Kansas Speedway
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022
1.5-Mile Oval
3:00 PM ET
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (28 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN
5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 30 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 7th
No. 5 HendrickCars.com Patriotic Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
BATTLE TESTED: A mechanical issue on lap 77 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday left Kyle Larson three laps down to the leaders in 35th place. But a race-long battle to gain those laps back resulted in a 12th-place lead-lap finish for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team. Under the NASCAR Cup Series playoff cutoff line for much of the 367-lap race, Larson gained five points on that position and now has a 17-point cushion heading into the second event of the three-race Round of 16 at Kansas Speedway.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Last October on the 1.5-mile Kansas track, Larson led a race-high 130 laps en route to victory. The win was his ninth of a 10-win championship season and he became the third driver to win both the Kansas playoff race and the championship in the same season. Jimmie Johnson in 2008 and Martin Truex Jr. in 2017 are the others to have accomplished that combo.
LEADING THE CHARGE: Since joining Hendrick Motorsports at the beginning of the 2021 season, Larson has led 291 of a possible 801 laps – 36% – in three Kansas races. Earlier this year, he led 29 laps and battled Kurt Busch for the victory late before ultimately finishing second in the 400-mile race. Overall, the 2021 Cup Series champion has paced the field 455 times at the Midwest track – fourth-most for Larson among active tracks.
FIVE FOR FIVE: In 11 playoff starts while driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, the Elk Grove, California, native has visited victory lane in five of those events. He trails three drivers in that statistical category for the 14-time championship organization. Current teammate Chase Elliott has six playoff wins while Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon has seven. Larson trails Johnson, the seven-time Cup Series champion, by a scant 24.
DIRTY DOZEN: With 12 wins since the beginning of 2021, Larson is the only double-digit winner over that span. The 30-year-old driver has six more than Elliott and seven more than Alex Bowman – Hendrick Motorsports teammates that rank second and third during that timeframe.
OUR PATRIOTS: This weekend during 9/11 weekend at Kansas, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will carry a special patriotic paint scheme. To learn more about the company’s commitment to hiring veterans, please visit here.
HOME RUN: At Kansas this weekend, Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team will wear their “home” white uniforms. Home races occur in markets where there are Hendrick Automotive Group dealerships nearby, and the Kansas City area is home to five of them. Be sure to follow Hendrick Automotive Group’s social media channels and visit HendrickCars.com to view the complete home and away schedule.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 26 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 9th
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
KANSAS RUNDOWN: Chase Elliott is one of six drivers in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a win at Kansas Speedway. He captured a victory at the track in the fall playoff race in 2018 after leading 44 laps. This Sunday, Elliott is set to make his 14th Kansas start at the Cup Series level. Accompanying his 2018 victory are six top-five finishes – the second-most top-five results at a track in his Cup career – eight top-10s and 197 laps led. He’s finished sixth or better in six of the last eight races at the 1.5-mile venue.
BACK IN THE GROOVE: After an on-track incident at the end of stage one ultimately took them out of last Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway, Elliott and the No. 9 team are looking to get things back on track during the second stop of the Cup Series playoffs this weekend at Kansas. Elliott currently sits ninth in the playoff standings, 14 points above the cutoff line with two events remaining before the playoff field gets narrowed down to 12. This is Elliott’s seventh consecutive playoff appearance. In the previous two seasons, he advanced to the Championship 4 and earned a Cup Series title in 2020.
1.5-MILERS: This weekend at Kansas, Elliott will make his 71st start on a 1.5-mile track in the Cup Series. In his previous 70 races, Elliott has led 1,063 laps. Along with three victories (Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas), Elliott has collected 23 top-five finishes – eight of which are runner-up results – and 38 top-10s on 1.5-milers. Since the start of 2021, Elliott has scored nine top-10 finishes on that track configuration, tied with teammate William Byron for the fourth-most in that span. This season, he’s earned the second-most points (179) on 1.5-mile tracks, trailing only Ross Chastain (224).
GUSTAFSON AT KANSAS: On Sunday, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson is set to call his 30th Kansas Cup Series race. In his previous 29 starts at the track with five different drivers (Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Elliott), Gustafson has accumulated two wins – one with Gordon and one with Elliott – 10 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s with 315 laps led.
BACK HOME: No. 9 team jackman T.J. Semke hails from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, less than 40 miles from this weekend’s venue. Before stepping on the football field at the University of Kansas in 2013, Semke was a part-time bounty hunter. The 29-year-old was a defensive lineman for the Jayhawks for three years. He signed with Hendrick Motorsports in October 2016.
