{"id":17191,"date":"2018-05-12T10:45:48","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T15:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=17191"},"modified":"2018-05-12T10:45:48","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T15:45:48","slug":"nascar-race-preview-kc-masterpiece-400-at-kansas-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/12\/nascar-race-preview-kc-masterpiece-400-at-kansas-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR race preview: KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"

News, notes, audio and photos courtesy of NASCAR<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

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

The Place: Kansas Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

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

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

TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

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

Distance: 400.5 miles (267 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

 <\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"

(L-R) Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, and crew chief Rodney Childers talk in the garage during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 11, 2018 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Harvick Brings The Heat<\/b><\/p>\n

For those wondering if the 2018 season\u2019s hottest driver, Kevin Harvick may be slowing down any time soon, the answer is a definitive \u201cno\u201d judging by his historical statistics. A week after claiming his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series-best fourth victory at Dover, Harvick arrives in Kansas for the KC Masterpiece 400 (Saturday, 8 p.m., FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with every reason to feel completely optimistic and confident.<\/p>\n

Harvick\u2019s 10.0 average finishing position on the Kansas Speedway\u2019s 1.5-mile high banks is second only to Jimmie Johnson in the series, while he leads the loop data category of average running position (9.415 in races since 2005). He has two wins, three Busch Pole Awards and his top-five (seven) and Top-10 (13) efforts are also second only to Johnson.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, poses with the Busch Pole Award after qualifying on the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 11, 2018 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The driver of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford arrives as the hottest driver on the circuit courtesy of a hard-fought victory Sunday on the Dover Monster Mile. He has only one finish worse than fifth (a seventh at Bristol) since mid-March. <\/span><\/p>\n

Harvick\u2019s recent work at Kansas includes five top 10s in the last six races and seven of the last nine \u2013 including two wins in that span. He was third in the 2017 spring race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a fun place to go to. I feel like we should\u2019ve won more races there than we have, but I think you can say that at a lot of places, and sometimes the circumstances dictate that,\u201d said Harvick, who will drive with Busch Light sponsorship on his No. 4 Ford this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident our Busch Light Ford will be fast. Anything less than a win there is usually a disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seven-Time\u2019s Record Resume<\/b><\/p>\n

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson arrives in Kansas still looking for his first win of the 2018 season \u2013 and first in the last 34 races. But he has plenty of reason to feel good about his shot on the 1.5-miler.<\/p>\n

Johnson leads all drivers in races since the advent of loop data (2005) with a 108.7 driver rating and is tops in the field at Kansas for fastest laps (566 to Kevin Harvick\u2019s 410 \u2013 his next closest competitor), quality passes (934, nearly 200 more than next closest driver \u2013 Kasey Kahne with 748) and percentage of laps in the top 15 (82.5 %).  He is second to Harvick in average running position (9.786) and is second to Martin Truex Jr. in laps led (581).  That means in every major statistical category Johnson is ranked either first or second.<\/p>\n

Johnson has three wins at Kansas, the most recent coming in the spring of 2015 when he beat Harvick in an intense battle over the final laps. He holds a track record for domination leading 197 of the 272 laps en route to a win in 2011.<\/p>\n

He finished ninth at Dover last week to collect his third top-10 finish in the last four weeks and continues to climb in the standings. He\u2019s ranked 12th <\/span>now after being 20th <\/span>only five races ago.<\/p>\n

Truex Jr. Hoping To Be Back On Track<\/b><\/p>\n

Martin Truex Jr. has to be looking forward to his trip to the Midwest. The Furniture Row Racing driver has won the last two races at Kansas, leading a substantial 195 laps in that time.<\/p>\n

He won the Busch Pole for 2016 spring race and the 2017 fall race. And Truex\u2019 713 laps out front is second in the series to Matt Kenseth\u2019s 774. In fact, Truex ranks among the top-three best efforts in three major loop data categories (races from 2005-2017) \u2013 also including fastest laps (third with 393) and driver rating (third at 100).<\/p>\n

