NASCAR Kansas Sunday, April 25, 2021
KANSAS NASCAR CUP SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS
*October only other month with 5 races
5/2/85: Kyle Busch born
5/2/99: Jeff Gordon won at Auto Club Speedway
5/2/04: Jeff Gordon won at Auto Club Speedway
5/2/09: Kyle Busch won Richmond
Alex Bowman: 200th career NASCAR Cup Series race
Ryan Newman: 700th career NASCAR Cup Series race
Kansas wins: 8 Drivers – 16 Wins
Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano 3
Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. 2
Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman 1
Kurt Busch only champion competing winless at Kansas – 0 for 30
Denny Hamlin:
Kansas 7/20 winner – Finished 2nd in Stage 1 & 4th in Stage 2, 57 laps led (most)
Joey Logano:
Kansas 10/20 winner – Started 2nd, finished 9th in Stage 1 & 14th in Stage 2, 47 laps led including final 45
2 Finished top 5 each Kansas race last season – Kevin Harvick (4th & 2nd), Brad Keselowski (4th & 2nd)
5 Finished top 10 each Kansas race last season –
Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski & Martin Truex Jr.
2 Finished top 5 in Stage 1 & 2 each Kansas race last season – Ryan Blaney & Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin: 115 Kansas laps led last season (57 in July & 58 in Oct.) – Led all drivers
4 Finished top 10 all 3 races on 1.5-mile tracks this season: Kyle Busch, William Byron, Kyle Larson & Martin Truex Jr.
3 Led laps all 3 races on 1.5-mile tracks this season: William Byron, Kyle Larson & Daniel Suarez
2-Brad Keselowski: Finished 6th or better 4 of last 5 Kansas races – 2 Straight top 5 finishes
4-Kevin Harvick: 3 Kansas wins – 1 Childress Chevrolet, 1 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet & 1 Stewart-Haas Ford
4-Kevin Harvick: 3 Straight Kansas top 10 finishes – 2 Straight Kansas top 5 finishes
4-Kevin Harvick: Passed for final lead change both Kansas races last season
5-Kyle Larson: Only driver to finish top 5 all 3 races on 1.5-mile tracks this season – 377 Laps led (Most)
9-Chase Elliott: Finished 12th or better last 7 Kansas races – 5 Top 10 finishes last 7 Kansas races
9-Chase Elliott: Finished outside top 10 all 3 races on 1.5-mile tracks this season
11-Denny Hamlin: 2 Wins last 3 Kansas races – Finished 15th in 2020 Kansas Playoff race
12-Ryan Blaney: Finished 7th at Kansas 10/20 – Finished 20th or worse previous 3 Kansas races
18-Kyle Busch: 10 Top 10 finishes in last 12 Kansas races – 8 Top 5 finishes last 12 Kansas races
19-Martin Truex Jr.: 3 Straight Kansas top 10 finishes
19-Martin Truex Jr. won Kansas for first time in 18th try (5/17) – Most of all drivers
24-William Byron: 3 Straight Kansas top 10 finishes – Finished 20th or worse previous 3 Kansas races
48-Alex Bowman: Finished 11th or better last 5 Kansas races – 4 Top 10 finishes last 5 Kansas races
15 Different winners in 30 NASCAR Cup Series Kansas races
Kevin Harvick & Joey Logano lead all with 3 wins each on Kansas reconfigured track (17 Races)
6 of 30 Kansas races won from pole
Worst starting position of Kansas winner: 25th – Brad Keselowski 6/11
Leader of most laps won only 11 of 30 Kansas races
Leader of most laps failed to win 9 of last 12 Kansas races
No Stage 1 winner went on to win Kansas race
Only 1 Stage 2 winner went on to win Kansas race – Denny Hamlin 2019 Kansas Playoff race
Margin of victory less than 1 second 21 Kansas races
4 Kansas Overtime finishes – Johnson won 10/11, Logano won 10/15, Keselowski won 5/19 & Hamlin won 10/19
4 Won back-to-back Kansas NCS races –
Jeff Gordon (2001 & ’02), Matt Kenseth (10/12 & 4/13), Martin Truex Jr. (5/17 & 10/17) & Denny Hamlin (10/19 & 7/20)
3 Won Kansas race & championship in same season – Jeff Gordon 2001, Jimmie Johnson 2008 & Martin Truex Jr. 5/17 & 10/17
Jeff Gordon only driver to win Kansas in first try
Hendrick Motorsports leads with 7 Kansas wins
Joe Gibbs Racing: 6 Kansas wins
Team Penske: 6 Kansas wins
Roush Fenway Racing: 4 Kansas wins
Stewart-Haas Racing: 3 Kansas wins
Richard Childress Racing: 1 Kansas win (10/13)