Red-hot Denny Hamlin leads confident Toyota contingent to Kansas
KANSAS CITY,, Kansas — After calling his shot and winning last Sunday’s Wurth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin couldn’t ask for a better place for an encore than Kansas Speedway.
Hamlin is the defending winner of the AdventHealth 400 (3 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
In addition, Hamlin’s minions—namely drivers for the 23XI Racing team he co-owns with former NBA superstar Michael Jordan—have won three of the last four races at the 1.5-mile intermediate track, encompassing the two-year Next Gen era.
Kurt Busch won the spring race at Kansas in 2022 before an accident at Pocono sidelined him. Bubba Wallace followed with a victory in the fall race that season. And after Hamlin triumphed last year, Tyler Reddick secured the third Kansas win for 23XI in the September Playoff race.
All told, Toyota drivers have won seven of the last nine races at the Wyandotte County track, with Hamlin accounting for three of those victories and former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch accounting for another.
“Kansas is where we show up with confidence,” Wallace acknowledged. “If everything goes right, we’ve got a really good shot at being in Victory Lane.
“Something clicks when we show up there. The speed’s there, the confidence is there, the crew is on it, and everything lines up there.”
After boldly predicting victory at Dover on his Monday podcast, Hamlin held off charging Kyle Larson to win at the Monster Mile. Though he’s not ready to call his shot at Kansas—despite his recent success there—Hamlin feels his No. 11 JGR team can win anywhere.
“Yeah, I mean, I expect to win every week,” said Hamlin, who is tied with Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron for most victories in the series this season with three. “There’s no reason I shouldn’t expect to win (at Kansas)… it’s been on the radar for a while.
“This little stretch right here right before the All-Star break, between Dover, Kansas, Darlington, I mean, these are all kind of right in my wheelhouse. Certainly feel pretty good about it.”
Larson is the only Chevrolet driver to take the checkered flag in the last nine races at Kansas, a feat he accomplished from the pole position during his championship season in 2021—the last before the transition to the Next Gen car in the Cup Series.
Ford drivers haven’t found Victory Lane at Kansas since Joey Logano triumphed in the fall of 2020, and the Blue Oval contingent is winless through 11 races this season.
With Jeff Gordon having won the first two races at Kansas Speedway in 2001 and 2002, Hendrick Motorsports has eight victories in 36 races at the track, a total equaled by Joe Gibbs Racing with Hamlin’s win last year.
That victory was Hamlin’s track-record fourth at Kansas.
Between them, Hendrick and Gibbs have won nine of the 11 races this season, with Hendrick holding a 5-4 edge. The only winners not from those two camps are Daniel Suarez at Atlanta and Reddick at Talladega.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series back in action at Kansas Speedway
After a two-week break, drivers in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series return to competition in Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Series leader Christian Eckes will go for his third victory of the season at a 1.5-mile track that has rewarded him with considerable success. Eckes is the most recent winner at Kansas, having taken the checkered flag in last September’s Playoff race.
In addition, the driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet has posted four top fives and six top 10s in eight starts at the track. He has six top 10s to his credit in seven starts this season, including five straight results of eighth or better entering Saturday’s race.
“Our mile-and-a-half stuff has definitely shown a little bit of an improvement,” Eckes said after finishing fourth at Texas on April 12 and seizing the points lead. “We still have a little bit of a ways to go, but we’ll see how it goes.”
No one else in the field can match Matt Crafton’s experience at Kansas Speedway. The driver of the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford has competed in all 27 Truck Series events at the track, dating to the inaugural race in 2001.
With three victories each, Crafton and Kyle Busch share the track record for most Truck Series wins. Busch, who is not racing at Kansas on Saturday, already has two Truck Series victories in four starts this season.
On the other hand, Crafton, a three-time series champion, hasn’t won in the series since he took the checkered flag at Kansas in 2020—a drought that reached 88 races at Texas.
Notes: Grant Enfinger is the defending winner of the Heart of America 200… Australian driver Cam Waters will make his second Truck Series start on Saturday. He finished 30th last month at Martinsville in his debut with ThorSport Racing.
