Martin Truex Jr. Becomes Eighth Different NASCAR Cup Series Winner This Season

Snapping a 54-race winless streak at Dover Motor Speedway on Monday, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. has become the eighth different driver this season to earn a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 21.

As the latest winner this season, Truex has joined the postseason bound Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Daytona), Kyle Busch (Fontana, Talladega), William Byron (Las Vegas, Phoenix), Joey Logano (Atlanta), Tyler Reddick (Austin), Kyle Larson (Richmond, Martinsville) and Christopher Bell (Bristol Dirt). With eight drivers having already secured their spot in the postseason, plus points leader Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain guaranteed a spot, which leaves just seven positions still up for grabs as the series heads to Kansas Speedway for the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, May 7 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The Dover win will usher Truex into his 10th appearance in the Playoffs, tying him with Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards for the eighth most Playoff appearances all-time (since 2004).

In 11 starts this season, Truex ranks fourth in the driver point standings having posted one win (Dover), two top fives and four top 10s.

Don’t expect Truex to slow his pace at all this weekend at Kansas Speedway. In 29 NASCAR Cup Series starts at 1.5-mile track he has accumulated two poles, two wins (2017 sweep), 10 top fives and 16 top 10s. He has also led 827 laps there and has an average finish of 12.2.

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: AdventHealth 400

The Place: Kansas Speedway

The Date: Sunday, May 7

The Time: 3 p.m. ET

The Purse: $7,536,752

TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)

Kansas Speedway sets the stage for the NASCAR Cup Series

On a short week following the postponement of the Dover Motor Speedway race to Monday, May 1, the NASCAR Cup Series turns its attention to Kansas Speedway for this Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the 12th race of the season. The quarter mark of the 36-race NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

In the heartland of America, groundbreaking for Kansas Speedway was held on May 25, 1999. The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first NASCAR Cup Series race being held on September 30, 2001. The first Kansas Cup event was won by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet). Gordon would actually win the first two NASCAR Cup Series races held at Kansas (2001, 2002).

During the 2012 season, between the April and October events, the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway track underwent a repave, adding variable banking in the corners bringing them to 17-20 degrees. The advancement has opened up racing lanes from the apron to the wall and has become a driver favorite.

“I think Kansas has been a great race track and from a driver’s standpoint, a fun race track because of the fact, it’s worn in so well,” said veteran Kevin Harvick, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver who has competed in every Cup race since the track opened.

“Kansas has become one of the more unique race tracks because of the fact the asphalt and the shape of the race track is so driver-friendly, as far as where you can drive on the race track,” he continued. “You can literally drive from the wall to the apron all the way around the race track. So, it’s a fun race track.”

In total, there have been 34 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway; one event from 2001 – 2010 and two races per year since 2011. The 34 Cup Series races have produced 18 different pole winners and 18 different race winners (2001-2022).

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Kansas Speedway with five (fall 2013, 2014 sweep, spring 2018, spring 2019).

This weekend, eight of the 16 NASCAR Cup Series Kansas pole winners are active this weekend.

Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002, 2014), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2011, 2015), Kevin Harvick (2013, 2016, 2018), Joey Logano (2014, 2015, 2020) and Denny Hamlin (2012, 2019, 2020) lead the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Kansas Speedway with three victories each.

This weekend, nine of the 18 NASCAR Cup Series Kansas winners are active.

This weekend’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway is scheduled for 267 laps (400 miles) and will be broken up into three stages. The first stage is 80 laps, the second stage is 85 laps, and the final stage will be 102 laps.

The NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity at Kansas Speedway is scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 6 with practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying from 5 – 7 p.m. ET – both events will be televised on FS1.

23XI Racing returns to Kansas Speedway to keep the winning streak alive

Last season, 23XI Racing drivers’ Kurt Busch (May race) and Bubba Wallace (Sept. race) swept the NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, and now the young organization returns looking to keep the winning streak alive and become the first organization to win three-straight at Kansas Speedway.

23XI Racing became the fourth different organization to win consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas joining Hendrick Motorsports (Jeff Gordon, 2001-2002), Furniture Row Racing (Martin Truex Jr., 2017 sweep), and Joe Gibbs Racing (Denny Hamlin, 2019-2020).

This year, 23XI Racing brings back Bubba Wallace – the most recent winner at Kansas – this time in the No. 23 Toyota. And new to this season, Tyler Reddick will be in the No. 45 Toyota – the car/team that won both races last season. Wallace is still looking for his first win of 2023, but Reddick has already won, grabbing his first victory of the year at Circuit of The Americas. At Kansas, Wallace has made 10 starts in the series posting one win, one top five and two top 10s. Reddick has made seven series starts at Kansas posting two top 10s.

