NASCAR / ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Kansas Speedway)
Winners: Tyler Reddick (Cup); Taylor Gray (O'Reilly); plus Gio Ruggiero (ARCA)
NASCAR Cup
Reddick Prevails in OT for Fifth Cup Series Win of 2026
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| Tyler Reddick holds out his five fingers, indicative of his race wins so far in 2026. |
Tyler Reddick holds out his five fingers, indicative of his race wins so far in 2026.
Tyler Reddick scraped the outside wall in the closing laps. His fuel system stumbled at a critical moment. He collided with fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell in overtime. He fell behind defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson on the final restart.
Yet, in a magical season for the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, Reddick won Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in spite of all the adversity.
Reddick cleared Larson through the final two corners and crossed the finish line 0.118 seconds ahead of the reigning champion.
“Just really blessed with the late caution,” said Reddick, who won for the fifth time this season, the second time at Kansas and the 13th time in his career. “Was that nuts or what? I couldn’t believe it.
“I mean, first off, I feel like I have to say, obviously, just for how I feel. I never like being on the inside of it – really hate that for Christopher Bell. Good, hard racing. The 11 (Hamlin) came up. I mean, I took off tight. Not thrilled I got Christopher there. I hate that for him because he was having a good, solid day.
“Man, these late race restarts get crazy. I obviously had a run on the 5 (Larson). I was shocked I was able to get to his inside there. An incredible SupplyHouse Toyota Camry all day long.”
Reddick is the first driver since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 – and fourth all-time – to win five of the first nine races of a season in NASCAR’s top division. His series lead increased to 105 points over second-place Hamlin, who won the first stage.
Pole: Tyler Reddick
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Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 3:00 pm ET for the ‘Jack Link's 500’ at Talladega Superspeedway.
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
Gray Fends Off Creed for 2nd Career NORAPS Win at Kansas
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| Joe Gibbs Racing driver Taylor Gray celebrates with his No. 54 Toyota team |
The early bird got the victory on Saturday night.
The first of the frontrunners to pit during the final 95-lap green-flag run in the Kansas Lottery 300, Taylor Gray grabbed the lead during the cycle and held off charging Sheldon Creed to score the second NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of his career.
Crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who won at Kansas with driver David Green in 2003, called Gray into the pits on Lap 143 of 200. Creed and Brandon Jones, running first and second on Lap 146, emerged from pit road after stops on Lap 147 roughly three seconds behind Gray.
“How about Jason Ratcliff?” Gray exclaimed after climbing from his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “That pit call was awesome. We had a car capable of winning. I thought the 20 (Jones) was a little better than us before the green-flag cycle started, but we just had to stay locked in, and we had to be a little bit freer.
“Jason made a really good adjustment on the car and a really good pit call and got us in clean air. It’s been a long start to the year, man — not that we’re not bringing speed to the race track. It’s just that things haven’t really gone our way. So it’s nice to finally be able to close one out.”
As it turned out, Creed also had plenty of reasons to celebrate. By finishing first among four eligible drivers, he earned a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the first time in his career. It was Creed’s fifth attempt to win the Dash 4 Cash prize money.
Pole: Carson Kvapil (no qualifying)
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Next Race: The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will return on Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 4:00 pm ET for the ‘Ag-Pro 300’ at Talladega Superspeedway.
NASCAR Trucks
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series did not race this weekend
Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, May 1, 2026 at 8:00 pm ET for the ‘SpeedyCash.com 250’ at Texas Motor Speedway.
ARCA
Late-race restarts at Kansas propel Gio Ruggiero
In two starts so far during the 2026 ARCA Menards Series season, Gio Ruggiero found Victory Lane in both.
Ruggiero’s second win of the year proved to be slightly more difficult compared to his season-opening triumph at Daytona International Speedway. After fading during the final long green flag run, Ruggiero used two overtime restarts to cycle back to the front and emerge victorious Saturday in the Tide 150 at Kansas Speedway.
Multiple factors motivated Ruggiero’s drive to the win. Not only was he determined to overcome the loss in speed his car experienced in the closing stages, but he also wanted to reward the hard work his entire crew puts in both on and off the track.
“You just got to do whatever it takes to win,” Ruggiero said. “That’s what I did. I thought we had a really strong car, and I just couldn’t let these guys down and lose the race. My crew chief Matt Ross just had a baby, so I needed to get him a nice gift, [which was] to win. I definitely executed on those last restarts and did what it took.”
Pole: Jack Wood
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Next Race: The ARCA Series will return on Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. EST for the ‘Alabama Manufactured House’ at Talladega Superspeedway.
