Skip to content

In The Know – Kansas

NASCAR CUP SERIES OVERVIEW:

●  Event:  AdventHealth 400 (Round 12 of 36)

●  Time/Date:  3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 7

●  Location:  Kansas Speedway in Kansas City

●  Layout:  1.5-mile oval

●  Laps/Miles:  267 laps/400.5 miles

●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps

●  TV/Radio:  FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS:

Kevin Harvick: 

Dorothy was right. There’s no place like home. And for Harvick, home is an intermediate racetrack. With apologies to those in Harvick’s hometown of Bakersfield, California, the veteran racer has made the intermediate tracks that comprise the majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule his home. Of Harvick’s 60 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, 24 have come at intermediate-style racetracks. Kansas Speedway – a sweeping, D-shaped oval that has produced high speeds and daring, side-by-side racing since its debut in 2001 – is where Harvick has earned three of those victories. Harvick has competed at the track for every one of its Cup Series races – the only driver to do so – and has amassed quite the history in his 34 career starts. In addition to his three wins, Harvick has five second-place finishes, 11 top-threes, 12 top-fives, 19 top-10s and has led 949 laps, making the driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang one of the most successful drivers in Kansas’ relatively young history. His average start is 13.4, his average finish is 9.9 and he has a lap completion rate of 96.2 percent.

Aric Almirola: 

 While the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang team’s short-track package has proven to be competitive this year, all eyes are set on improving at the intermediate tracks that comprise a majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule starting this weekend on the 1.5-mile oval at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Aric Almirola drove into the top-15 but was involved in an accident not of his own doing. A week later at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Almirola drove in and around the top-15 before bringing home a 16th-place finish. This weekend marks the first of two races at Kansas this season.

Chase Briscoe: 

Among his four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Kansas, Briscoe has a pair of top-three finishes, including a win in the opening race of the Round of 8 during the 2020 playoffs. He also placed fifth in his first of two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Kansas in May 2017.

Ryan Preece:

Following the “Yellow Brick Road” to Kansas Speedway for this weekend’s AdventHealth 400, Ryan Preece will be making his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile oval. Preece made his first start at the track in 2019 and his most recent start in 2021 for JTG-Daugherty Racing. He has a best finish of 12th in the October 2019 race there. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Preece has two Kansas starts – one in October 2016 and the other in October 2018. In the latter event, he started seventh in and finished 21st in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing entry. Preece has made one career NASCAR Truck Series start at the track, which came last season for David Gilliland Racing. He started seventh and finished third

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS:

WHAT OUR DRIVERS ARE SAYING:

Kevin Harvick Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light #ForTheFarmers Ford Mustang

Your history at intermediate tracks has been really strong, particularly at Kansas. Can you pull anything from past years to where if you have to play defense, you can because you know every nook and cranny of the racetrack?:

“There aren’t a lot of things that you can relate to with the car, but there are a lot of things you can relate to with the racetrack. There are a lot of races that I’ve gone back and watched from 2010, 2011 where the cars had different characteristics, and things that happen because the way you drive it and where you would drive it on the racetrack are a little bit different with this car than it was with the older cars. But you keep that playbook as open as possible in order to have some options because you can’t just say it won’t work, you can only drive it on one spot on the racetrack, especially at a place like Kansas, where you have options. So you have to be ready to create some options if you need them.”

Aric Almirola Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

Why is it so important to get this package right?

“Well Kansas, Texas, and Miami are all in the playoffs, and in order to be a playoff contender, you have to get this right. All of these tracks are different in their own way and we’ve seen more success at different 1.5-mile tracks throughout the years, but it starts this weekend in Kansas, to find speed and build notes for the future. More importantly, we need to have solid days to move up in the standings. We have to qualify well to put us in a position to earn stage points and put together another clean day like we had at Martinsville.”

Chase Briscoe Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang:

During your time in ARCA, Trucks and Xfinity, You performed well at Kansas during your time in the Xfinity, Truck and ARCA series. What about the track fits your driving style?

“It’s worn out and you get tire fall-off that really changes how things go throughout the run. You’re going to have to work for it a little bit if you want to be good, and you’ve got to have an idea of what the track is going to do as those things happen to stay ahead of what you need in the car. You’re going to find speed in the top two lanes and that’s really the kind of track where I do best. You can do things a little differently with the balance of the car when you’re able to run in the higher lanes, but I guess the tradeoff is really that, if something happens, you’re likely getting into the wall. There’s really no way to avoid it when you’re right at it, so you’ve got to have a lot of patience and focus.”

Ryan Preece Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang:

What are the biggest challenges when racing at Kansas Speedway?

“Usually, Kansas is a track where you fight loose. The wind can be totally different going into one corner versus the other, so you’ve got to have a good balance between the two. And, once again, track position. That’s going to be the big thing.”