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ERIK JONES TO MISS KANSAS BUT WILL RETURN AT DARLINGTON
From Legacy Motor Club PR:
Erik Jones has been cleared to race by doctors and approved to return by NASCAR, but out of an abundance of caution, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has opted for Jones to rest for another event. Corey Heim will drive the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE at Kansas Speedway this weekend.
Jones will attend the race at Kansas Speedway to support crew chief Dave Elenz and the No. 43 team and plans to return to the driver’s seat next weekend at Darlington Raceway – a track where he has two NASCAR Cup Series victories.
KANSAS SPEEDWAY NASCAR CUP SERIES ENTRY LIST
5th Annual AdventHealth 400 - NASCAR Cup Series - Kansas Speedway - 5/05/24
Last Update: 05/01/2024 11:36 AM
Race Eligible Vehicle Entry List
Entry Veh# Driver Organization Crew Chief Veh Mfg Sponsor
1 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Phil Surgen Chevrolet Busch Light Crocs
2 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Brian Wilson Ford Snap on
3 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Justin Alexander Chevrolet Get Bioethanol
4 4 Josh Berry Stewart Haas Racing Rodney Childers Ford Overstock.com
5 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Cliff Daniels Chevrolet HendrickCars.com
6 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Matt McCall Ford Consumer Cellular
7 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Ryan Sparks Chevrolet Gainbridge
8 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Randall Burnett Chevrolet Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen
9 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Alan Gustafson Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts
10 10 Noah Gragson Stewart Haas Racing Drew Blickensderfer Ford Bass Pro Shops Winchester
11 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gabehart Toyota Sport Clips Haircuts
12 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Jonathan Hassler Ford Menards\Cardell Cabinetry
13 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart Haas Racing Richard Boswell II Ford Rush Truck Centers / Cummins
14 15 Riley Herbst (i) Rick Ware Racing Billy Plourde Ford Monster Energy Zero Sugar
15 16 Derek Kraus Kaulig Racing Travis Mack Chevrolet projectwyoming.com
16 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Scott Graves Ford Castrol Edge
17 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing James Small Toyota Auto-Owners Insurance
18 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Adam Stevens Toyota Yahoo!
19 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Jeremy Bullins Ford Motorcraft\Quick Lane
20 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Paul Wolfe Ford Shell Pennzoil
21 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Robert Barker Toyota MoneyLion
22 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Ryan Fugle Chevrolet RaptorTough.com
23 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Trent Owens Chevrolet LA Golf
24 33 Austin Hill (i) Richard Childress Racing Keith Rodden Chevrolet United Rentals
