Qualifying took place Friday afternoon at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway. Teams practiced in the afternoon before qualifying live on SPEED Channel. Richard Petty Motorsports qualified:
Roush Fenway’s Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified second and third for Sunday’s STP 400 Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Edwards covered the 1.5-mile oval in 28.162 seconds (191.748 mph) while the RFR rookie Stenhouse put down a time of 28.164 (191.734 mph) during Friday’s qualifying session.
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Tools Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Starting Position: 1st - What made the lap so strong? "It's not me, it's everybody at TRD (Toyota Racing Development), JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Jason Ratcliff (crew chief) and the boys. Thank Home Depot, Husky Tools and Dollar General. This thing was kind of a struggle most of the day. I felt like I wasn't giving Jason really the best feedback and they made awesome adjustments for qualifying -- it was pretty bad to the bone."
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE 85TH ANNIVERSARY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed the connection between the Boston tragedy and Hendrick Motorsports, the speed of the Gen-6 car at Kansas compared to last season and other topics.
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – “My seat belts came undone. It was just one of those weird deals, so I had a chance and I fixed it and got back going.” HOW HAS THIS TRACK AGED? “It’s a little bit rougher, but it’s hard to tell because the wind is so violent right now. That really affects how your cars drive here, but it’s full of challenges here at Kansas, that’s for sure."
Ryan Newman, Code 3 Associates Chevrolet SS, led all Team Chevy drivers in qualifying at Kansas Speedway on Friday in posting the ninth-fastest lap for Sunday’s STP 400. This is Newman’s third top-10 start of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed qualifying at Kansas and at other tracks, the fast speeds at Kansas, on meeting other drivers’ daughters, her influence, and more.
ELLIOTT SADLER, No. 81 ALERT Energy Gum Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How important is it to be back in a Sprint Cup Series car? "It is -- it's definitely a great opportunity and I think that's the biggest thing that I know as a person is the opportunity is given to me to be able to race here in Kansas and also here in a couple weeks at Talladega."
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed the first practice session, the tragedy in Boston and the affect is has had on him and his team and other topics.
The 24-year-old Riggs from Bahama, North Carolina, clocked in a pole-winning lap at 121.503 mph in 18.502 seconds for his second consecutive Truck pole of 2026 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
This weekend marks the first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996, but Richard Childress Racing has a long and storied history at the track.
