The Cup Series (NCS) and Camping World Truck Series (NTS) were active at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, KS. Kyle Busch entered both events and scored victories in each series. The XFINITY Series (NXS) was off this weekend and will join the other two premier series at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina next weekend. Most vehicles will feature “Throwback” paint schemes honoring former drivers and teams in all three races at the “Track Too Tough To Tame”. The latest results and upcoming scheduled events for the NASCAR feeder series are also included below as well as details on all tracks mentioned in this column.
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sun, May 2, Buschy McBusch Race 400 – Kansas Speedway – 267 laps.
– No practice or qualifying. NASCAR’s qualifying metric set the starting lineup for this event based on race finishes, point standings and fastest race laps. This placed Brad Keselowski (#2 Ford Mustang) P1 on the starting grid. William Byron (#24 Chevrolet Camaro) completed the front row in the P2 spot. #34 Michael McDowell, #4 Kevin Harvick, #21 Matt DiBenedetto, #3 Austin Dillon, #12 Ryan Blaney, #20 Christopher Bell, #18 Kyle Busch and #41 Cole Custer, respectively formed the rest of the top-10 in the lineup. Did not make the 40-car field: No one, only 39 entries.
– Kyle Busch (#18 Toyota Camry) scored his 58th victory in 581 NCS races. This is his 1st victory and 6th top-10 finish in 2021. It is his 2nd victory and 13th top-10 finish in 27 races at Kansas. Kevin Harvick (2nd) posted his 18th top-10 finish in 31 Kansas races and his 8th top-10 finish in 2021. Polesitter Brad Keselowski (3rd) earned his 13th top-10 finish in 23 races at Kansas. Chase Briscoe (20th) was the highest finishing Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contender.
– NCS points leader: Denny Hamlin by 87 points over Martin Truex Jr.
– TOP-16 NCS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. William Byron +1
4. Joey Logano -1
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Brad Keselowski
7. Chase Elliott +1
8. Kevin Harvick -1
9. Kyle Larson
10. Kyle Busch +1
11. Austin Dillon +1
12. Christopher Bell -2
13. Michael McDowell
14. Alex Bowman
15. Chris Buescher +1
16. Matt DiBenedetto +1
– Next: Sun, May 9, Goodyear 400 – Darlington Raceway – 293 laps.
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS)
– NXS points leader: Austin Cindric by 59 points over Daniel Hemric.
– TOP-12 NXS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. Austin Cindric
2. Daniel Hemric
3. Harrison Burton
4. Jeb Burton +1
5. Justin Haley -1
6. AJ Allmendinger
7. Myatt Snider
8. Jeremy Clements +1
9. Justin Allgaier -1
10. Noah Gragson +1
11. Brandon Jones -1
12. Brandon Brown +1
– Next: Sat, May 8, Steakhouse Elite 200 – Darlington Raceway – 147 laps.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NTS)
Sat, May 1, WISE Power 200 – Kansas Speedway – 134 laps (+6 laps OT).
– No practice or qualifying. NASCAR’s qualifying metric set the starting lineup for this event based on race finishes, point standings and fastest race laps. This placed John Hunter Nemechek (#4 Toyota Tundra) P1 on the starting grid. Cup Series regular Kyle Busch, driving the #51 Toyota Tundra, completed the front row in the P2 spot. #99 Ben Rhodes, #13 Johnny Sauter, #18 Chandler Smith, #38 Todd Gilliland, #16 Austin Hill, #2 Sheldon Creed, #21 Zane Smith and #52 Stewart Friesen, respectively formed the rest of the top-10 in the lineup. Did not make the 40-truck field: No one, only 40 entries.
– Cup Series regular Kyle Busch scored his 61st victory in 159 NTS races. This is his 2nd victory and 4th top-10 NTS finish in 2021. It is his 3rd victory and 5th top-10 finish in six NTS races at Kansas. Cup regular Ross Chastain (2nd) posted his 2nd top-10 finish in five Kansas NTS races. Austin Hill (3rd) posted his 5th top-10 finish in six races at Kansas. Polesitter John Hunter Nemechek finished in 5th place. Chandler Smith (11th) was the highest finishing ROTY contender.
– NTS points leader: John Hunter Nemechek by 33 points over Ben Rhodes.
– TOP-10 NTS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. John Hunter Nemechek
2. Ben Rhodes
3. Austin Hill +1
4. Sheldon Creed -1
5. Stewart Friesen +1
6. Matt Crafton -1
7. Zane Smith +1
8. Todd Gilliland +1
9. Grant Enfinger -2
10. Johnny Sauter
– Next: Fri, May 7, LiftKits4Less.com 200 – Darlington Raceway – 147 laps.
NASCAR Feeder Series
ARCA Menards Series:
Sat, May 1, Dutch Boy 150 – Kansas Speedway – 100 laps.
Winner: Ty Gibbs – P1: Ty Gibbs – Points Leader: Corey Heim
Next: Sat, May 22, Herr’s Potato Chips 200 – Toledo Speedway – 200 laps.
ARCA Menards East:
Sat, Feb 27, Pensacola 200 – Five Flags Speedway – 200 laps.
Winner: Sammy Smith – P1: Sammy Smith – Points Leader: Sammy Smith
Next: Sat, May 8, Music City 200 – Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway – 200 laps.
ARCA Menards West:
Fri, Mar 12, General Tire 150 – Phoenix Raceway – 150 laps.
Winner: Ty Gibbs – P1: Ty Gibbs – Points Leader: Ty Gibbs
Next: Sat, Jun 5, General Tire 125 – Sonoma Raceway – 50 laps.
Whelen Modified Tour:
Fri. Apr 30, NAPA Spring Sizzler – Stafford Motor Speedway – * 150 laps.
Winner: Patrick Emerling – P1: Matt Swanson – Points Leader: Eric Goodale
* rain-shortened to 130 laps
Next: Sat. May 15, Miller Lite 200 – Riverhead Raceway – 200 laps.
Pinty’s Series:
Season opener: Sun, May 23, TBA – Sunset Speedway
Peak Mexico Series:
Season opener: Sun, May 22, TBA – Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas
Track Details
Darlington Raceway – 1.366-mile oval – Darlington, South Carolina
Five Flags Speedway – 0.5-mile oval – Pensacola, Florida
Kansas Speedway – 1.5-mile oval – Kansas City, Kansas
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway – 0.596-mile oval – Nashville, Tennessee
Phoenix Raceway – 1-mile tri-oval – Avondale, Arizona
Riverhead Raceway – 0.25-mile oval – Riverhead, New York
Sonoma Raceway – 2.520-mile, 12-turn road course – Sonoma, California
Stafford Motor Speedway – 0.5-mile oval – Stafford Springs, Connecticut
Sunset Speedway – 0.333-mile oval – Innisfil, Ontario
Super Ovalo Chiapas – 0.75-mile tri-oval – Tuxtla Gutierrez
Toledo Speedway – 0.5-mile oval – Toledo, Ohio