By Lonnie Hugh Skinner
Sunday, May 11
NCS Race: AdventHealth 400 (FS1 & FOX Deportes, MRN, SiriusXM at 3 p.m. ET)
NASCAR Cup Series
Kansas Storylines and Insights:
· This weekend marks the 39th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, and the 25th since the repave following the 2012 season.
· The last six NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway were won by six different drivers; Kyle Larson with two victories is the only repeat winner in the last nine races. The record for different Cup Series winners at Kansas is seven, and it has happened twice: 2002-2008 and 2020-2023.
· A total of 20 different drivers have won a Cup Series race at Kansas, and nine of the 20 are active this weekend: Denny Hamlin (2012, 2019, 2020, 2023), Joey Logano (2014, 2015, 2020), Kyle Busch (2016, 2021), Brad Keselowski (2011, 2019), Ross Chastain (2024), Tyler Reddick (2023), Bubba Wallace (2022), Kyle Larson (2021), Chase Elliott (2018).
· Christopher Bell won the pole for the last three races at Kansas, the last driver to win the pole for four straight races at a track was Kyle Larson at Sonoma between 2017 and 2022.
· Kevin Harvick was the last driver to win three straight poles at Kansas (2013-2014), a driver has never won four straight poles at Kansas. Christopher Bell’s four Kansas poles rank second all-time to Harvick with five.
· A total of 19 different drivers have won a Cup Series pole at Kansas, and seven of the 19 are active this weekend: Christopher Bell (2022, 2023, 2024 sweep), Joey Logano (2015, 2018), William Byron (2023), Tyler Reddick (2022), Ryan Blaney (2017), Brad Keselowski (2015), AJ Allmendinger (2012).
· The pass for the win came in the final two laps in three of the last four Kansas Speedway races including two last lap passes.
· The closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history came at Kansas Speedway last May, Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 second.
· There were 37 lead changes at Kansas in May 2023, the most in a 400 mile race on a 1.5 mile track in series history.
· The driver leading the most laps failed to win the last five Kansas races, the longest streak ever at Kansas.
· Three of 23XI Racing’s eight Cup Series wins came at Kansas Speedway, all three were in the last six races.
· Denny Hamlin has finished inside the top-10 in the last seven Kansas Cup races, the longest active streak.
· Alex Bowman’s 10 top 10s at Kansas are his most at a track.
· Chase Elliott’s 12 top-10 finishes at Kansas are his second most at a track behind 13 at Martinsville.
· William Byron’s eight top-10 finishes at Kansas are tied for his second most at a track behind nine at Phoenix.
· Tyler Reddick led in the last seven Kansas Cup races, tied for the longest streak by a driver at Kansas. Christopher Bell led in the last six Kansas races, the second longest active streak at the track behind Reddick with seven.
· Kyle Larson’s nine wins on 1.5 mile tracks rank fifth among active drivers, all nine came in his 32 starts on them with Hendrick Motorsports (29% win percentage on them with Hendrick)
· Kyle Larson is the only driver to finish inside the top-10 in all three 1.5 mile races this season.
· Kyle Larson’s average finish of 4.67 on 1.5 mile tracks in 2025 is five positions better than second place William Byron with 9.67.
· Joey Logano, with two, is the only repeat winner in the last seven races on 1.5 mile tracks.
· A Ford driver won only one of the last 11 races at Kansas, Joey Logano in October 2020.
· Spire Motorsports won the pole for two of the three 1.5 mile races this season.
· Kyle Busch finished outside the top-10 in the last seven races on 1.5 mile tracks, he is on a 11-race streak without a top-five finish on 1.5 mile tracks.
· The final lead change came within the last laps two laps in five of the 11 races this season.
· Hendrick Motorsports’ 1,135 laps led in 2025 leads all teams by 419 laps and are the team’s most since 2010.
· 27 top-10 finishes are the most ever by Hendrick Motorsports through 11 races.
· Alex Bowman (two) and William Byron (two) are the only repeat pole winners in 2025.
· Hendrick Motorsports won the pole for four of the last eight races of 2025.
· Kyle Larson leads all drivers with 596 laps led in 2025 in Cup and 440 laps led in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
· William Byron ranks second in 2025 laps led with 386.
· Kyle Larson leads all drivers with seven top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes in 2025. Larson’s seven top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes and 596 laps led in 2025 are his most ever through 11 races in a season.
· Kyle Larson is 148 laps away from 10,000 laps led in Cup, 67% of his laps led came in his five seasons with Hendrick Motorsports.
· Hendrick Motorsports drivers won six of the last eight stages.
· William Byron’s average finish of 8.91 in 2025 leads all drivers and is the best by a Hendrick driver through 11 races since Jimmie Johnson in 2013 with 6.7.
· Hendrick Motorsports had at least one car finish top-five in the last 19 races, the team’s third longest streak all-time and the longest since the team’s longest streak at 24 between 2012 and 2013.
