Written by Gabriel Tsui, Ashleigh McGregor, Alex Bomleny, & Izzy Reed
For the second time in a row, all four NASCAR series – Cup, Xfinity, Trucks and ARCA – will share the track at Kansas Speedway, situated just outside Kansas City.
The track was opened in 2001 and, in that same year, hosted its first Cup Series event in October. With the track only seeing one repave, the mile-and-a-half oval has become a staple for great racing in NASCAR – recently hosting the closest finish in Cup history in May.
As mentioned, the track is 1.5 miles (2.414 kilometres) long with banking of 17 to 20 degrees in the corners. Below are the start times for each race plus lap count:
ARCA: Friday, 26 September, 16:45 local (22:45 UK) – 100 laps
Trucks: Friday, 26 September, 19:30 local (01:30 UK) – 134 laps
Xfinity: Saturday, 27 September, 15:00 local (21:00 UK) – 200 laps
Cup: Sunday, 28 September, 14:00 local (20:00 UK) – 267 laps
NASCAR Cup Series: Hollywood Casino 400 Preview
Written by Gabriel Tsui
As the round of 16 comes to a close, the round of 12 is kicking off in Kansas Speedway. With the playoff field bunched up yet again, drivers will have a chance to take an initiative and secure a ticket to the next round.
The drivers will be driving 267 laps around the track, with 80 laps each in the first two stages, and 107 laps to close out the final stage, totalling a distance of 400.5 miles (644.5 kilometres) run around the track.
The weather report indicates that there will be no precipitation for the weekend, with temperature ranging from 20-25 degrees Celsius (68-77 degrees Fahrenheit). The race will commence on the Sunday of September 29th, at 15:00 ET (12:00 PT, 21:00 CET).
Race Predictions
In the past two seasons of racing in Kansas, Toyota was able to get a clean sweep, securing wins in both the regular season and the postseason race. However, this season, the streak was broken by a breathtaking finish by Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher, where the former took the win by a margin of 0.001 seconds.
Ever since the all star break, Toyota has been on a cold streak, winning only three out of sixteen races. And even though historically Toyota has been dominant at Kansas, the projection points toward the cold streak prolonging. Instead, I believe that Chevrolet will be able to sneak another win in an overtime finish, this time by #9 of Chase Elliott.
Chevrolet have the strength in numbers, losing none of their drivers in the first round of the playoffs, while having the star power to stand above the other manufacturers. After snapping a four-race win streak for Ford, they are most likely to continue and secure a win in Kansas.
Three storylines to look out for:
Playing the long game
In the past two races in Kansas, the driver who won the race did not win either stage one or stage two. They were able to keep up with the front of the field without compromising their strategy and most importantly, keeping themselves from harm's way. Look out for drivers lurking in third to seventh in the early stages, as a caution or a well executed pit cycle will propel them to a winning position.
A new chance for Denny Hamlin
For quite a while, Denny Hamlin was hanging below the cut line, in danger of being eliminated from contention after being one of the favourites heading into the playoffs. After barely escaping from elimination, he has three more races to keep his championship hopes going. History says that after a driver comes awfully close to being eliminated, they will most likely be eliminated in the next round. We will see if Hamlin is able to beat the pattern, and tis race will be a determining factor.
Shaping the Round of 12
As the field bunches up yet again, this will be a deciding race on whether they will be able to advance to the next round, especially for those who are around the bubble. If they are able to gain significant points, they will be able to move up the pecking order, and even possibly overtake the contenders and move above the cut line. If not, they will very much be stuck in the swamp, and the chances for them to come back will be slim.
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Kansas Lottery 300 Preview
Written by Ashleigh McGregor
The Xfinity regular season has come to a close, as Cole Custer won the finale at Bristol Motor Speedway. Winning this race allowed Custer to beat the championship leader Justin Allgaier and clinch the NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship for himself. We now move to the playoff season with the first race taking place at the Kansas Speedway.
Kicking off the Xfinity playoffs with practice starting at 10:05am local (3:05 pm UK) followed by qualifying happening shortly after at 10:35 am local (3:35 pm UK). The Kansas race begins at 3pm local (8 pm UK).
The drivers will be racing 200 laps around this circuit going a distance of 300 miles (482 km).
Playoff Picture
The NASCAR Xfinity Playoffs are broken down into three rounds: the Round of 12, Round of 8, and Championship 4. Each round will see the bottom four drivers be eliminated from the playoffs until the champion is decided out of the Championship 4.
