The second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs rolls on this weekend at Kansas Speedway, where Jack Roush has nine wins all-time and four in the NCS.

NASCAR Cup Series Race at Kansas
Sunday, Sept. 11 | 3 p.m. ET
USA, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

· Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Overall, RFK has started 177 races across the three national series, earning nine wins, 41 top-five finishes, 76 top-10 finishes and has an overall average finish of 14.9.

Winning at Kansas

RFK swept both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NCS races at Kansas in the fall of 2012 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt Kenseth. Stenhouse became the sixth driver to win at the track for the organization via his Xfinity victory.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin earned RFK’s first NCS win at Kansas in 2005 and former driver Greg Biffle bested the 1.5-mile track in 2007 and 2010. RFK’s first overall win at Kansas came in 2002 via Jeff Burton in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Three drivers (Jon Wood in 2003, Carl Edwards in 2004 and Erik Darnell in 2007) have won in the NCWTS at Kansas for RFK.

Tale of the Tape

RFK has started 108 NCS races at Kansas, recording four victories, 20 top-five finishes, 36 top-10 finishes, an average finish of 16.6 and has led 970 laps. Kenseth earned the most recent victory at Kansas in the fall of 2012.

RFK Kansas Wins

2002 Burton NXS

2003 Wood Truck

2004 Edwards Truck

2005 Martin Cup

2007 Biffle Cup

2007 Darnell Truck

2010 Biffle Cup

2012-2 Kenseth Cup

2012 Stenhouse NXS

STATESVILLE, North Carolina (Sept. 7, 2022) – Petty GMS is proud to announce a promising partnership with Sunseeker Resorts and Ty Dillon, which will be formally unveiled for the Hollywood Casino 400 race weekend at Kansas Speedway. Owned and operated by Allegiant Travel Company, Sunseeker Resorts aims at providing guests with a luxury getaway experience that is unmatched in the industry. As a newly emerging brand and largest new-build resort in all of Florida, Sunseeker plans on making a big statement with their first resort set to open next year in Charlotte Harbor, Florida.

Newly-appointed President & COO Micah Richins is pleased to partner with the most recent winning team in the NASCAR Cup Series. “We at Sunseeker Resorts couldn’t be more excited to build upon our relationship with Petty GMS by promoting our Charlotte Harbor resort on the racetrack,” says Richins.“When we first heard about this opportunity, our team jumped on it, because we feel that the traveling NASCAR fan base would find our resort as a top-notch experience when it comes to planning their next vacations. We look forward to hosting them, as well as many other guests, beginning next year.”

Sunseeker Resorts will be hosting a highly anticipated grand opening celebration of their flagship resort when they open in late spring/summer of 2023. Highlights of the 22 waterfront acre luxury destination include plenty of options for fine dining, night life, poolside entertainment, retail stores, a hotel-guest only exclusive 18-hole golf course, and much, much more. The resort is located just ten minutes from Punta Gorda Airport (PGD), where guests will enjoy convenient access to and from their flights. Punta Gorda and the surrounding Florida airports service more than 60 nonstop Allegiant destinations throughout the United States.

“I’m proud to represent Sunseeker Resorts on my No. 42 Chevy this weekend in Kansas. After learning about their big plans for a grand unveiling next year, I believe that their group along with their parent company of Allegiant has a lot of great synergy for the future. Having the opportunity to promote the Charlotte Harbor location on our race car will be a great way to help get the word out, and I’m certainly looking forward to spreading that message with our Petty GMS team!” exclaimed Dillon.

Fans can watch the No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet make its on-track debut at Kansas Speedway on Sunday at 3:00 PM ET on the USA Network. For more news, coverage, and behind-the-scenes content, follow Petty GMS across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor is conveniently located at 4949 Tamiami Trail Charlotte Harbor, FL 33980 and is now accepting reservations for May 2023. For more information or to make a reservation at Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor, visit www.sunseekerresorts.com or call (833) 909-5700. For the most up-to-date news and information, please follow the hotel on Instagram @sunseekerresorts.

About Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor:

Opening in 2023, Florida’s newest luxury resort located in Charlotte Harbor is the first resort property of Sunseeker Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company. Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor occupies over 22 waterfront acres with 785 guest rooms, including 189 Signature Sunsuites™. Set upon the Peace River and Florida Gulf Coast, this premier resort offers 20 original food and beverage concepts; including seven stand-alone restaurants, eleven bars and lounges, two poolside offerings and a 25,000-square-foot multi-dining experience. Additional hotel amenities include a waterfront promenade, two unique rooftop and waterfront pool experiences, 60,000-square-feet of combined convention space, full-service spa and salon, a 7,100-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness center with four group exercise studios with specialty instructor lead classes, three retail and market shops, and an 18-hole championship level golf club exclusive to hotel guests only. The resort is conveniently located within a short drive of Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg-Clearwater, and Tampa airports. For more information, visit www.sunseekerresorts.com. Follow us on Instagram: @sunseekerresorts and like us on Facebook: @sunseekerresorts.

About Allegiant:

Las Vegas-based Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) is an integrated travel company with an airline at its heart, focused on connecting customers with the people, places and experiences that matter most. Since 1999, Allegiant Air has linked travelers in small-to-medium cities to world-class vacation destinations with all-nonstop flights and industry-low average fares. Today, Allegiant’s fleet serves communities across the nation, with base airfares less than half the cost of the average domestic round trip ticket. For more information, visit us at Allegiant.com.

ABOUT PETTY GMS:

Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. Founded in December 2021, Maury Gallagher, championship team owner of GMS Racing, purchased a majority interest of Richard Petty Motorsports. Inaugural NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, known as “The King,” remains a key stakeholder of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pettygms.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow Petty GMS on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media via teleconference in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at Kansas Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

BACK IN MAY AT KANSAS (SPEEDWAY), YOU HIT THE WALL A LOT AND STILL FINISHED SECOND. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN DO THE SAME; OR WITH YOUR PLAYOFF POSITION, DO YOU HAVE TO PLAY IT ANY MORE CONSERVATIVE?

“Well, I wasn’t trying to hit the wall back then (laughs), so yeah I would rather not hit the wall.

I think in the playoffs, you have to be extra careful about everything, for sure in this first round. I think if you can get through each race somewhat safely, you should make it to the next round safely. I think being cautious and not super aggressive, unless you have to be, is the objective.

Like I said, I don’t ever plan on going to a track and running the wall and hitting the wall; but it happened more than a few times earlier this year. So just try and learn from the mistakes that I made to get me into the wall, and maybe the positions that I got put in that I overstepped the line and got into the wall. Just try to be more aware and not put our car in harm’s way.”

NASCAR SENT TO TEAMS SOME UPDATES TO TRY AND PREVENT FIRES AND PREVENT FIRES FROM SPREADING. HAS CLIFF (DANIELS, CREW CHIEF) SHARED THOSE AT ALL WITH YOU? WILL HE SHARE THOSE WITH YOU OR DO YOU NOT REALLY GET THAT DEEP INTO THE WEEDS?

“I flew out to California Monday morning. We had our debrief and stuff, talking about the race, but I haven’t talked to him (Cliff Daniels, crew chief) about the changes to the rule or just changes to the car. I don’t know what’s gone on. I’m sure he’ll fill me in later on this week. But I know even leading up to this, our team has been doing everything they can to be prepared if that situation does happen. Obviously nobody wants that to happen, so it’s good that NASCAR is being proactive in what they’re doing. Hopefully the problem gets resolved in the near future and teams don’t have to worry about freak fires and taking them out of the race, like what happened to (Kevin) Harvick and a few other guys this season.”

IN THE SPRING AT KANSAS, THERE WAS TALK ABOUT AERO AND WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE LEARNED. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED, SO FAR, SINCE THEN AND HOW MUCH MORE DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE CAR AND HOW FAR YOU CAN TAKE IT AT KANSAS IN PARTICULAR?

“I don’t know.. There were a couple of times when Kurt (Busch) and I were racing that where he positioned his car had an effect on me. I had kind of known that up to that point, but it was very apparent that what I was feeling was a thing. Every single driver in the field has learned a lot about aero and the differences around cars compared to last season or other seasons in the past. I think each week that you go on; you put yourself in better spots because of it and not put yourself in bad situations that you have in the past.

Going back to Kansas (Speedway) this week, all that stuff will be on my mind like it is every week, and hopefully me being better prepared will keep me away from making any mistakes like I did last time.”

