christian Eckes. In fact, at this point, Self believes he will have to finish ahead of Eckes or perhaps grab a win in Friday’s night race.

    “We have to be ahead of Christian if we are going to win the championship,” he said. “Nothing that happened prior to this race really matters. It’s all about what happens in this race. We’re going to do what we’ve done all season long and go out and try to win. I like the style of racing on the big tracks. We won earlier in the season at Michigan and had really good cars at Charlotte and Chicago. If we do that, we’ll have done all we can and we’ll see how it shakes out.”

    And it could go Self’s way. He has one win in three starts while his other two starts are both top-five finishes.

    “Kansas is one of my favorite tracks, and knowing that we’re going in without having to be conservative or playing it safe at all kind of eases my mind. We can take risks and gamble this weekend and not have to worry about the outcome and if that’s what it comes down to then we’ll see if we can make it pan out.”

    His teammate Eckes spent most of the year catching Self in points. The points gap increased when he became ill and missed a race at Salem in April. However, after the Talladega crash, Eckes has had solid results by finishing in the top five or winning the race. After Lucas Oil Raceway, Eckes is ahead by 15 points and is looking for his first ARCA championship.

    “It’s all one race at a time for us,” Eckes said. “We don’t get nervous because the point situation has gotten closer. We knew we could run this good when the season started. We had some mediocre runs in the middle of the season but we got past those and we’ve been in the top two the last six races. That’s exactly how we felt we should be all season long.”

    It will be a little tricky for the New York native who will be making his first Kansas start Friday night. Practice time will come in handy and Eckes knows it’s all about taking it race by race and not get caught up looking ahead.

    “We have to go to Kansas and race for it. It’s going to be tough,” Eckes said. “Michael is really good at the mile and a half tracks. We’re looking forward to it. It feels good to be in the position we are now. We really haven’t had the pressure on us all year so it’s definitely a change of pace. At the end of the day, we just need to go do what we do and be perfect at Kansas to finish the job.”

    While two drivers in the Venturini Motorsports stable will be going for the championship, two other drivers will be going for the race win. One of them is Harrison Burton, who opened up the season with a victory back in February at Daytona. Now, Burton comes to Kansas and hopes to end the season with another victory.

    “It’s a great feeling being a part of the success of this Venturini Motorsports team this year,” said Burton. “But it’s not over yet. We still have some unfinished business to take care of at Kansas. Nothing would be better than ending the season on a high note like the way we started it. I love running on these big tracks and know my RUUD team will be ready to answer the call.”

    Burton has one start at Kansas in the Truck Series where he started third and finished 10th.

    The other driver on the Venturini Motorsports team hoping to go for a win Friday night is popular driver Hailie Deegan. Like Eckes, Deegan will be making her first start at Kansas Friday night. Kansas will also mark her first start at a 1.5-mile track.

    “I’m excited,” says the Temecula, California native. “I’ve never raced on a mile-and-a-half track before so I think it’s going to take a little bit getting used to especially since I’m not testing. Hopefully, I’ll pick up on it quick, do some simulator work and hopefully have another strong finish. It’s been a great season and I’ve learned a lot. Really looking forward to this next race.”

    Deegan recently scored her career-best finish in the ARCA Menards Series with a finish of fifth at Lucas Oil Raceway.

    Hoping to end the year strong are the Chad Bryant Racing drivers, Joe Graf Jr. and Ty Majeski.

    Majeski returned to the ARCA Menards Series scene this season driving the No. 22 Ford. He’s been quite successful in doing so. The Seymour, Wisconsin native has notched three wins in five starts. However, Majeski’s last start was at Chicago back in July and that ended in victory lane. He also recently participated in a test at Kansas Speedway as well.

    “The test went well,” said Majeski who has earned five top-five finishes in 2019. “We ran through a couple of different packages and made some changes that we would not have been able to do on race weekend. Overall, I think we are happy with the speed and the feel our No. 22 Chad Bryant Racing Ford had and hope we can capitalize on that during Friday night’s race.”

    Majeski’s comeback has been dominant by having a 1.8 average finishing position in his five starts total.

    “We’ve had a fantastic handful of races thus far,” offered Majeski who will make his 15th career ARCA start on Friday night. “Winning at Charlotte in the heart of racing and then at Chicagoland which is so close to where I grew up definitely are the highlights of the season for me. I said at the beginning of the season I really wanted to win those two races. And we’ve been able to accomplish that and so much more. I’m really thankful to everyone who has made it possible.”