25 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Travis Peterson Ford Love's Travel Stops
26 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ryan Bergenty Ford Long John Silver's
27 41 Ryan Preece Stewart Haas Racing Chad Johnston Ford HaasTooling.com
28 42 John Hunter Nemechek LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Ben Beshore Toyota Family Dollar
29 43 Corey Heim (i) LEGACY MOTOR CLUB David Elenz Toyota Dollar Tree
30 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Billy Scott Toyota Monster Energy
31 47 Ricky Stenhouse JTG Daugherty Racing Michael Kelley Chevrolet MInute Rice
32 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Blake Harris Chevrolet Ally
33 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Chris Lawson Ford Children's Mercy Hospital
34 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gayle Toyota Sirius XM
35 71 Zane Smith Spire Motorsports Stephen Doran Chevrolet Focused Health
36 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Luke Lambert Chevrolet Delaware Life/Creative One
37 84 Jimmie Johnson LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Jason Burdett Toyota AdventHealth
38 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Matt Swiderski Chevrolet Choice Privileges
* equals withdrawn from the event
(i) equals ineligible for driver championship points
KANSAS SPEEDWAY NAASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES ENTRY LIST
24th Annual Heart Of America 200 - NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series - Kansas Speedway - 5/04/24
Last Update: 05/01/2024 12:50 PM
Race Eligible Vehicle Entry List
Entry Veh# Driver Organization Crew Chief Veh Mfg Sponsor
1 1 Brett Moffitt TRICON Garage Seth Smith Toyota Concrete Supply
2 02 Mason Massey IV Young's Motorsports Trip Bruce III Chevrolet RANDCO Industries
3 2 Nicholas Sanchez Rev Racing Kevin Manion Chevrolet Gainbridge
4 5 Dean Thompson TRICON Garage Derek Smith Toyota Thompson Pipe Group
5 7 Connor Mosack Spire Motorsports Brian Pattie Chevrolet Pinnacle Racing Group
6 9 Grant Enfinger CR7 Motorsports Jeff Stankiewicz Chevrolet Champion Power Equipment
7 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing Doug George Chevrolet Driven2Honor.org
8 11 Corey Heim TRICON Garage Scott Zipadelli Toyota Safelite
9 13 Jake Garcia ThorSport Racing Doug Randolph Ford Quanta Services
10 15 Tanner Gray TRICON Garage Jerame Donley Toyota Dead On Tools
11 17 Taylor Gray TRICON Garage Jeff Hensley Toyota JBL
12 18 Tyler Ankrum McAnally Hilgemann Racing Mark Hillman Chevrolet LiUNA!
13 19 Christian Eckes McAnally Hilgemann Racing Charles Denike Chevrolet Adaptive One Calipers
14 22 Mason Maggio Reaume Brothers Racing John Reaume Ford Professional AG Services, INC
15 25 Ty Dillon Rackley W.A.R Shane Wilson Chevrolet Rackley Roofing
16 32 Bret Holmes Bret Holmes Racing Mike Shiplett Chevrolet Best Value Carriers
17 33 Lawless Alan Reaume Brothers Racing Gregory Ely Ford AUTOParkit
18 38 Layne Riggs Front Row Motorsports Dylan Cappello Ford Love's RV Stops
19 41 Bayley Currey Niece Motorsports Mike Hillman Jr. Chevrolet AutoVentive/Precision
20 42 Matt Mills Niece Motorsports Jon Leonard Chevrolet J.F. Electric/Utilitra
