Kansas Speedway Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Lady luck reared its ugly head once again for Ben Rhodes at Kansas Speedway as for the second straight year, his bid for victory backfired as another mechanical woe knocked him out of contention during Friday’s 37 Kind Days 250. Unlike his heartbreaking engine failure while leading with eight laps to go last year, Rhodes finished the race, but was only credited with an 18th place finish, his worst of the season. The seventh place starter was gradually moving up the leader board and afterRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a stirring duel for the win in the spring 2012 race at Kansas Speedway, the track underwent a massive reconfiguration that was completed by the time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to the track in October. With the facelift, the track turned from a tame 1.5 miler to a treacherous beast that did its best to chew up and spit out as many race cars as possible in its opening weekend. Mark Martin and Aric Almirola would be the two cars to getRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Following a visit to the Monster Mile last weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series sets up shop at Kansas Speedway for Mother’s Day weekend and Saturday night’s running of the KC Masterpiece 400. First joining the circuit as a relatively tame 1.5 mile track with 15 degree banking in the turns, Kansas underwent a massive reconfiguration in 2012 that transformed it into a much more treacherous track with variable banking ranging from 17 to 20 degrees in the turns. Since then, the track hasRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Judging by the reaction and the general vibe, it’s hard to tell who is more excited about former champion Matt Kenseth’s return to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition this week driving the No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Fusion at Kansas Speedway for Roush Fenway Racing. The team? Fans? Kenseth? Roush? It’s been a delicate situation, but all concerned are hopeful that the new team dynamic results in better days ahead. Kenseth is going to share the driver’s seat withRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ryan Blaney acquired a new primary sponsorship on Friday after Team Penske announced that BODYARMOR Sports Drink will bare its name in the No. 12 Ford Fusion for the annual Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 7. The partnership between BODYARMOR and Blaney began last season, but it’ll mark the first time the natural flavored hydrating drink will be on the track for a race weekend, beginning at Kansas Speedway on May 12 as Blaney’s associate sponsor. After Kansas,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Each week, NASCAR Editor David Morgan will break down who’s hot and who’s not after the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend. Today, we break down the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. WINNERS Martin Truex, Jr. – Racing with heavy hearts after the loss of crew member Jim Watson to a heart attack on Saturday night, Truex and his Furniture Row Racing team had extra incentive to go out and score the win on Sunday. Though the team was able to capitalize andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Martin Truex Jr. survived a restart penalty and an unscheduled pit stop to return to what has become a thoroughly familiar locale—Victory Lane—in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. In a dramatic race that brought Truex his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season, calamity eliminated four drivers from the series Playoff. Jamie McMurray, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Matt Kenseth and Kyle Larson all saw their postseason hopes end with the final event in the Round of 12.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Matt Kenseth had his work cut out for him heading into the elimination race at Kansas Speedway, needing to make up eight points to be able to advance onto the next round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and he looked to be well on his way to accomplishing that before finding an early exit that put an end to his hopes of challenging for a second championship. Finishing the first two stages eighth and fourth, respectively, Kenseth put himself in position toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Entering the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Kyle Larson was one of the “big three” that everyone thought was a lock to make it through the postseason with relative ease to fight for the championship in the season finale at Homestead, but as the knockout format has shown over the last few years, anything can happen and on Sunday at Kansas, he would be on the losing end of that. After four wins in the regular season, Larson was ranked the highest among theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 may have been the opening race in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoff, but the real drama involved two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates outside the championship battle. On Lap 197 of 200 at Kansas Speedway, Christopher Bell caught and passed Erik Jones for the lead, clearing Jones’ No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a slide job and drifting up to the outside wall right in front of his JGR teammate. Under aRead More