WHEN YOU HEAR WHAT KEVIN HARVICK SAYS AS HE’S TALKING TO THE MEDIA; DO YOU EVALUATE WHAT HE SAYS AND REACT TO IT? DO YOU GUYS TALK WHEN HE’S TALKING ABOUT SAFETY IN YOUR PRIVATE MEETINGS; OR DOES EACH INDIVIDUAL DRIVER HAVE THEIR OWN VERSION OF WHAT THEY FEEL AND YOU KIND OF WORK INDEPENDENTLY?

“I think all of the drivers are on the same page, and it’s honestly a topic every single week in our drivers chat that we have. They are in communication with NASCAR a lot. I would say most months, I think they have conversations with them. It’s just probably tough to make moves, decisions and changes as quickly as us drivers – who are in the cars and the ones that are at risk of getting injured – it’s hard for them to make changes quickly. But I think it’s an ongoing topic and discussion, and I think NASCAR is always working on figuring out ways to make the cars safer. With the Next Gen cars, make parts and pieces last longer, where they don’t cost teams as much money and take you out of races with freak accidents.

Like I said, it’s an ongoing discussion. It just doesn’t happen as quickly as we would all love it to.”

DARLINGTON WAS A PRETTY FREAKY KIND OF RACE, WITH AN UNUSUAL WINNER AND THE POINTS CHANGING A LOT. DO YOU EXPECT KANSAS TO BE SOMEWHAT SANER OR MAYBE MORE OF THE SAME?

“I don’t know.. I feel like every week has been pretty wild and unpredictable. Darlington (Raceway) was maybe a little bit more than normal compared to other races this year, but I feel like every race this year, the majority of the field has had some sort of issue go on throughout the race. As much as I want to say Kansas (Speedway) will be different, I just don’t know. It could be even crazier. But I hope that we can have a smooth week; get some points and try and put ourselves into a better position as we go to Bristol (Motor Speedway).”

AT KANSAS IN THE SPRING, THE TOYOTA’S WERE REALLY STRONG. WHAT DID YOU SEE OUT OF THEM AND HOW MUCH DO THEY STILL HAVE THAT ADVANTAGE ON THOSE TYPES OF TRACKS?

“From what I remember, I feel like Kansas (Speedway) was one of the first races where they really stood out as being extremely good. And I would say nothing has changed since then, if not gotten even more in their direction on the intermediate-style tracks. They’ve been super good the majority of the season on that style of track and I don’t foresee this weekend being any different. I think all of the Toyota’s will be the ones to beat and it will be up to other teams to just execute as good as they can and win that way.

This year – after all the mess that I put myself in to almost win – we’ll just need to keep fighting all race long and we’ll have a shot to beat them. I’m sure they’ll get the pole, I’m sure they’ll be in the hunt all race long. It’ll be tough, but they can be beat, for sure.”

WHAT’S THEIR ADVANTAGE? IS THAT JUST THROUGH THE CORNERS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.. THEY’RE JUST GETTING THROUGH? AND IF SO, IS IT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE CARRIED ON SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY 1.5-MILE TRACKS IN THE PLAYOFFS?

“I don’t know.. I’m not really sure. I think just their overall speed and grip. And as much as I feel like I hear them complain about dirty air being effected by that, I feel like they are twice as good as any of the other manufacturers in traffic. They are just able to put their cars in different situations that I feel like I can’t do as well. I don’t know where the advantage comes from, but me racing with them, I feel like it’s more of an aero advantage.”

WHEN I WAS WATCHING YOU COMING BACK SUNDAY NIGHT, IT LOOKED VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SAW THE NO. 48 DO TIME AND TIME AGAIN. THEY ALWAYS FOUGHT AGAINST ADVERSITY AND THE FACT THAT CLIFF (DANIELS) WAS AN UNDERSTUDY OF CHAD KNAUS; HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK HE PICKED UP THE ‘NEVER GIVE UP’ ATTITUDE AND MAKING THAT HIS OWN PHILOSPHY WITH YOUR TEAM?

“Cliff (Daniels) has had a very competitive upbringing through his childhood; through racing and sports. And then yes, I think him being with Chad Knaus on the leadership side of it and the crew chief role, I think all of those together has molded him into a great crew chief. I love having him on top of our pit box, especially for situations like we’ve been put in like this past Sunday, as well as what feels like many other times this year and even some races last year with how he keeps everyone calm. He’s very direct with the questions that he asks, the answers that he gives and the picture that he paints.

