{"id":17140,"date":"2018-05-10T20:19:08","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T01:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=17140"},"modified":"2018-05-10T20:19:08","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T01:19:08","slug":"nascar-kansas-weekend-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/10\/nascar-kansas-weekend-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Kansas Weekend Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kevin Harvick<\/strong> essentially told his fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup<\/a> season dominator Kyle Busch<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019ll take your three race victories and raise you one.  And after taking his fourth win last week at Dover, Harvick can expect that Busch will be ready to try and match the effort this weekend at Kansas Speedway<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway on May 6, 2018 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Harvick and Busch have won seven of the season\u2019s first 11 races and the two former Cup champions have another four runner-up finishes between them too, dominating the 2018 season start in a way like no other in recent memory.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway (May 12 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) presents an exceptionally good challenge for both Harvick and Busch, however, judging by their historical work on the 1.5-miler.<\/p>\n

Harvick has a pair of wins (2013 and 2016) and has won three pole positions (2013-14) and is ranked second-best in terms of overall driver rating (106.4). Busch won at Kansas in 2016 \u2013 his 17th try.  And while his average finish at the track is uncharacteristic 17.1 \u2013 he has vastly improved that number with five top-fives in the last six races.<\/p>\n

Last year Martin Truex Jr. swept both Kansas race victories en route to the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore three years ago, I\u2019ve not had many opportunities to win at Kansas and hopefully we can get into Victory Lane there again this weekend with our M&Ms Carmel Toyota,\u2019\u2019 Busch said. \u201cAs you\u2019ve seen so far this year, there are certain circumstances that can go against you and you just have to persevere and keep fighting until the checkered flag falls. We\u2019ve won some races even though we hadn\u2019t had the dominant car in a few of those.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re pretty equal, honestly,\u2019\u2019 Busch said. \u201cI think I\u2019ve got to give them the notch a little bit. I think they\u2019re a little bit better than we are.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 A lot of it all comes down to execution when things are this tight with the 4 (Harvick) and us. They were able to execute better at the start of the year on their streak and also last week And we\u2019ve been able to execute in order to get our wins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t been dominant each week, but we\u2019ve been able to execute as a team \u2013 myself as a driver \u2013 to be able to get those wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

UP FOR GRABS<\/b><\/p>\n

The 37 Kind Days 250 (May 11 at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has historically been one of the most unpredictable events on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule.<\/p>\n

With 15 different winners in 17 races and only three former winners \u2013 Kyle Busch, Matt Crafton and championship leader Johnny Sauter \u2013 in the field this weekend, it may again prove too tough to call. And that\u2019s always a good thing.<\/p>\n

Toyota-powered trucks have won the last five races with Busch and Crafton responsible for two trophies each during that span at Kansas.<\/p>\n

Now steering a Ford, Crafton may well be in line to break that Toyota streak. He\u2019s won twice and finished runner-up twice in the last five Kansas races.<\/p>\n

A victory would certainly be a big boost to the two-time former series champion who is ranked sixth in the points standings. The championship chase is tight entering Friday night\u2019s race \u2013 only 35 points separate Sauter from fifth-place Noah Gragson, a 19-year old who won the pole position last week at Dover, Del. and was runner-up at Atlanta earlier in the season.<\/p>\n

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Next Race: KC Masterpiece 400<\/b><\/p>\n

The Place:  Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kan.)<\/b><\/p>\n

The Date: Saturday, May 12<\/b><\/p>\n

The Time: 8 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio<\/b><\/p>\n

Distance: 400 miles (400 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 80),<\/b><\/p>\n

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on lap 267)<\/b><\/p>\n

What to Watch For:  <\/b>Jimmie Johnson boasts the best driver rating (107.7) at Kansas and is tied with Jeff Gordon for most wins (three). \u2026Four of the sport\u2019s biggest stars made their first Cup start at his 1.5-miler \u2013 Erik Jones (2015), Ryan Blaney (2014), Austin Dillon (2011) and Denny Hamlin (2005). \u2026. No driver has ever earned his first Cup victory at Kansas. \u2026.Ryan Blaney won his first career pole position here last May becoming the youngest driver (23) to start on pole. \u2026The top-five starting positions have produced the most wins (46 percent). Five times in 24 races, the polesitter has won \u2013 the last being Martin Truex in Fall, 2017. \u2026Brad Keselowski holds the record for victory from the farthest spot on the starting grid (25th<\/sup> in 2011). \u2026 Five drivers have two runner-up finishes at Kansas: Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards. \u2026 Four drivers have started all 24 Kansas races \u2013 Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman. \u2026 Truex swept the 2017 races at Kansas. He, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon are the only drivers to win consecutive races.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Next Race: 37 Kind Days 250<\/b><\/p>\n

The Place: Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kan.)<\/b><\/p>\n

The Date: Friday, May 11<\/b><\/p>\n

The Time: 8:30 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio<\/b><\/p>\n

Distance: 250 miles (167 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 40),<\/b><\/p>\n

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on lap 167)<\/b><\/p>\n

What to Watch For:  <\/b>Kansas Speedway has proven to be a hard venue to predict victory. There have been 15 different race winners in 17 races and 13 different pole winners. \u2026Matt Crafton and Kyle Busch have each won twice and both are entered in Friday night\u2019s race. \u2026Crafton has a series best eight top-10 finishes. \u2026 The top-five drivers in the championships standings are separated by only 35 points. Johnny Sauter holds a 29-point lead over second place Grant Enfinger. Fifth place Noah Gragson is 35 behind Sauter. \u2026Six drivers among the top-10 are 25 years old or younger \u2013 ranging from 25-year old Brett Moffitt who is third in the points to 19-year old Gragson who is fifth in the standings. \u2026The race has been won from the pole position only twice. Busch won from pole in 2014 and Ron Hornaday did in 2008. \u2026 Front row starters, however, have won eight of the 17 races. \u2026 There are three former winners entered this weekend \u2013 Busch, Crafton and series points leader Johnny Sauter, who won at Kansas in 2010. \u2026Brandon Jones will be making his first truck series start of 2018. \u2026The late Ricky Hendrick won the inaugural truck race here in 2001.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kevin Harvick essentially told his fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season dominator Kyle Busch \u2013 I\u2019ll take your three race victories and raise you one.  And after taking his fourth win last week at Dover, Harvick can expect that Busch will be ready to try and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17095,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[592,213,593,16],"class_list":["post-17140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-37-kind-days-250","tag-kansas-speedway","tag-kc-masterpiece-400","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/MENCS_Dover_Burnout_050618.jpg?fit=5043%2C3362","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-4ss","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17140"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17142,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17140\/revisions\/17142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}