NASCAR Cup Series News & Notes – Kansas Speedway

NASCAR Cup Series, Kansas Speedway

Next Race: Hollywood Casino 400 Presented ESPN BET
The Place: Kansas Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, September 28
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $9,797,935
TV: USA, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)

Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:

Friday, Sept. 26

ARCA Race: Reese’s 150 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 8 p.m. ET)

Saturday, Sept. 27

NXS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (CW App at 10:30 a.m. ET)

NCS Practice & Busch Light Pole Qualifying (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM at 1 p.m. ET)

NXS Race: Kansas Lottery 300 (CW, MRN, SiriusXM at 4 p.m. ET)

Sunday, Sept. 28

NCS Race: Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET (USA, MRN, SiriusXM at 3 p.m. ET)

Kansas Speedway Storylines and Insights:

• This weekend marks the 40th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
• This is the first 1.5 mile race since the Coca-Cola 600 and the sixth of seven races on 1.5 mile tracks in 2025.  There have been 18 races since the last race on a 1.5 mile track.
• Kansas traditionally held one Cup race from 2001-2010, and two races every year since 2011.
• This is the eighth time Kansas has hosted a Playoff race in the Round of 12 (2014-19, 2024-25) after having been in both the Round of 16 (2022-23) and the Round of 8 (2020-21).
• Kansas and Las Vegas are the only tracks to hold a Playoff race in all three rounds of the Playoffs.
• Kansas is one of four tracks to host a Playoff race every year since the formation of the Playoffs in 2004 (Talladega, Martinsville, Phoenix).
• This is the 26th race at Kansas since the repave following the 2012 season.
• The winner of the fall Kansas race has gone on to win the championship four times, but only twice in the Elimination Era (2017 – Martin Truex Jr, 2021 – Kyle Larson).
• Kansas has never produced a first-time Cup winner in its previous 39 races, more races than any other track currently on the schedule.
• The pass for the win came in the final two laps in three of the last five Kansas races including two last lap passes.
• The driver who led the most laps won just once in the last six Kansas races (Kyle Larson – 05/2025).
• Seven of the 12 2025 Playoff drivers previously won at Kansas, including each of the last six races there.
• Kyle Larson is the only repeat winner in the last 10 races at Kansas, winning three times including in May.
• Kyle Larson led 760 laps at Kansas since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, nearly four times more than any other driver during that timeframe.
• Kyle Larson led 221 laps on his way to winning at Kansas in May, the most laps led by any driver in a 400-mile race on a 1.5-mile track in Cup history.
• All 11 stages on 1.5-mile tracks in 2025 were won by current Playoff drivers, led by Kyle Larson (4).
• Three of 23XI Racing’s nine Cup wins came at Kansas, all three were in the last seven races.
• The closest finish in series history came at Kansas in May 2024, Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds.
• Alex Bowman’s 11 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.
• Christopher Bell led in the last seven Kansas races, tied for the longest ever streak by a driver at Kansas.
• William Byron’s eight top-10 finishes at Kansas are tied for his second-most at a track behind nine at Phoenix.
• Hendrick Motorsports finished in the top 2 in six of the last eight races at Kansas.
• Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece are tied for the most top-10s on 1.5-mile tracks in 2025 with four.
• Spire Motorsports won their first two Cup poles on 1.5-mile tracks earlier this year, no team has ever won their first three Cup poles all on 1.5-mile tracks.
• Kyle Larson’s 10 wins on 1.5 mile tracks rank fifth among active drivers, all 10 came in his 34 starts on them with Hendrick Motorsports (29% win percentage on them with Hendrick).
• Kyle Busch finished outside the top-10 in the last nine races on 1.5 mile tracks, he is on a 13-race streak without a top-five finish on 1.5-mile tracks dating to Las Vegas in October 2023.
• Chase Briscoe is the only driver to finish top-10 in all four Playoff races.
• Joey Logano finished top-five in the last three races, his longest top five streak since Spring 2019.
• Toyota won the first three Playoff races but their best finish at New Hampshire was Christopher Bell in sixth
•  Toyota led 79% of the laps raced in the first round of the Playoffs, only led 19 total at New Hampshire.
• The biggest deficit of points to overcome to point into the Round of 8 is 22 points by Chase Elliott in 2019.
• The most points any driver has ever been above the cutline in the Round of 12 and failed to advance was 29 points by Kyle Larson in 2017.
• Last season, Joey Logano overcame a 13-point deficit in the Round of 12 and went on to win the Championship.
• Tyler Reddick has overcome a point deficit and advanced from the Round of 12 in each of the last two seasons. He was -4 after race one last year, and -3 after race one in 2023.

Playoff Seeding Analysis for the Round of 12 (2017-Current):

• 96% of the drivers seeded in the top-three entering the Round of 12 advance to the Round of 8.
• Only once has a driver seeded in the top-three entering the Round of 12 failed to advance to the Round of 8 (Kyle Larson seeded 3^rd in 2017).
• 92% of the drivers seeded in the top-six entering the Round of 12 advanced to the Round of 8 (only four of the 48 failed to advance).
• Only 31% of the drivers starting the Round of 12 below the cutline advance to the Round of 8 (10 of 32).
• 72% of the drivers ranked in the top-four entering the Round of 12 race for a Championship in the season finale (23 of 32).

NCS Clinch Scenarios for Kansas Speedway (Playoff Race #5):

Already Clinched

• The following driver has clinched a spot in the 8-driver field of the next round: Ryan Blaney.

Can Clinch Via Points

• If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 57 points above the 7th winless driver in the standings.  The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano or Chase Elliott.
• William Byron: Could only clinch with help
• Kyle Larson: Could only clinch with help
• Christopher Bell: Could only clinch with help
• Denny Hamlin: Could only clinch with help
• Joey Logano: Could only clinch with help
•  Chase Elliott: Could only clinch with help
• If there is a new winner from Chase Briscoe or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 57 points above the 6th winless driver in the standings.
  • William Byron: Could only clinch with help
  • Kyle Larson: Could only clinch with help
  • Christopher Bell: Could only clinch with help
  • Denny Hamlin: Could only clinch with help
  • Joey Logano: Could only clinch with help

Can Clinch Via Win

• The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace.

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 39 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, one event from 2001 – 2010 and two races per year since 2011.

 Latest News from Kansas Speedway:

• Kansas Speedway is proud to announce that Johnny Dare and members of the wildly popular Johnny Dare Morning Show will serve as Grand Marshals for this Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET. The race, a key event in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, will feature Kansas Speedway’s signature blend of high-speed action with an added dose of Kansas City flavor.
• Johnny Dare was a mainstay of Kansas City’s airwaves for 32 years and host of the long-running Johnny Dare Morning Show on 98.9 The Rock. He became a local legend not only for his bold and entertaining radio style but also for his unwavering commitment to the community.