Truex finished fourth at Dover last weekend, snapping an uncharacteristically poor string of luck for the reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. He had three finishes of 26th <\/span>or worse in the four races leading into Dover and he\u2019s ranked a season-low ninth in the championship standings \u2013 and is ready to continue the rally.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur performance so far this season has been up and down a little bit,\u201d Truex said. \u201cBut speed-wise we\u2019ve been there each and every week. We\u2019ve had really fast cars and I feel like we\u2019re right there in speed where we were last year.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/KS1_MENCS_TruexJr_051118.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kyle Busch Finding His Groove At Kansas<\/b><\/p>\n

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Busch has three wins and a sizable 22-point advantage atop the Cup standings. But he\u2019s had mixed results at the Kansas track \u2013 and would like to get back to his winning ways this weekend.<\/p>\n

For a champion driver with so much domination on his record, this track has been an unusual challenge for Busch, comparatively speaking. He isn\u2019t ranked among the top-five drivers in many of the primary statistical categories. At one point, he had three consecutive DNFs (2012-13 seasons). And he didn\u2019t score his first top-five there until October, 2014.<\/p>\n

However, Busch boasts six top-10 finishes in his last six races at Kansas, winning this event two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last few races there, the track really has started to change and the groove is starting to spread out, and it makes me more comfortable when a track gets worn in,\u2019\u2019 Busch said. \u201c[Crew chief] Adam [Stevens] and the guys have been bringing really good racecars to the track every weekend and, when you have great cars and run up front, good things are going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Matt Kenseth and car owner Jack Roush. Photo courtesy of Roush Fenway Racing<\/p><\/div>\n

Look Who\u2019s Back<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

Former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth makes his Roush Fenway Racing season debut this week at a track he has found a bit of success. He has two wins \u2013 back-to-back in 2012-13 \u2013 his last year with Roush and his first after moving to Joe Gibbs Racing. His 11 top-10s are third among active drivers to Jimmie Johnson (17) and Kevin Harvick (13).<\/p>\n

Only one time in six races from 2010-2013 did he finish lower than seventh place at Kansas. His 774 laps out front at Kansas is most among his competitors this week\u2026and, in fact, are most all-time at Kansas. He\u2019s led 272 laps in just the last five races at the track. He has three top-three starts in the last four races there, including the fall 2016 Busch Pole position.<\/p>\n

This will be the first start for Kenseth back at Roush, where he won Rookie of the Year in 2000 and the 2003 Monster Energy Series championship, his fourth full-time season at NASCAR\u2019s premier level.<\/p>\n

He was replaced by Erik Jones at Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of last year and it was announced last month that he would split time with Roush Fenway Racing driver Trevor Bayne in the famed No. 6 Ford the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is it goes smoothly on Friday and I get comfortable fast,\u2019\u2019 Kenseth told NBC Sports. \u201cI\u2019ve been reading a lot of notes and looking at a lot of stuff, so I\u2019m somewhat up to speed. As much as I can be without driving yet.\u201d<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/KS1_MENCS_Kenseth_051118.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Optimism Springs For William Byron<\/b><\/p>\n

Hendrick Motorsports rookie driver William Byron turned in another productive performance last week at Dover and moved up two positions in the season points standings (to 18th) heading into his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at Kansas. Although no driver has ever earned his first Cup win at the track, it\u2019s been a good place historically for the 20-year old North Carolinian<\/p>\n

Byron scored his first NASCAR national series victory there, winning in only his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start in 2016. He finished fourth in his only NASCAR Xfinity Series start there last year.<\/p>\n

Byron has run in the top-10 in nine of the first 11 Monster Energy Series races this season and run inside the top-five in eight of the last nine races. He\u2019s led laps in four races and his 31-lap total out front is more than teammates Jimmie Johnson (zero) and Chase Elliott (eight).<\/p>\n

Byron holds the lead in the 2018 Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle with a 32-point edge over Darrell \u201cBubba\u201d Wallace.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/KS_MENCS_Byron_051118.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News, notes, audio and photos courtesy of NASCAR   Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: KC Masterpiece 400 The Place: Kansas Speedway The Date: Saturday, May 12 The Time: 8 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17174,"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":[213,593,16],"class_list":["post-17191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","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_KS1_Blaney_051118.jpg?fit=2997%2C1998","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-4th","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17191","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=17191"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17194,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17191\/revisions\/17194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}