Wrestling winless streaks in the Cup Series

With veteran Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. snapping a 54-race winless streak on Monday, who else is wrestling a long winless streak this season that might get to Victory Lane this weekend?

Looking at the entry list for the AdventHealth 400, a total of 17 different drivers are riding winless streaks that date back to prior to the start of the year and five of the 17 are former Kansas Speedway winners heading into Sunday’s race at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NASCAR Cup Series Drivers On A Winless Streak That Started Prior To 2023

Justin Haley (187 races) and Michael McDowell (82 races) hold the two longest active winless streaks, but among the three drivers with a winless streak that have previously won at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series – RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski has the longest winless streak to overcome this weekend at 73 races; dating back to Talladega Superspeedway in 2021. Keselowski has been running well this season putting up to top fives and five top 10s. This Sunday, the Michigan native is hoping to get his first points-paying race win with his new team – RFK Racing. Keselowski has made 24 series starts at Kansas posting one pole, two wins (2011, 2019), seven top fives and 13 top 10s.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin has the longest winless streak among previous Kansas winners to overcome this weekend at 33 races; dating back to Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2022. But Kansas is a track at which he has excelled. In 29 starts, he has put up three wins (2012, 2019, 2020), 11 top fives and 12 top 10s.

The last three drivers with winless streaks dating back to prior to the start of this season but have career wins at Kansas are Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott. Harvick, with three career Kansas wins (2013, 2016, 2018), is on a winless streak that has reached 23 races, dating back to Richmond (Aug.) of last season. And last year’s Kansas victor Bubba Wallace, who last reached Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 11, 2022 has a winless streak of 19 races. And the 2018 Kansas Speedway winner Chase Elliott’s winless streak dates back to Talladega last season – 16 races ago.

Trackhouse Racing drivers bookend the Playoff outlook

Following the 11th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, nine drivers are currently qualified for the Playoffs either by being the points leader or by virtue of their wins this season. With nine spots occupied, that leaves just seven spots up for grabs as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway.

At one end of the Playoff outlook sits Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, the current points leader, and at the other end, teetering the cutoff line, is Chastain’s teammate Daniel Suarez just three points up on Joe Gibbs Racing’s rookie Ty Gibbs in 17^th – the first spot outside the postseason cutoff.

NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB makes the move to Toyota in 2024 – Toyota announced this week a partnership with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB beginning with the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season. With LEGACY M.C. two entries, Toyota will field eight full-time Toyota Camry TRD’s in NCS action starting next season.

“All of us at Toyota are thrilled to add LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to our NASCAR family,” said Jack Hollis, Executive Vice President of TMNA (Toyota Motor North America) and President of Toyota Motor Sales. “While Toyota’s tenure in NASCAR has yielded on-track success, our proudest accomplishments are those relationships that have been built off the racetrack. Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher along with the great club that LEGACY M.C. is assembling, will be a great addition to our existing Cup Series team partners with Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing who are truly part of our family.”

LEGACY M.C. is co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and businessman Maury Gallagher.

“Maury Gallagher and I are very excited about the partnership with Toyota and TRD beginning in 2024,” said LEGACY M.C. co-owner Jimmie Johnson. “We admire and respect the level at which Toyota conducts their business in this sport and look forward to forging a new legacy for the future.  I will always be appreciative to Chevrolet and everything we have accomplished together. I’m so thankful they took a chance on a kid from California so long ago and proud that the history books will forever memorialize our record-breaking success we shared.”

Kansas Speedway revolutionizes fan experience with Highline District – Beginning with the AdventHealth 400 NASCAR Weekend, May 6-7, NASCAR fans can visit Kansas Speedway’s brand-new Highline District in Turn 1. The state-of-the-art Highline District provides unprecedented food, drink, and entertainment options for all fans, while also providing breathtaking views of the racing action.

Highline District amenities include two Chicken N Pickle pickleball courts, live music, photo opportunities and numerous yard games. It’s open to all Kansas Speedway ticket holders and campers and will feature appearances from NASCAR Cup Series stars Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon and Denny Hamlin on Sunday, May 7.

Milestone Watch: Burton, Dillon, Gilliland and Keselowski – Over the next several weeks a few NASCAR Cup Series drivers will be making milestone starts in their series careers.

Next week at Darlington Raceway, Harrison Burton is expected to make his 50th NASCAR Cup Series career start.

Then in a couple of weeks at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Austin Dillon is expected to make his 350th NASCAR Cup Series career start, and Todd Gilliland will also be making his 50th NASCAR Cup Series career start at CMS.

At World Wide Technology Raceway RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski will become the 46th different driver all-time to eclipse the 500 starts mark in the NASCAR Cup Series.