GET UP AND GO: Atlanta-based NAPA Auto Parts is on board the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Kansas. This will mark the 10th time in 14 Cup Series events at the track that Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports’ long-time partner will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 9 team. In this race last fall, Elliott drove to a runner-up finish in a NAPA-sponsored Chevrolet after leading 42 laps.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 24 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 2nd
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
DARLINGTON REWIND: Heading into the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last Sunday, William Byron qualified third at Darlington Raceway. Showing speed early on, Byron eventually took over the lead in stage one and went on to pace the field for 50 laps while taking the stage win. Continuing to run within the top five, Byron was caught a lap down when the caution came out before green-flag pit stops fully cycled through on lap 277. Taking the wave around to get back on the lead lap, Byron used the remainder of the race to make up track position, reaching eighth by the time of the checkered flag – scoring the most points of any playoff driver in the race.
PLAYOFF CONTENDER: With one race complete and two to go in the Round of 16, Byron gained 25 points on the cutoff line in Darlington. That moves him up to second in the standings and now 32 points above the final transfer spot heading into Kansas Speedway.
UP FRONT: Byron continues to hold the statistic of leading the second-most laps so far this season with 662 behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who has led 719. Those 662 laps led by Byron are not only his most in a single Cup Series season but have come across 14 races.
1.5-MILE MOMENTUM: Byron is no stranger to success on mile-and-a-half tracks during his Cup Series career. Since the start of the 2021 season, Byron has two wins, one runner-up finish, five top-five finishes, and nine top-10s on 1.5-mile tracks. His nine top-10 finishes on that track configuration are tied with teammate Elliott for the fourth-most in the same time span. In fact, Byron is currently on an eight-race streak of races led on 1.5-milers that started back at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last fall. In 2022, the 24-year-old driver has collected 148 points on this style of track – the seventh-most in the field.
HOT START AT KANSAS: Right out of the gate, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native found success at Kansas in just his first two NASCAR national series starts at the 1.5-mile track. With one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start in 2016 and one NASCAR Xfinity Series start in 2017, Byron finished no worse than fourth in both events. In fact, in his debut at the intermediate oval in 2016 – just his fifth Truck Series start – Byron started from the top spot, led 34 laps and collected his first win in the series. That victory kickstarted the most successful season by a rookie in the history of the series.
MIDWEST MOJO: Aside from those first two starts, Byron has nine Cup Series starts at Kansas. While the driver of the No. 24 faced bad luck in his first three races, which included a mechanical failure, a late-race on-track incident and a pit road penalty, he has since turned that luck around. In his last six starts at the 1.5-mile track, Byron has collected one top-five finish and five top-10s. His five top-10 finishes within the last six races are tied for the second-most during that same stretch. The Kansas track is also where he has the most top-10 finishes in his Cup Series career (five) – tied with Martinsville Speedway and Pocono Raceway. Since the start of 2021, he has led 82 laps – third-most behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE KANSAS: Looking to make his fourth start as a Cup Series crew chief at Kansas, Rudy Fugle’s three races in the sport’s top series at the Midwest track have resulted in two top-10 finishes and 82 laps led with the No. 24 team. Aside from those three Cup Series starts, the Livonia, New York, native has 12 previous starts at the 1.5-mile oval. In 10 Truck Series events, Fugle’s drivers have started from the top spot four times, led 391 laps, and collected two wins (2016 & 2018), five top-five finishes and six top-10s. His 2016 win came with Byron, who captured his first Truck Series win in just their fourth start together that season.
LIBERTY U IS BACK: For Sunday’s race at Kansas, Byron will climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Featuring a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will be sure to stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting back in 2014 in the late model ranks. Liberty University has been Training Champions for Christ since it was founded in 1971. Located in the mountains of Central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools that offers more than 600 degree programs from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in strategic communication, Byron is now in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at Byron’s Liberty University paint scheme, click here.
48 Alex Bowman
Age: 29 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 10th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
DARLINGTON DOWNLOAD: Last Sunday, Alex Bowman took home his 11th top-10 finish of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season at Darlington Raceway. After starting the race 16th, he finished the first stage in 14th and the second stage in seventh en route to his 10th-place result at “The Lady in Black.” After the first playoff race, Bowman is ranked 10th, 28 markers behind points leader Joey Logano and 10 points up on the cutoff line to transfer into the Round of 12.
