Saturday, May 14
Track: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Race: 8 of 23
Event: Heart of America 200 (134 laps, 201 miles)
Schedule
Saturday, May 14
Practice: 12:00 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 12:30 p.m. ET
Race: 8:00 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1)
Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Ford Performance F-150
- Hailie Deegan returns to Kansas Speedway for the eighth contest of 2022, marking the first appearance with Ford Performance as the No. 1 team’s primary sponsor this season.
- The Temecula, CA native made her first-ever NCWTS appearance at the facility in 2020, scoring a 16th place finish — the highest result for a female in her series debut.
- Kansas Speedway has historically been one of the stronger tracks for the 20-year-old, averaging a finish of 14.5 throughout her young career.
- Veteran Crew Chief Mike Hillman has seen a plethora of success at the 1.5-mile oval, taking home a win, five top-fives, and ten top-10s across his 17 career appearances.
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150
- Tanner Gray heads into Saturday’s Heart of America 200 looking to right the ship on the 2022 season after getting caught up in a multi-truck incident at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway last Friday that ended his race after 98 laps.
- After seven rounds, the Ford Performance driver sits on the bubble spot for the Truck Series playoffs in 10th, 17 points above the cut line.
- Historically, tracks between one and two miles in length have suited Gray’s driving style well. He has three top-fives and nine top-10s including a top-five run at Kansas in 2020.
- In eight races at Kansas, a truck crew chiefed by Jerry Baxter has only finished outside the top-10 on two occasions with the last time being 2014. In those eight races, Baxter’s average finish is 8.3.
Riley Herbst, No. 17 Monster Energy Ford F-150
- Riley Herbst will make his second start of the 2022 season behind the wheel of the No. 17 Ford F-150 for DGR.
- In the season opening event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the Xfinity Series regular brought home a 12th-place effort.
- In 10 career Truck Series starts, the Las Vegas native has scored two top-fives and four top-10s with one of those top-five runs coming last season on the Daytona Road Course in the No. 17.
- Herbst may only be 23 years old, but he is a veteran at Kansas Speedway. Dating back to the ARCA Menards Series in 2017, he has eight total starts at the 1.5-mile track with two top-fives and five top-10s. He has one truck start with a ninth-place run in 2019.
