Kansas Speedway Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer For this week’s edition of Climbing the Ladder, Seth Eggert sat down with ThorSport Racing driver Ben Rhodes to revisit an interview from 2016. That interview can be found here. Rhodes is a 21-year-old NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver. He drives the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Ford F-150. Rhodes is campaigning for the 2018 Camping World Truck Series Championship and currently sits fifth in the Championship Standings. Seth Eggert: You’re first race was when you were seven-years-old. How did you convince your parents toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Same story, different day. For the fourth time this season, NASCAR has handed down post-race penalties for issues with the rear window support in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event. Following last Saturday night’s race at Kansas Speedway, Kyle Larson and his No. 42 team were the latest to run afoul of the sanctioning body as they were penalized on Tuesday afternoon for the infraction. The rear window in Larson’s car was found to not be flush to the deck lid, violating the ruleRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the third race in a row at Kansas Speedway, the proceedings have been marred by a multi-car crash that has seen the night end early for several contenders. A year ago, it was Aric Almirola, Danica Patrick, and Joey Logano that tangled up in a fiery crash that left Almirola with a broken back. Last fall, Erik Jones nearly flipped in a massive crash on the backstretch that collected 14 cars by the time all was said and done. On Saturday night, it seemedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For 248 laps, Saturday’s KC Masterpiece 400 was stage winners Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson’s playground, leading a combined total of 154 laps. That all changed with 20 laps to go after the two battled door-to-door for second until Blaney’s car collided with Larson at the entry of Turn 1, damaging both cars and their chance of winning. While Larson rallied back to a fourth-place finish for his fourth top-5 this season, Blaney wasn’t as fortunate as he brought his battered No. 12 Fleetwood RVRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series return for Matt Kenseth could not have been worse. Through no fault of his own, Kenseth’s first run in the No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Fusion at Kansas Speedway was far from stellar. The 2003 Premier Series Champion struggled throughout the entirety of the KC Masterpiece 400 race weekend. In the waning laps of the race, Kenseth had found himself mired deep in the field, three laps down. On a restart with 14 laps to go, the Roush FenwayRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kevin Harvick, nicknamed NASCAR’s “Closer,” earned his moniker on Saturday night at Kansas Speedway, passing reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. on the next-to-last lap to add the KC Masterpiece 400 to his collection of victories this season. Charging from sixth place and chasing race leader Martin Truex Jr. after a restart on Lap 259 of 267, Harvick found speed in the top lane with five laps left and passed Truex on the outside through Turns 3Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – There are times when redemption is swift and merciful. A week after throwing away a chance to win at Dover with a wreck of his own making, Noah Gragson scored his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, beating his car owner, Kyle Busch, to the finish line in the 37 Kind Days 250 at Kansas Speedway. Starting from the pole for the second straight race, Gragson led 128 of 167 laps in his No. 18 Toyota, sweptRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Using techniques from fellow Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson, John Hunter Nemechek made his return in the Camping World Series and didn’t disappoint. Through adversity and taking advantage of other’s shortcomings on fuel, Nemechek came home in fourth during Friday’s 37 Kind Days 250 at Kansas Speedway. Nemechek said he fought a tight truck all night and came up short of scoring a win at the venue his father Joe’s last Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2004. Despite this, he gave propsRead More

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 Seth Eggert, Staff Writer  If it wasn’t for bad luck, Stewart Friesen would likely have no luck at all. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver seemed poised to score his first victory in the 37 Kind Days 250 at Kansas Speedway. However, the pieces did not fall into place for Friesen, who ended up settling for a third-place finish. On the final restart, Friesen jumped to the inside in his No. 52 Halmar International “We Build America” Chevrolet Silverado. He made quick work of Kyle Busch, John HunterRead More