KANSAS FLASHBACK: Last time the Tucson, Arizona, native was at Kansas Speedway, he took home a top-10 finish, placing ninth in the 400-mile event in May. He finished 10th in the first stage and 15th in the second stage en route to his eighth top-10 result of the season.
ON A ROLL: In his 10 starts at Kansas with Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman has eight top-11 finishes. His 9.6 average finish at this venue is his fourth-best during his time at Hendrick Motorsports. The 29-year-old driver’s best result at the 1.5-mile venue came in May 2019 when he led 63 laps and finished second in the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet to Brad Keselowski.
KANSAS LOVE: Having already tallied a win at a 1.5-mile venue (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) this season, the driver of the No. 48 heads to Kansas this weekend with confidence. Bowman has collected two top-five finishes at the venue with a track-best runner-up finish in May 2019. His six top-10s in The Sunflower State are his most at any track. Bowman won back-to-back ARCA Menards Series races at Kansas in 2011 and 2012 and he also has one NASCAR Xfinity Series start in October 2013, where he took home an 11th-place result.
POINTING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Across all appearances in the 2022 season on 1.5-mile tracks, Bowman has accumulated 153 points. That total is good enough for sixth place across all drivers.
WON IN SEVEN: Of the last seven races on tracks 1.5 miles in length, Bowman took home a win at Las Vegas in March. In that race, he won stage one en route to Ally’s fifth win in the Cup Series, punching his ticket to the 2022 Cup Series playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.
ROLLING IN THE RANKINGS: Since the start of the 2021 season, Bowman has the third-most wins of all drivers in the Cup Series with five. He trails Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (six) and Kyle Larson (12). Bowman is also tied for the sixth-most top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks since the start of 2021 with eight.
REVVING TO A MILESTONE: The engine shop at Hendrick Motorsports sits two wins away from 500 victories. To date, the company’s engine program is responsible for 337 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, 124 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, 22 wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and 15 wins in the ARCA Menards Series and the K&N Pro Series (now ARCA Menards Series East and West) ranks.
LEADING THE WAY: With nine wins through 27 Cup Series races in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports has earned the most victories so far this season. It is the only four-car team to see all of its drivers win a race this season. The organization is also the only one to have multiple drivers with at least two wins – Chase Elliott (four), Kyle Larson (two) and William Byron (two). On top of that, Elliott and Byron rank 1-2 in laps led this year.
KINGS OF KANSAS: The Rick Hendrick-owned organization has the most wins among Cup Series teams at Kansas Speedway with eight. Jeff Gordon won the first race at the track in 2001 and earned three total victories there. Jimmie Johnson also posted three wins at the Kansas City, Kansas, venue. Elliott and Larson each have one triumph there as well. The team’s 1,754 laps out front at the facility are also the best among all teams in the series.
PLAYOFF PERFORMERS: Hendrick Motorsports has won two of the last four playoff races held at Kansas. Elliott won the 2018 event and Larson won last year’s race. The organization’s four wins in the playoffs at this track are tied for the most in the series. Larson went on to win the title in 2021 – one of three times that the Kansas playoff race winner would win the championship in the same season. Two of those instances – Johnson in 2008 and Larson in 2021 – involved a Hendrick Motorsports driver.
RECORD SETTERS: Hendrick Motorsports has posted a series-best 53 wins in the playoffs – 20 more than the next closest organization. Johnson has the most with 29 victories. Among the current driver lineup, Elliott tops the board with six wins, followed by Larson with five and Alex Bowman has one. Nine different drivers have won a playoff race for the Concord, North Carolina-based team, which is the most in the Cup Series ranks. The team has won a race in the playoffs in 17 seasons and that mark is also the most among all Cup Series teams.
