NASCAR Cup PR

Former Kansas City Chiefs players Neil Smith and Christian Okoye will give the most famous words in racing “Drivers, Start Your Engines” for the Digital Ally 400 on Saturday night while former Chiefs player Mark Collins will wave the green flag.

Next up for Paul Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team is Saturday’s Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway, a track that has been a good one for Menard and his No. 21 team.

In October 2018, Chase Elliott became the youngest (22 years, 10 months, 23 days) winner of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. “I think as it has aged that outside lane has really prevailed and I think that will continue to be that way,” said the driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1, who is coming off a victory and fifth-place finish in the past two events. Elliott will be making his 125th MENCS start.

Jimmie Johnson on racing at Kansas: “It would be nice to leave Kansas as the only four-time winner there. This weekend will be a bit different with the new rules package and the race being at night. I am anticipating a lot of speed, a lot of grip and a lot of action. This package promotes a lot of passing in the pack, so it should be a very charged-up race. I’m looking forward to it.”

Roush Fenway Racing heads to the Great Plains this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) converges on Kansas Speedway for a Saturday night showdown. Jack Roush has sent nine cars to victory lane at the 1.5-mile track, four of which were Cup wins.

Kyle Busch will begin his assault on a second consecutive Coca-Cola 600victory in a patriotic No. 18 M&Ms Toyota Camry that the veteran driver unveiled in a special event on Wednesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. As a prelude to the historic 60th running of the iconic Coca-Cola 600 on May 26 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Busch revealed the look for his Toyota in addition to meeting Dona and Gene Griffin, the parents of fallen Army Sgt. Dale Griffin.

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Kansas, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 30.1 and an average finish of 26.0 and has completed 2,099 of 2,138 (98.2 percent) career laps and has led for one lap. DiBenedetto’s best finishing position at Kansas is 22nd which he’s earned twice (October 2017 and May 2018).

Truex scores again at Dover... Martin Truex Jr. scored his second win of the season, and third at Dover International Speedway, on Monday. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) driver took over the lead on lap 240 (of 400) and scored victory by over nine seconds to give Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and Toyota their seventh win in the first 11 events on the schedule.

After Chase Elliott recently captured his first Talladega Superspeedway Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in the GEICO 500 (April 28), the second-generation driver from nearby Dawsonville, GA donned a construction hard hat and sledgehammer in Gatorade Victory Lane, signaling the beginning of demolition to part of the track’s infield to make way for the new, incredible Talladega Garage Experience, which will debut in October during the NASCAR Playoff doubleheader weekend.

Kansas Preview: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will head next to Kansas Speedway, for the second Saturday night race of the season. Denny has notched six top-five and seven top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile track, with a victory at the intermediate track in 2012. Currently in fourth, Denny and team will be seeking their third win of the season as they look to rise in the Cup Series standings.