Races 27 to 29 will decide who moves forward to the next round of playoffs (Round of 8). Twelve drivers enter the first round of playoffs and four will be eliminated after the first stage- Round of 12. The top three contenders going into the Kansas Speedway are Justin Allgaier followed by Cole Custer and Austin Hill. Drivers on the bubble and at risk of being out of the championship are:
9. No. 18 - Sheldon Creed -3
10. No. 16 - AJ Allmendinger -4
11. No. 8 - Sammy Smith -9
12. No. 48 - Parker Kligerman -12
Round of 12
Justin Allgaier was on track to secure the championship of the regular season, but with a 30th place finish in Bristol, all was lost. Last year in the playoffs, he missed out on the championship again and took second. Allgaier will certainly be looking to do everything he can to redeem himself and win his first title since returning full-time in 2016.
Cole Custer – this year's regular season champion and defending Xfinity Series champion – will be looking to secure back to back titles. Adding his name to the list of drivers with consecutive championships such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be such a special feat. After this season, Custer will be leaving the Xfinity Series and going back to the NASCAR Cup Series – meaning this could be his only chance.
Austin Hill will be looking to go all the way to the Championship 4, as he has yet to make it there. Last year, he clinched the Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship which put him in a better starting position than he is in this year, meaning he will have to fight even harder to make it to the final four.
As the first race of the Xfinity Series playoffs, this is a race you won't want to miss.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Kubota Tractor 200 Preview
Written by Alex Bomleny
The Craftsman Truck Series now heads to Kansas Speedway for the final race in the Round of 10, with Layne Riggs coming off back-to-back wins in Milwaukee and Bristol. Kansas will feature 134 laps for 201 miles.
In Bristol, Corey Heim, Rajah Caruth, and Nick Sanchez finished in the top five. After the race, Grant Enfinger now sits only seven points above the cut-off line, while Daniel Dye and Ben Rhodes sit below.
Last time in Kansas in May, Corey Heim took the victory in a duel against former Truck champion Zane Smith. He will need to repeat this magic to stick with Christian Eckes, who firmly sits atop the standings. Daniel Dye also finished in the top ten last time out.
Ty Majeski will look to have different fortunes this time around. In the spring, he went out of the race early after a tyre failure early in the going. Although he sits with a comfortable margin from the cut, an issue like a flat tyre could end a driver’s playoff hopes, and the Thorsport driver will look to avoid that.
Here are the top stories to look for:
No playoff driver has won yet
With Layne Riggs winning the last two races, no playoff driver has won a race so far. With Eckes and Heim's form recently, it wouldn't be surprising if one of these two picked up the win. Rajah Caruth has also won on a mile-and-a-half track this season, winning the third race of the season in Las Vegas. Can they keep the momentum into Kansas?
The defending champion verging on elimination
Ben Rhodes still sits 12 points below the cut-off line following a 27th-placed result in Bristol. To compound, the two-time champion has only finished in the top five twice this season. Will ThorSport Racing and Ben Rhodes be able to punch their ticket into the Round of 8?
ARCA Menards Series: Reese's 150 Preview
Written by Izzy Reed
William Sawalich took his second ARCA East championship title back at Bristol. After a heavily chaotic race with over ten restarts, we go racing again in the main division of the ARCA series.
The upcoming Reese's 150 at Kansas Speedway, round 19 out of 20, is a crucial event as it's the last 150-mile race before we crown the main division champion. Andres Perez leads the drivers' standings over rookie Lavar Scott by 53 points.
This will be the last 150-mile race the ARCA series will take on before the finale, as the series finishes in Toledo, Ohio – the birthplace of ARCA. Andres Perez came in fourth at the Bush’s Bean 200, but can he take the number one spot this weekend in Kansas and his first win, or will Sawalich spoil the headlines again with a ninth victory?
After an incredible battle between William Sawalich and Landen Lewis from the East Series, they aren't the only ones to look out for as we go racing again in the main division. Perez is an obvious choice to watch out for, being a fan favourite and number one in the standings. As seen in the last race, Lavar Scott loves to push the limits, going up against Perez multiple times and taking the cars into a three-wide battle.
Here are two storylines to look out for:
Can Andres Perez take his first win?
Being first in the standings, leading by 53 points, he is obviously consistent in his ten top-ten finishes and has only not crossed the finish line twice in his 2024 season. It's a big topic of discussion if he can turn it into a win in these remaining races this season.
Isabella Robusto's first big race
Robusto will take on the 1.5-mile-long oval in her sixth start in the ARCA Menards series. She's been very consistent in her part-time career with the ARCA series, taking five top-ten finishes with only one DNF after being out all of 2023 with an injury. The driver has returned with intense passion. She will be someone to watch out for in this upcoming race.
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