- Next Race: Buschy McBusch Race 400
- The Place: Kansas Speedway
- The Date: Sunday, May 2
- The Time: 3 p.m. ET
- TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET
- Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
- Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps)
- Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80)
- Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160)
- Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
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By The Numbers |
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Ground Break: |
May 25, 1999 |
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Inaugural Race: |
ARCA RE/MAX |
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Tri-Oval: |
1.5 mile |
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Road Course: |
2.37 mile |
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Property Size: |
1,200+ acres |
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Banking in turns: |
17-20 degrees variable banking |
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Banking on frontstretch: |
9-11 degrees variable banking |
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Banking on backstretch: |
5 degrees |
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Parking: |
Space for over 35,000 vehicles |
After a wild race at the behemoth that is Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series prepares for this Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Kansas Speedway, its fourth event of the 2021 season on a 1.5-mile track.
Groundbreaking for Kansas Speedway was held on May 25, 1999. The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first NASCAR Cup Series race being held on Sept. 30, 2001. The event was won by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet). Gordon would actually win the first two NASCAR Cup Series races held at Kansas (2001, 2002).
Set up team office for today @kansasspeedway: ✔️https://t.co/c8UD8QZ9FE | @HendrickAuto pic.twitter.com/WMD678ESpq
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) May 2, 2021
During the 2012 season, between the April and October events, the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway track underwent a repave, adding variable banking in the corners bringing them to 17-20 degrees.
In total, there have been 30 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, one event from 2001 – 2010 and two races per year since 2011. The 30 Cup events have produced 16 different pole winners and 15 different race winners.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick leads the series in poles at Kansas Speedway with five (fall 2013, 2014 sweep, spring 2018, spring 2019).
Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002, 2014), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2011, 2015), Kevin Harvick (2013, 2016, 2018), Joey Logano (2014, 2015, 2020) and Denny Hamlin (2012, 2019, 2020) lead the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Kansas Speedway with three victories each. This weekend, eight of the 15 NASCAR Cup Series Kansas winners are active.
Let's do this thing, @kansasspeedway! 👏
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 2, 2021
Retweet if you're ready to drop the green flag this afternoon on FS1! #NASCARSalutes pic.twitter.com/yDMDW4MuU2
Winners aplenty this season
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season has become the fourth different year in the Modern Era (1972-Present) with nine or more different winners in the first 10 races; joining 2003 (9 winners), 2000 (10 winners) and 1991 (9 winners). Which bodes the question, Will we see a 10th different winner this weekend at Kansas?
There are eight former NASCAR Cup Series winners entered this weekend at Kansas and five them have yet to win this season – Denny Hamlin (three Kansas wins), Kevin Harvick (three Kansas wins), Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman (each with one Kansas win).
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch is the only active driver to win in all three NASCAR national series at Kansas Speedway – NCS (2014), NXS (2007, 2014, 2015, 2016) and NCWTS (2014, 2017). He finished 11th in the first Kansas race last season.
Four drivers entered this weekend have won at Kansas in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Denny Hamlin (NCS, three wins; NXS, one win), Joey Logano (NCS, three wins; NXS, two wins), Kevin Harvick (NCS, three wins; NXS one win) and Brad Keselowski (NCS, two wins; NXS one win).
Five other drivers entered this weekend in the NASCAR Cup Series race have won at Kansas Speedway either in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Chase Briscoe (2020), Christopher Bell (2017) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2012) or the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Ross Chastain (2019) and William Byron (2016). Three of the five are looking for their first win of the season – Briscoe, Chastain and Stenhouse.
Interestingly, the 30 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Kansas Speedway have never been won by a first-time Cup Series winner. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon is the only driver in series history to win in his first appearance at Kansas Speedway.
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