I think it’s just the way he’s wired. He’s very good at keeping everyone calm and leading the team; to follow his lead to be focused and not too down or depressed and let your mind wander.”

HE REALLY SEEMS TO HAVE A WAY TO GET YOU BACK UP AND IN THE GAME. AS LONG AS I’VE KNOWN YOU, YOU’VE NEVER FALLEN OUT OF THE SEAT, BUT HE GIVES YOU THAT EXTRA 10 PERCENT YOU NEED TO GO OUT THERE AND KEEP FIGHTING. IS THAT ACCURATE?

“Yeah, definitely. I know sometimes, like when things aren’t going well for me, I might sound negative and mopey on the radio. But inside the helmet, inside the car; I’m just as driven as he is to get ourselves out of that situation. I never give up with or without words of encouragement from him. I don’t know if it gives me any more desire or that 10 percent; it just kind of refocuses me a little bit quicker and allows me to focus on trying to get the best finish that I can.”

WHERE IS YOUR FRUSTRATION LEVEL NOW WITH ANOTHER ENGINE FAILURE? DO YOU GUYS KIND OF HAVE AN IDEA IF IT’S THE SAME THING THAT KEEPS POPPING UP?

“Had I actually blown up, I would have been really frustrated with back-to-back weeks, but that wasn’t the case. We don’t honestly know exactly what happened or what the cause of it was, but it sounds like William (Byron) had a very similar issue that we had during the race. I think he just didn’t react as quickly as maybe I did and it kind of cured itself as he was on the track.

I don’t know.. I’ve never had that happen to me ever in my career of racing anything, and I’ve probably raced more than anybody has in the field. I don’t know, it was weird, but I hope something like that doesn’t pop up ever again because it could have ended up really badly for us.”

I ASSUME THIS ISN’T SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT WITHIN THE TEAM. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS CAN’T KEEP HAPPENING, SO WHAT IS THE VIBE WITHIN THE TEAM AS YOU GUYS TRY TO GET THROUGH AND NOT HAVE THESE ISSUES?

“I think even when things are going great, you’re winning a lot of races and not blowing up engines; they’re always continuing to try and figure out how to make the engines faster and also even more reliable. That’s ongoing at the engine shop at HMS and they do an amazing job. They’re all working really hard and trying to figure out what’s been going on. I think it’s been different things each time for us. And each time out of it, they come up with something that better your odds of it not happening again.”

LAST TIME WE WERE AT KANSAS, YOU ENDED UP RACING KURT BUSCH FOR THE WIN. OBVIOUSLY IN MONTHS SINCE THEN, THINGS HAVE CHANGED WITH KURT. WITH THE MEMORY OF THAT IN MIND AND WITH WHAT’S GOING ON WITH KURT NOW, HOW MUCH DO YOU NOTICE KURT’S ABSENCE?

“I haven’t seen Kurt (Busch) since before his accident at Pocono (Raceway). His accident, him himself and his wellbeing is on all of our minds every day. Any time I’m racing a stock car, he kind of pops into my mind with what could happen. I hope all the best for him and I hope that he can get healthy again soon and get back on the race track.

But I hope all the best for him. He’s an extremely great competitor. I’ve been fortunate enough to be teammates with him for a couple of seasons, and he’s a great guy and a great person. Really more than anything, I think we all just want him feeling 100 percent, feeling better and be able to go about his day like normal.”

FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT, ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE SAY WHAT COULD HAPPEN WHEN YOU GET INTO A SPRINT CAR?

“Even before this year, injuries and safety is always on your mind no matter what car I’m in. I know every time I strap into anything, the risk of getting injured is up there, just because it is a dangerous sport. But when you’re in the car, you can’t really think about that. You just have to focus on going fast. When those situations start where you’re getting ready to crash, you’re just kind of praying that nothing happens and you can walk out of it.

And then yeah, I think with these cars now with the hits feeling way bigger than ever before; I think when crashes do start to happen, you’re just even more nervous of something happening to you. I think your concern is even higher for your competitors, as well. We all don’t want to see anybody get hurt out there. Now it seems like this year and these cars and the hits being bigger, I feel like – at least in my mind – when I see somebody crash, I’m more concerned about them than I was before. Before you didn’t really see guys getting injured or complaining about their heads hurting and stuff like that. Hopefully they can come up with a fix.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

COLE CUSTER
Kansas Advance
No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Hollywood Casino 400 (Round 28 of 36)

● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 11

● Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City

● Layout: 1.5-mile oval

● Laps/Miles: 267 laps / 400 miles

● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps

● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Coming off their eighth top-15 finish of 2022 last Sunday night at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Cole Custer and the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) turn their attention to the mile-and-a-half oval at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City for Sunday afternoon’s Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR Cup Series race.

