2
months
agoTeam
Penske's
Ryan
Blaney
finished
Sunday's
Hollywood
Casino
400
at
Kansas
Speedway
in
the
fourth
position
after
running
well
throughout
the
entire
race.
Starting
from
the
seventh
position,
Blaney
steadily
made
passes
against
the
field
as
his
car
excelled
on
longer
green
flag
runs.
Blaney
eventually
climbed
up
read more...
2
months
agoJoe
Gibbs
Racing
driver
Christopher
Bell
ended
Sunday's
Hollywood
Casino
400
at
Kansas
Speedway
in
the
seventh
position
after
mistakes
mired
a
potentially
dominant
performance.
Beginning
the
race
from
the
pole,
Bell
established
himself
quickly
as
one
of
the
top
drivers
of
the
field.
The
No.
20
Toyota
read more...
2 months agoRoss Chastain sure likes to disrupt the party in the playoffs. Last year, Chastain went out and won the Championship race at Phoenix despite being eliminated from the postseason, and this past Sunday at Kansas Speedway, he did the same thing: grabbed the checkered flag despite missing out on the playoffs entirely. Chastain started 20th and didn't score any Stage points on Sunday, but he led for 52 laps and went to victory lane, getting his first win of the season. In his post-race interview after the win on Sunday, Chastain remarked, "For us on this No. 1 team, this is what Cup racing is all about. That's what Justin Marks bought into with Trackhouse with Pitbull to--bought into NASCAR with Trackhouse to do stuff like this, to disrupt."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoJust one race in to the Round of 12, and the regular season points champion, Tyler Reddick, is already on the outside looking in for the Round of 8. Kansas Speedway has been a very strong track for Reddick in the past, but he struggled in both races there this season, particularly this past weekend, where he didn't score any Stage points and walked away with a 25th-place finish. "I guess for me it comes to just performance," Reddick said post-race at Kansas. "For a month straight, we haven't been that great, but we have two weeks to figure it out." Talladega is now looming for the playoff drivers, as the unpredictability of that track could shake up things in a big way next weekend. The good news for Reddick, though, is that he's the most recent race winner at Talladega. However, he also won at Kansas in 2023, and we saw how that turned out for the No. 45 team on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoThe bad finish streak by Martin Truex Jr. is finally over. After eight straight races with results of 20th or worse, Truex came home with a third-place finish in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. He also led five laps and looked to be in contention for the win, as the No. 19 Toyota was the leader for the final restart. However, Truex simply didn't have the speed on the short runs, which ultimately doomed him. "Just not quite good enough on the short runs all day on the restarts," Truex said after the race. "It took us 10 to 15 laps to get going." With the final stint of the race being less than 30 laps, Truex knew it wasn't likely that he was going to snap his winless streak. "The No. 1 and the No. 24 got away and then we were catching them beck, and just ran out of time," Truex said. He is still winless in his final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Speedway Digest
2 months agoTy Gibbs had one of the strongest cars in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 and ended up with a solid fifth-place finish when it was all said and done. "We had a really fast Monster Energy Camry. I feel like we were pretty solid and in the top five most of the day. Just needed a little bit more to compete up front for the win and have the strategy kind of go our way," Gibbs said. Gibbs started on the front row and finished sixth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2 on Sunday. His fifth-place finish was his eighth top-five of the season and first at Kansas Speedway. The No. 54 Toyota had the second-best average running position on Sunday, coming in at 5.26, just a smidge behind William Byron (4.67).