1.5-MILE MASTERY: Over the past seven races on 1.5-mile tracks, the Concord, North Carolina-based race team has won five times. In that span, each of the organization’s four drivers have a victory with Larson winning twice in the 2021 postseason races at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas. Bowman won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – this year’s first 1.5-mile track. Byron and Elliott were each victorious at Atlanta Motor Speedway this season as well.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on why Kansas Speedway fits his driving style: “I think Kansas (Speedway) fits my driving style because it’s an intermediate track with multiple grooves so you can move around to find grip. Usually the fastest lane is right up next to the wall – and at times that is where I am most comfortable.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on if the win last year and runner-up result this year provides confidence at Kansas: “I don’t have a good feel at all. The reasons that I say that is at the end of the race (in May) – yes, we ran second and we were up front – we didn’t run as well as we needed to and we’re on a different tire (compound) this weekend. No one has been on this tire for a Cup weekend. We have things from May that we need to work on and now we’re going to add a new tire, so that’s a very tough equation to understand exactly what we’re going to need.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Kansas: “Kansas (Speedway) is a place that typically has some groove options. It seems like the cooler it is, the more groove options we have. When it’s hotter, the outside lane tends to become more dominant. To me, that place feels like a shorter mile-and-a-half for some reason – it just feels a little tighter than some of the other ones. Momentum is going to be tough to beat and the track is aging too. They have some pretty hot summers and some pretty harsh winters, so that place is getting some age to it now. Typically as those tracks age, momentum starts to be king over time and that outside lane tends to give you that. I think as time goes the top will continue to be more and more dominant unless you just have that perfect weather situation where it’s cool and the short way around has enough grip to not break momentum. It’s going to be a fight for track position and how well you can get around the top.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the team’s mindset heading into the final two races of the Round of 16: “One of the great things about our team is when we have a bad race, we learn from it and move on. We don’t dwell on it. Chase is so good at being able to do that, putting the previous race in the rearview and focusing on the week ahead. That’s what you have to do – take things week by week. I think that’s key to being able to survive in these playoffs.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what he expects during Sunday’s race at Kansas: “Honestly, Kansas (Speedway) might be the one track in the playoffs that I’m the most worried about. I feel like we know what to expect at place like Talladega (Superspeedway) or the (Charlotte Motor Speedway) ROVAL and other tracks we have already raced at this year so we have notes. We raced at Kansas in May and had speed, led laps early and then had a flat tire that damaged the underneath of the car. We kept going but the car never handled the same. That means we don’t have our own notes on how we expect the Next Gen car to handle throughout the run, etc. The good thing is we can lean on our teammates some and use our past mile-and-a-half notes as well. The good news is I like racing at Kansas, and it’s a place that both Rudy (Fugle) and I seem to have taken to really well. Hopefully, we can do what we did at Darlington (Raceway) last week, put together a solid points day and be there at the end to possibly lock ourselves into the next round.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on wanting to improve their mile-and-a-half track package: “We’re excited for the chance to continue to get better at mile-and-a -half tracks early on in the playoffs. We have Texas (Motor Speedway), Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) and Homestead (Miami Speedway) coming up even though Homestead is kind of it’s own animal. Having a solid race, stay in it all day long and try to get another building block to be competing for a win this weekend. And if we’re not, then to get to a point that we’re competing for the win at Texas. William (Byron) is great at Kansas (Speedway). We ran well there at the first race, led laps and had a flat left-rear tire land damaged the car. We should have won that race last year but we had a loose wheel late in the race. We came back to finish six after leading a bunch of laps. I love Kansas and I’m excited to get back there.”
Fugle, on why he thinks Byron is good at tracks like Kansas: “Any time you have a lot of throttle time, William is really good at those tracks. Places like Texas (Motor Speedway), Michigan (International Speedway), Kansas (Speedway), places like that. He’s really good at keeping momentum up, using the throttle and running high speed. I think he’s a very underrated guy who runs against the wall. People don’t really think about him with that, but I think he does an amazing job at it. That’s what we’ll be doing for a lot of the run in Kansas. He’s also good at just driving underneath the tire. Kansas is a track that still has a lot of grip, but in the right condition if you overheat the tires, you go from a lot of grip to not a lot of grip really quick. That’s why you see the races spread out there in my opinion.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on heading to Kansas: “I really like that track. Kansas (Speedway) is one of the tracks that has widened out and has multiple lanes and ways to get around it. I feel like I have always gone there and been competitive and this weekend doesn’t feel any different from any other weekend I have headed there. I know our team will build a fast No 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 like they do every week and we will go there and race just as hard as we always do. Hopefully, it is enough to grab a win.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on where they stand in the playoffs after Darlington Raceway: “I think we made a lot of progress with our 10th-place result at Darlington Raceway last Sunday. Moving from 15th to 10th is a nice jump, but the points are still so close, so we need to go to Kansas Speedway this Sunday and have another solid day. Alex (Bowman) really likes Kansas and coming off a top-10 finish, I think our team has a lot of wind in our sails right now. He (Bowman) has said it before, we always feel like underdogs, so there is a little bit of a fire lit under the No. 48 team right now and I think that’s exactly what this team needs as we navigate the playoffs.”