    Joe Graf Jr. hopes to follow in Majeski’s footsteps Friday night. The Chad Bryant Racing driver also hopes to put the bad luck behind him after what happened last time out at Lucas Oil Raceway a couple of weeks ago.

    Lucas Oil was tough to swallow,” said Graf Jr. who is all but assured of fifth in the final ARCA championship standings this season. “We had a great car, a fast car and we were letting the advantage of having tires be our ticket. Unfortunately, things quickly changed, and we were left with another top-10 finish instead of a likely win.

    “We can’t dwell on what happened in the past though, we have to focus out the windshield and we’ll go to Kansas Speedway this week and give it our best.”

    Like his teammate, Graf Jr. also participated in the test as well.

    The test went pretty good,” added Graf Jr. “I don’t think any driver or team leaves a test completely satisfied and I think that spoke well for us. We were pleased with the progress we made during the day but knew we still had some work to do. The guys have been busting their tails getting our car ready for the race on Friday night and I’m looking forward to the chance to contend for our 13th top-10 finish of the year.”

    Graf Jr. competed in last year’s race, where he started 14th but did not finish due to a crash that took him out early and resulted in a 21st place finish.

    One team that is bringing back a driver who was very successful in their program is Win-Tron Racing with Gus Dean. Dean has run a limited schedule this year and has three starts with a best finish of third his last time out at Charlotte. Since then, Dean has been busy with the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. The team looks for success Friday night.

    “I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to run the ARCA race with Win-Tron Racing,” said Dean. “Kevin (Cywinski) and my crew chief Jamie (Jones) have been an instrumental part of my racing career as I’ve progressed and anytime we get the chance to compete in a race together, we have one goal in mind, winning.”

    Dean has three starts with no wins but he very much still likes visiting Kansas Speedway.

    “Kansas Speedway is such a fast race track, but I enjoy racing there,” added Dean. “We had a super competitive car last October but unfortunately didn’t get the finish we deserved. We’re bringing the same car we raced at Charlotte in May and it was fast. I think we have a good opportunity to put ourselves in a position to win the race on Friday night and end the ARCA year on a high note.”

    While Kansas could certainly create an opportunity for a new winner, you can guarantee Bret Holmes and his No. 23 family owned team will take advantage if the opportunity is there to strike. In 2019, he’s amassed seven top fives and 17 top-10’s. However, Holmes had hoped to have at least a couple of wins by now.

    “We were expecting a couple of wins this season,” he said. “We are going into Kansas with that mindset. We tested there last week. We expected a little more but things don’t always work out. That’s just part of being with a new team. Those two guys in front of us have been with the same team for the last couple of years so they’ve had an advantage because they’ve had that same feel in their cars. There’s been a big difference and feel in the cars has been so different than anything I’ve had previously. We had a good test and I am feeling really good about our chances to go and get our first win to close out the season.”

    With those drivers hoping to compete for wins, there are other drivers that hope to end on a high note. Those are Riley Herbst, Travis Braden, Sheldon Creed, Tanner Gray, Drew Dollar, Tommy Vigh Jr., Eric Caudell, Ed Pompa, Brad Smith, Scott Melton, Carson Ware, Dick Doheny and Con Nicolopoulos.

    Since 2001, Kansas Speedway has seen 18 ARCA Menards Series races. Those winners include a list of names such as Jason Jarrett, Frank Kimmel, Shelby Howard, Ryan Hemphill, Chad Blount, Scott Lagasse Jr., Scott Speed, Parker Kligerman, Ty Dillon, Alex Bowman, Spencer Gallagher, Mason Mitchell, Chase Briscoe, Michael Self and Sheldon Creed.

    Frank Kimmel has the most track wins with three followed by Alex Bowman in second with two wins. Everyone else has one win each on the list. There is the potential that there could be a two time winner on Friday night with Self and Creed back in the field.

    Chevrolet has the most manufacturer wins here with six (2001, 2005, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017). Dodge and Toyota have four wins each while Ford has three wins.

    The race winner has come from the pole four times (2002, 2004, 2012, 2016). The lowest a race winner has ever come from to win was 32nd set by Gallagher in 2014.

    Christian Eckes leads Michael Self by 15 points in the standings.

    Friday is an all day show for ARCA drivers with the only practice at 1 p.m. ET. General Tire Pole Qualifying is slated for 6 p.m. ET with no live TV coverage. However, fans can follow along at arcaracing.com.

    The ARCA Kansas 150 is scheduled to get underway shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET. The race can be seen live on Fox Sports 2 with a replay set on Fox Sports 1 at 12:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning.