Race Weekend Central

Round of 8 Set Amid Chaotic Kansas Cup Race

2017 Cup Kansas Jamie McMurray Kyle Busch Racing Credit Rick Lunkenheimer

(Photo: Rick Lunkenheimer)

When the checkered flag flew over the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday evening, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff field dwindled from 12 to eight drivers. Given their deficits coming into this race, many expected it would take a victory from Jamie McMurray or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to keep their championship hopes …

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Aric Almirola Scores Top-10 Finish in Return to Kansas Speedway

2017 Cup Kansas Aric Almirola Pit Road Credit Rick Lunkenheimer

(Photo: Rick Lunkenheimer)

The last time the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was at Kansas Speedway, Aric Almirola suffered a serious back injury that sidelined him for seven races. This time around, he walked away with a ninth-place finish, though his No. 43 Ford looked like it had been pieced back together. The damage to the car came …

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Kyle Larson Suffers Early Engine Failure in Kansas

2017 Cup Kansas Kyle Larson Engine Failure Credit Rick Lunkenheimer

(Photo: Rick Lunkenheimer)

Kyle Larson’s race – and likely his playoff hopes – quite literally went up in smoke Sunday afternoon in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Early in Stage 1, the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet brought his car down to the attention of his crew with problems with his engine. After going three …

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Erik Jones Suffers Stinging Defeat in XFINITY Race at Kansas

2017 Talladega I NXS Erik Jones Nigel Kinrade NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Erik Jones nearly scored a dominant XFINITY Series win Saturday afternoon at Kansas Speedway, but with four laps remaining, he lost the lead to Christopher Bell after leading 186 laps on the day. The race went from disappointing to downright frustrating in a matter of seconds for Jones as the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates made …

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Christopher Bell Scores First Career XFINITY Win in Kansas

Christopher Bell Kansas Victory XFINITY

(Photo: Barry Cantrell / NKP)

Christopher Bell scored his first career XFINITY Series win Saturday in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. He led just the final four laps en route to Victory Lane in his fifth series start. ā€œIt’s a dream come true to be able to win in the XFINITY Series,ā€ Bell said. ā€œDriving for Joe Gibbs …

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Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney Lead Pair of Cup Practices Saturday in Kansas

2017 Talladega II CUP Ryan Blaney John K Harrelson NKP

(Photo: John K Harrelson / NKP)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams took to Kansas Speedway Saturday for two practices ahead of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. The first session ran from 11 – 11:50 a.m. ET and Kyle Larson topped the charts with a top speed of 181.671 mph (29.724 sec). By comparison, the pole speed set by Martin Truex Jr. …

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Martin Truex Jr. Scores Cup Pole in Kansas

2017 Cup Kansas Martin Truex Jr on track Credit Rick Lunkenheimer-2

(Photo: Rick Lunkenheimer)

Martin Truex Jr. scored his third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season and his 15th in his career Friday evening at Kansas Speedway, posting a lap at 188.029 mph. Truex will lead the field to the green in Sunday afternoon’s Hollywood Casino 400 with Kevin HarvickĀ  starting on the outside pole.Ā Ryan Blaney …

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Matt Tifft, Erik Jones Lead Pair of XFINITY Practices at Kansas

NASCAR XFINITY Series Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 Dover International Speedway, Dover, DE USA Saturday 30 September 2017 Matt Tifft, Comcast NBC Universal Salute to Service Toyota Camry World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

The XFINITY Series took to Kansas Speedway for a pair of practice sessions Friday afternoon ahead of Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300. The first session, held from 2:30 – 3:25 p.m. ET, saw Matt Tifft, the only playoff driver to crack the top five, top the charts with a 177.936 mph (30.348 sec) lap ahead of …

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Jimmie Johnson Brushes Off Crew’s Talladega Mistakes, Remains Optimistic in Kansas

2017 Talladega II CUP Jimmie Johnson Chad Knaus Nigel Kinrade NKP

(Photo: Nigel Kinrade/NKP)

Last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson found himself in the middle of the ninth caution with damage to the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. Though the damage appeared to be something the team could bounce back from, a move to begin work on the car while the race …

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Matt Kenseth ‘Has to Execute Better’ to Move to Next Round

2017 Chicago CUP Matt Kenseth Russell LaBounty NKP

(Photo: Russell LaBounty / NKP)

Heading into Sunday afternoon’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, Matt Kenseth finds himself eight points below the cutoff line to make the Round of 8. Though the driver of the No. 20 Toyota finished inside the top 15 at Charlotte and Talladega, a lack of stage points leaves him with a small deficit to …

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