NASCAR Weekend Preview: Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway ace Kyle Larson seeks drought-breaking win

In 2025 at Kansas Speedway, Kyle Larson set a significant record.

In 2026 at the 1.5-mile intermediate track, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet might simply settle for a win in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In winning last year’s spring race at Kansas, Larson led 221 laps, most in NASCAR history for a driver in a 400-mile race on a 1.5-mile speedway.

That victory, however, was Larson’s last in the NASCAR Cup Series, though he did claim the 2025 series title by finishing third in the Championship 4 Race at Phoenix in November.

Statistics augur well for Larson as he tries to end his 32-race drought on Sunday. He has led 761 laps at Kansas Speedway since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, more than double the total of any other driver. Denny Hamlin is second with 337.

His 1,842 laps led on 1.5-mile tracks in the Gen 7 era (since 2022 inclusive) more than double the total of the next driver on the list (Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron at 912).

Larson has led laps in 21 of the last 22 races on 1.5-mile speedways, including the last 10 in a row. If he leads 25 laps on Sunday at Kansas, he will surpass Kevin Harvick’s track-record total of 949.

The two-time series champion is the only repeat winner in the last 11 races at Kansas, having won three times during that span, including the last two spring races.

His history considered, Larson has every reason to be confident at a track he thoroughly enjoys.

“Kansas is a lot of fun,” Larson said. “It’s really fast. You’re always trying to carry a lot of speed and momentum off the corners and run big arcs into the entry. There are two different ends of the racetrack, but I feel like you approach the corners in a similar way.

“In the race, you settle into a comfortable pace and balance and try to run as close to the wall as possible without hitting it. It’s a fun place. It can be challenging, but it’s good because you have options to move around.”

Chevrolet teams have been dealing with a new body style this season. Chase Elliott’s win at Martinsville is the car maker’s only trip to Victory Lane so far.

“I think we’re gaining on it,” Larson said. “I think the body stuff maybe is what we’re fighting right now. Entries (into the turns) seem to be pretty loose at most tracks, and then the window of balance is pretty narrow…

“I think we’re not bad on speed. I feel like we’re close to a win, but at the same time, I feel like we have a lot of work to do to get our cars better to where a win would be much easier.”

If a victory for Larson is realistic possibility, Kyle Busch might be satisfied with a top-10 run. On a miserable afternoon last Sunday at Bristol, Busch started 29th and finished 25th, two laps down, after tangling twice with the Toyota of Riley Herbst.

Busch’s winless streak reached 101 races at Thunder Valley, and Richard Childress Racing, the organization that fields Busch’s Chevrolets, has failed to score a top-10 finish in eight straight races for the first time since 1981. RCR is the only multicar team without a top-10 finish this year.

Ty Gibbs got his first Cup Series victory at Bristol last Sunday, but the odds are heavily against another first-time winner at Kansas. In 40 Cup races at the track, there has never been a first-time winner.

Toyota drivers have won six of the first eight Cup races this season, and they’re likely to be strong again at Kansas. Tyler Reddick could become the fourth driver in series history and the first since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 to win five of the first nine races in a season.

Both Reddick and 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace, who is making his 300th career start, are former winners at the 1.5-mile track. The 23XI organization has three victories at Kansas, most at any single venue.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin boasts four Kansas victories, more than any other driver. He has finished in the top-five in seven of the last nine races there.

If a Toyota driver wins on Sunday, it will be the first time a single manufacturer has won seven of the first nine races in a season since Chevrolet accomplished the feat in 2007.

Justin Allgaier goes for second straight Dash 4 Cash Bonus at Kansas

JR Motorsports returned to a familiar place last Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway—Victory Lane.

And though he didn’t win the race—teammate Connor Zilisch did the honors in a double-duty role—JRM driver Justin Allgaier continued to rake in cash as the winner of the first Dash 4 Cash event of the season.

Allgaier, the runaway O’Reilly Auto Parts Series leader, finished fourth at Thunder Valley, highest among the four eligible Dash 4 Cash drivers. He’ll try for a second straight $100,000 bonus in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway (7 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The prize at Bristol was Allgaier’s eighth in 24 tries, most all-time. At Kansas Speedway, he’ll face off against Sheldon Creed, Carson Kvapil and Brent Crews—none of whom has ever won a Dash 4 Cash bonus—with the highest finisher among them taking home the $100,000 prize.

“We’ve been really solid at Kansas over the last few years, and I know that that will be the case again this weekend,” said Allgaier, whose career-best finish in 16 Kansas starts is a second in 2022.

“Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and all the guys on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team have done such a tremendous job all season long and I feel like we have a really good chance to not only come away with the Dash 4 Cash, but to also race for the win on Saturday night.

“This is a place we’ve come close at before. We just need to go out and execute, and I feel like we will be in a great position at the end.”

JRM, which has won six of the last seven races, has a significant streak on the line. The organization has placed at least one car in the top 10 in 66 consecutive races, second only to RFK Racing’s inactive string of 79.

In his first full-time season, Corey Day has a streak of his own, having posted top-10 finishes in eight consecutive races.

JRM has beefed up its lineup for this race with the addition of full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron in the No. 88 Chevrolet.

Recent results at the track, however, have mitigated against the Chevrolet teams. Toyota drivers have won seven of the last eight O’Reilly Series races at the track—including the last three—with series regular Brandon Jones taking the checkered flag from the pole in last year’s event.

Jones is a three-time winner in that eight-race span.

Cup driver Cole Custer also is entered in Saturday’s race for his second of five scheduled starts with SS Greenlight Racing. Custer finished second to Aric Almirola in his last O’Reilly Series start at Kansas (2024).

NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: AdventHealth 400
The Place: Kansas Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, April 19
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,233,037
TV: FOX, 1 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)

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Next Race: Kansas Lottery 300
The Place: Kansas Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Saturday, April 18
The Time: 7 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,753,590
TV: CW, 6:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)