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Speedway Digest
2 months agoIt was a good Sunday for Alex Bowman in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver crossed the finish line in sixth place and collected 43 points to kick off the Round of 12. He also got his first stage win of the season by taking the green and white checkered flag at the end of the second stage on Sunday. It was Bowman's fifth straight top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway. The No. 48 Chevrolet had an average running position of 7.37 during the race, which was good enough for fourth-best in the field. With two races to go before the playoff field gets cut down to eight drivers, Bowman now sits eight points above the cut line, jumping from 11th to sixth in the points standings. After the race, Bowman stated, "I had a great car, everybody at (Hendrick Motorsports) did a really good job this week." He added, "I wish we were a couple of spots better but certainly a good points day for our Ally 48 Camaro."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Hendrick Motorsports
2 months agoAlthough Daniel Suarez was not very fast at Kansas, he salvaged a 13th place finish. Despite starting 10th, he plummeted through the field in Stage 1 and actually got lapped before receiving the free pass on the first stage caution. Although he only ranked 19th in speed and 17th in average running position and as usual didn't have close to the pace of his eventually winning teammate Ross Chastain, his decision to pit on a caution shortly before the end of Stage 2 allowed him to jump from 21st to 10th, and he mostly sustained those gains for the rest of the race. However, he still lost points to most of the playoff contenders and sits 14 points below the cutline, so his odds of making the Round of 8 are rather doubtful unless he doesn't crash at either Talladega or the Charlotte roval while other contenders do.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoAlthough Joey Logano hasn't had the best season this year and has been well off his teammate Ryan Blaney's pace, he had a better run than usual on a non-drafting superspeedway on Sunday at Kansas, as he ran no worse than sixth before having to pit again due to a loose wheel. Although he still ranked eighth in speed (slightly faster than the winner Ross Chastain), he was never able to completely move up through the field afterward and was relegated to a 14th-place finish. Nonetheless, his early stage points were enough to place him in a tie with Chase Elliott four points above the playoff cut line. Logano is very much at risk of not making the Round of 8 if he crashes at either Talladega or the Charlotte roval, but Team Penske's dominant drafting track speed will likely allow him to score enough points at Talladega to advance.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoAlthough Denny Hamlin finished eighth at Kansas, the same position where he started, that box score does not properly convey the topsy-turvy ride he took to attain that result. Hamlin seemed to have the fastest car at times and ranked fourth overall in speed, but was repeatedly let down by his pit crew with three botched pit stops, most notably a loose wheel at the end of Stage 2 that prevented him from getting any stage points. He had to drive through the field repeatedly as a result and his pass differential of 49 was second best to Chase Elliott's 52. Nonetheless, Hamlin still sits fifth in points 11 points above the playoff cutline. If he doesn't crash at either Talladega or the Charlotte roval and he doesn't repeat his subpar Daytona strategy at Talladega, he'll probably advance to the Round of 8.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoAustin Cindric probably took himself out of playoff contention on Sunday at Kansas when he spun out after making side-by-side contact with Kyle Busch's car, which resulted in Cindric finishing 34th and scoring a mere seven points, fewer than any other playoff contender. The situation could have been even worse if he hadn't scored points in Stage 1 because his car was very fast in the early portions of the race, but even though Cindric tends to be very fast at both drafting tracks and to a lesser extent at road courses, he now sits 29 points behind the playoff cut line and probably won't advance to the Round of 8 unless several drivers crash more often than he does at Talladega and the Charlotte roval.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoIntermediate tracks have recently been Chase Briscoe's Achilles heel, and Sunday's Kansas race was no exception. Although Briscoe unexpectedly qualified ninth, he did not have the speed of a playoff contender per usual on intermediates, as he finished 24th, had an average running position of 23rd, and only ranked 26th in speed. His race was largely overshadowed by his move to cut off Kyle Busch as Busch was attempting to lap him, which resulted in Busch spinning out and ruining his chances at a probable win. Because most of the other drivers still alive in the playoffs finished well, Briscoe now sits 25 points below the playoff cut line. He will likely need multiple drivers to crash more often than he does at Talladega and/or the Charlotte roval to advance to the Round of 8, but that's definitely a possibility.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months ago23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace will start the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway from the 13th position. This will mark the third time that Wallace will start inside the Top 15 at Kansas since the Next-Gen car's introduction in 2022. In 13 races at Kansas, Wallace has one win and three top-10 finishes, which were scored in his last five Cup appearances at the site. Through 29 races this year, Wallace has 11 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 15.9. Outside of Las Vegas, Wallace collected positive Place Differential in all races at 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks this year and has two finishes of 11th or better at the track type. In practice, Wallace ranked 14th in overall lap averages and was ninth of Group B drivers in 15 consecutive lap averages. With Kansas being one of his better tracks in recent years, Wallace is expected to compete for a top-10 finish based on his track history, equipment, and overall performance at intermediate tracks this season.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 months agoTyler Reddick will start fourth in this week's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, his highest starting position at the site since joining 23XI Racing in 2023. In 10 races at Kansas in his Cup career, Reddick has one win and four top-10 finishes while leading multiple laps in each of the last six Cup events at the site. With 29 races completed this season, Reddick has two wins, leads all drivers with 19 top-10 finishes, and has three top-5 finishes at 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks this year. In practice, Reddick ranked 18th in overall lap averages and only displayed top-10 speeds in the five consecutive lap average category. Although Reddick's practice speeds were underwhelming, his track history and top-tier equipment, as well as his performances at intermediate tracks this year, still make him a threat to compete for the win.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 months agoBrad Keselowski will start 26th in this week's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, matching his starting position from the September 2022 event at the site. In 29 starts at Kansas, Keselowski has two wins, 14 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 12.2 (second-best of all active drivers). Keselowski also gathered positive PD in every race and has had four top-20 finishes in Kansas since 2022. In 29 races so far this season, Keselowski has one win and 12 top-10 finishes, while placing in the Top 15 in all races at 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks. In practice, Keselowski was one of the top 10 fastest drivers in the 10,15, 20, 25, and 30 consecutive lap average categories, showcasing a quicker car on the longer runs. Keselowski is recommended this week as a driver capable of capitalizing on his upside based on his equipment, Kansas history, and practice speeds.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
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