21 43 Daniel Dye McAnally Hilgemann Racing Blake Bainbridge Chevrolet Race to Stop Suicide
22 45 Kaden Honeycutt Niece Motorsports Phil Gould Chevrolet Niece Products of Kansas
23 46 Thad Moffitt Faction Motorsports Steve Gassmann Chevrolet Safety-Kleen
24 52 Stewart Friesen Halmar Friesen Racing Jimmy Villeneuve Toyota Halmar International
25 56 Timmy Hill Hill Motorsports Terry Elmore Toyota Hill Motorsports
26 66 Cam Waters ThorSport Racing Josh Hankish Ford TRADIE
27 71 Rajah Caruth Spire Motorsports Chad Walter Chevrolet HendrickCars.com
28 76 Spencer Boyd Freedom Racing Enterprises Jeffrey Hammond Chevrolet FR8 Factory
29 77 Chase Purdy Spire Motorsports Jason Trinchere Chevrolet Bama Buggies
30 88 Matt Crafton ThorSport Racing Jeriod Prince Ford Serta/Menards
31 91 Zane Smith (i) McAnally Hilgemann Racing Kevin Bellicourt Chevrolet Instacoat Premium Products
32 98 Ty Majeski ThorSport Racing Joe Shear Jr Ford Road Ranger
33 99 Ben Rhodes ThorSport Racing Rich Lushes Ford Bommarito Automotive Group
* equals withdrawn from the event
(i) equals ineligible for driver championship points
KANSAS SPEEDWAY WEEKEND SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, MAY 3
START END SERIES EVENT
5:30 AM 2:00 PM AMS CREDENTIALING HOURS
6:00 AM 7:00 AM AMS HAULERS ENTER (PARKING ONLY)
7:00 AM 4:00 PM AMS GARAGE HOURS
7:30 AM 9:30 AM NCTS HAULERS ENTER (EQUIPMENT UNLOADING)
7:30 AM TRACK OPS TRACK SERVICES MEETING (MEDIA CENTER MEETING ROOM)
8:00 AM 9:00 AM RACE CONTROL TRACK PREPARATION (COMPETITION)
8:00 AM AMS DRIVER / SPOTTER MEETING (SERIES INSPECTION TRAILER)
8:45 AM 9:00 AM AMS ROOKIE ON-TRACK ORIENTATION (SLOW MOVING VEHICLES ONLY)
9:00 AM 2:00 PM AMS OPEN PRACTICE (OPTIONAL) TRACK HOT
10:30 AM 3:00 PM NASCAR CREDENTIALING HOURS
11:00 AM 4:00 PM NCTS GARAGE HOURS
11:00 AM 4:00 PM NCTS TECHNICAL INSPECTIONS
2:00 PM 5:30 PM BROADCAST BROADCAST SET UP TRACK COLD
2:00 PM 7:30 PM TRACK OPS EVENT OPERATIONS SET UP
2:30 PM 3:30 PM TRACK OPS PRE-RACE STAGE PARKING & ROUTING REHEARSAL (PIT ROAD) TRACK COLD
5:00 PM NCS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING (VIRTUAL)
5:00 PM 5:30 PM RACE CONTROL TRACK PROFILE SCANNING (COMPETITION)
5:30 PM 6:00 PM RACE CONTROL FRICTION TESTING (COMPETITION)
5:30 PM 6:00 PM BROADCAST BROADCAST CALIBRATION TRACK HOT
6:00 PM 7:00 PM TRACK OPS FAN TRACK WALK (KANSAS SPEEDWAY)
ALL TIMES LISTED ARE LOCAL TRACK TIME - CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME
SATURDAY, MAY 4
START END SERIES EVENT
5:30 AM 12:00 PM AMS CREDENTIALING HOURS
6:00 AM 5:30 PM AMS GARAGE HOURS
6:05 AM AMS CREW CHIEF MEETING (SERIES INSPECTION TRAILER)
7:00 AM 8:00 AM RACE CONTROL DRIVER/TEAM TRACK WALK (NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES AUTHORIZED) TRACK COLD
7:15 AM TRACK OPS TRACK SERVICES MEETING (MEDIA CENTER MEETING ROOM)
7:30 AM 7:00 PM NASCAR CREDENTIALING HOURS
MINOR RESTRICTIONS ENFORCED 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO HOT TRACK STATUS
8:00 AM 11:45 PM NCTS GARAGE HOURS
8:00 AM AMS DRIVER / SPOTTER MEETING (SERIES INSPECTION TRAILER)
8:15 AM AMS ROOKIE MEETING (SERIES INSPECTION TRAILER)
8:15 AM 9:15 AM RACE CONTROL TRACK PREPARATION (COMPETITION)