· Hendrick Motorsports is the only team with at least one car finishing in the top-five in all 11 races in 2025, no other team had at least one car finish top-10 in all 11 races this year.
· The top-three drivers in 2025 based on average finish are William Byron (8.9), Kyle Larson (10.6) and Chase Elliott (11.4).
· Three of the top-four in points are Hendrick drivers with Byron 1st, Larson 2nd and Elliott 4th…Alex Bowman is 10th.
· Kyle Larson leads all drivers with six stage wins in 2025, William Byron ranks second with three.
· Austin Dillon finished top-10 in the last three races, tied for his longest top-10 streak in Cup.
· Team Penske has three top-five finishes in the last two races including two wins, in the first nine races of 2025 the team had only three top-five finishes.
· Joe Gibbs Racing led only 16 laps on 1.5 mile tracks in 2025, the team’s fewest through three 1.5 mile track races since 2017.
· Brad Keselowski is looking for his first top-10 finish of 2025, he had four top fives and five top 10s after 11 races in 2024.
· The 305 lead changes through 11 races in 2025 are the fourth most all-time.
· The race winner led less than 10 laps six times this year, more than any other season through 11 races.
· Four races ended with a last lap pass in 2025, the most ever through 11 races.
· Nine different pole winners through 11 races in 2025 is tied for the most all-time.
· For only the second time since 1983, the Wood Brothers have led at least 150 laps in a season’s first 11 races (169 in 2025, 233 in 2017).
· Zane Smith’s average finish through 11 races in 2025 is 9 positions better than it was through 11 races in 2024
· Legacy Motor Club’s five top-10 finishes in 2025 is one less than their 2024 season total (six). Their three top fives are more than 2023 and 2024 combined (two).
NASCAR & Kansas, Etc.
Historical & Significant Events at Kansas Speedway:
· In 1996, International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) began exploring options to build a speedway in the Midwest. Lesa France Kennedy spearheaded the search process. In 1997, Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, were selected as the site for the new speedway at the intersection of interstates 70 and 435.
· On December 18, 1997, International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) announced plans to build a 1.5 mile speedway to seat approximately 75,000.
· Architecture firm HNTB designed the facility and Turner Construction provided construction management. Construction began on the 1,200 acre, 1.5 mile speedway in May of 1999.
· Completion was targeted for 2000 but was delayed by weather and lawsuits from nearby landowners. Paving began in September 2000 and the speedway completed in early 2001.
· Estimated project cost was $250 million. The speedway had a significant impact on the area even before construction was finished. New commercial and entertainment developments sprung up near the speedway, including a movie theater complex, an outdoor retail mall, and hotels.
· The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first events being an ARCA Menards Series race and an ARCA Menards Series West race on the same day – June 2.
· The first NASCAR Cup Series race was on September 30, 2001. The event was won by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet).
· In 2011, the track held the Kanrocksas Music Festival, a rock music festival. The event was first announced on April 26, 2011, and was held in August; the inaugural festival featured acts such as Eminem, The Flaming Lips, Kid Cudi, Primus, and others.
· Following the 2012 STP 400, the track underwent a massive renovation project that included repaving the track surface, reconfiguration of the oval, and addition of a new infield road course. NASCAR’s in-house design and construction group utilized state of the art computer modeling to develop track geometry with up to 20 degrees of variable banking. Construction crews removed the existing oval track asphalt pavement and regraded the underlying soil to create the variable banking. In addition to the turns, the frontstretch, backstretch and pit road were reconstructed.
· The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway overlooking turn 2 opened February 3, 2012 with 2,000 slot machines, 52 gaming tables and 12 poker tables on a 100,000 square-foot gaming floor. It also features 28,000 square-feet of other amenities including restaurants, clubs and nightlife attractions.
· The casino is estimated to bring 440,000 tourists per year and create 1,050 full time jobs elevating the state to a first class, year-round tourist destination.
· The inside of the $411 million Hollywood Casino facility is modeled after the golden age of Hollywood. There are soaring columns with ornate scrollwork, video screens rolling historic clips of Grace Kelly and James Stewart and vintage movie posters of Steve McQueen in “Le Mans” and James Garner in “Grand Prix,” a nod to the motorsports element of the unique partnership.
· Prior to the fall race in 2015 Kansas Speedway added 1,250 linear feet of SAFER barrier to the backstretch and 525 linear feet to the frontstretch; all outside walls are now protected by SAFER barrier. 1,700 linear feet of barrier was also added to the interior walls at the entry and exit of the corners. In total Kansas Speedway added a total of 3,475 feet or 6 tenths of a mile of SAFER barrier in 2015.
· Since 2016, the track has been the host of the American Royal World Series of BBQ competition.
· Kansas Speedway is located in the state of Kansas, 13 miles west of Kansas City, Mo.
· There have been 38 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, one event from 2001 – 2010 and two races per year since 2011.
COURTESY NASCAR COMMUNICATIONS