8:30 AM 10:00 AM NCTS ROOKIE MEETING (VIRTUAL)
8:30 AM 10:30 AM NCS HAULERS ENTER (EQUIPMENT UNLOADING)
9:00 AM 9:15 AM RACE CONTROL PACE VEHICLE CALIBRATION (COMPETITION) TRACK HOT
9:25 AM 9:55 AM AMS PRACTICE (ALL ENTRIES) TRACK HOT
10:10 AM 10:30 AM AMS QUALIFYING (IMPOUND) (TIMED | ALL ENTRIES) TRACK HOT
10:30 AM 6:30 PM NCS GARAGE HOURS
10:30 AM 3:30 PM NCS TECHNICAL INSPECTIONS
10:30 AM 11:00 AM RACE CONTROL PIT ROAD EQUIPMENT TRANSITION IN PROGRESS
10:30 AM 11:00 AM BROADCAST TELEVISION EXHIBITION (CONTENT CAPTURE) TRACK COLD
11:00 AM TRACK OPS TRACK SERVICES MEETING (PIT ROAD COVERAGE)
11:05 AM 11:25 AM NCTS PRACTICE (ALL ENTRIES) TRACK HOT
11:35 AM 12:30 PM NCTS QUALIFYING (IMPOUND) (ALL ENTRIES: SINGLE VEHICLE / 1 LAP) TRACK HOT
12:30 PM 1:00 PM RACE CONTROL PIT ROAD EQUIPMENT TRANSITION IN PROGRESS
12:50 PM AMS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS (DRIVERS STANDING BY CARS)
1:00 PM AMS RACE (100 LAPS, 150 MILES) TRACK HOT
3:30 PM 4:15 PM NCTS AUTOGRAPH SESSION (INFIELD FAN ZONE)
3:30 PM 4:00 PM RACE CONTROL PIT ROAD EQUIPMENT TRANSITION IN PROGRESS
4:00 PM Approx AMS HAULERS EXIT
4:00 PM 4:50 PM NCS PRACTICE (TIMED | GROUP A: 20 MINUTES / GROUP B: 20 MINUTES) TRACK HOT
4:50 PM 6:00 PM NCS QUALIFYING (IMPOUND) (GROUP A & B: SINGLE VEHICLE / 1 LAP / 2 ROUNDS) TRACK HOT
6:00 PM 6:30 PM RACE CONTROL PIT ROAD EQUIPMENT TRANSITION IN PROGRESS
6:20 PM NCTS GRID ACCESS OPEN TO PROPERLY CREDENTIALED GUESTS (UNTIL END OF ANTHEM) (PIT ROAD)
6:30 PM NCTS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS
7:00 PM NCTS RACE (STAGES 30/60/134 LAPS = 201 MILES) TRACK HOT
10:30 PM Approx NCTS HAULERS EXIT
SUNDAY, MAY 5
START END SERIES EVENT
8:00 AM 9:30 AM RACE CONTROL TRACK PREPARATION (COMPETITION)
8:15 AM 9:00 AM TRACK OPS STAGE SOUND CHECK & REHEARSAL (CSM COMPOUND)
9:15 AM 9:30 AM RACE CONTROL FRICTION TESTING (COMPETITION)
9:30 AM 2:00 PM NASCAR CREDENTIALING HOURS
MINOR RESTRICTIONS ENFORCED 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO HOT TRACK STATUS
9:30 AM 10:30 AM RACE CONTROL NASCAR VIP TRACK LAPS TRACK HOT
10:00 AM 11:00 AM NCS TEAM ACCESS TO HAULERS PERMITTED
10:30 AM 10:45 AM RACE CONTROL PACE VEHICLE LAPS (COMPETITION) TRACK HOT
10:45 AM 11:15 AM RACE CONTROL PRE-RACE STAGE PARKING & SET UP PERMITTED TRACK COLD
11:00 AM 8:30 PM NCS GARAGE HOURS
11:00 AM 2:00 PM NCS THE DRIVERS MEETING (SPACE OPEN) (MEDIA CENTER MEETING ROOM)
11:15 AM 1:45 PM TRACK OPS FAN TRACK ACCESS (FRONTSTRETCH) TRACK COLD
12:00 PM 1:00 PM TRACK OPS CONCERT
12:00 PM TRACK OPS TRACK SERVICES MEETING (OUTSIDE OF INFIELD CARE CENTER)
12:30 PM NCS GRID ACCESS OPEN TO PROPERLY CREDENTIALED GUESTS (UNTIL END OF ANTHEM) (PIT ROAD)
1:15 PM NCS THE DRIVERS MEETING (MEDIA CENTER MEETING ROOM)
1:25 PM 1:40 PM NCS RED CARPET WALK (ALL DRIVERS) (STAGGERED EXIT VIA ROUTE TO STAGE)
1:30 PM NCS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS
2:00 PM NCS RACE (STAGES 80/165/267 LAPS = 400.5 MILES) TRACK HOT
7:00 PM Approx NCS HAULERS EXIT
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NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES (NCTS)
ARCA MENARDS SERIES (AMS)
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