● Sunday’s 267-lap race will be Custer’s 103rd career Cup Series start and sixth at Kansas. His Cup Series debut at Kansas in July 2020 resulted in a seventh-place finish en route to earning that year’s Rookie of the Year honors, and it stands as the best of his previous five Kansas outings. It was his fourth top-10 through his first 19 Cup Series starts.

● Custer has four Kansas appearances in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, the most recent three in the No. 00 SHR Ford and the first in the No. 5 entry for JR Motorsports, with a best finish of 11th in the 2019 event after leading a race-high 85 laps.

● In his lone NASCAR Camping World Truck Series outing at Kansas, the 24-year-old from Ladera Ranch, California, qualified fourth and finished seventh in the No. 00 JR Motorsports entry in the May 2016 race.

● Riding along with Custer and his SHR Mustang is team co-owner Gene Haas’ newest holding, Haas Tooling, which was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally in July 2020. Haas Automation, founded by Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

You’re headed to Kansas after scoring your eighth top-15 of the season last Sunday night at Darlington. How will it be adjusting from the quirky, egg-shaped Darlington oval to the unique, mile-and-a-half Kansas layout?

“Even though the tracks are totally different, I think it’ll be a good thing to build on as we go to Kansas. We were one of a handful of teams in the top-15 that weren’t in the playoffs last week, and a non-playoff driver won the race, so that shows that there’s some parity with this new car that we haven’t seen so much of over the years. It gives the non-playoff drivers hope for each of these final nine races that most anybody can win if everything goes your way. Hopefully we can build on the positives from Darlington. Kansas is actually a tough racetrack. You have to move around and work the different lanes. You have to have the speed, as well, obviously. Track position is going to be huge and how you work the strategy is important. It’s a track where you have to put everything together. You have to make sure you can work the lanes good, and work them from the bottom to the top of the track.”

Kansas has been one of your best tracks since your Rookie of the Year campaign in 2020, when you scored your third career top-10 in the spring, then came back in the fall to almost grab another. How was that experience for you?

“The guys fought all race long both times that year and we definitely were able to make something of it in the first race, even though it wasn’t the prettiest day. We were in a good position in the fall race. Right there at the end was the best I had been in the top groove all race long. But a speeding penalty set us back and we still ended up with 14th place, which was disappointing when we considered what might have been. Our spring race last year turned out to be a frustrating day, but we came back and had a decent run in the fall race.”

No. 41 HaasTooling.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Cole Custer
Hometown: Ladera Ranch, California

Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett
Hometown: Amherst, Ohio

Car Chief: Tony Cardamone
Hometown: Bristol, Virginia

Engineer: Lee Deese

Hometown: Rockingham, North Carolina

Engineer: Scott Bingham
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Spotter: Andy Houston
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Josh Leslie
Hometown: Mount Clemens, Michigan

Rear Tire Changer: Chris Jackson
Hometown: Rock Hill, South Carolina

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons
Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Jack Man: Kapil Fletcher

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fuel Man: Dewayne Moore
Hometown: Griffin, Georgia

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Joe Zanolini
Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Shock Specialist: Aaron Kuehn
Hometown: Kensington, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Jimmy Fife
Hometown: Orange County, California

Tire Specialist: Austin Greco
Hometown: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues
Hometown: Santa Clarita, California

Transporter Co-Driver: Charlie Schleyer
Hometown: Youngsville, Pennsylvania

CHASE BRISCOE
Kansas Advance
No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Hollywood Casino 400 (Round 28 of 36)

● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 11

● Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City

● Layout: 1.5-mile oval

● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400 miles

● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps

● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Magical Vacation Planner (MVP) returns to Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver enters Sunday’s race 15th in the playoff standings after a 27th-place finish in last Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway thanks to an early incident that put him multiple laps down. He is 10 points below the cutoff to advance to Round of 12 with two races remaining in the opening Round of 16.

● The Cup Series visited Kansas in May, when Briscoe qualified 12th and finished 24th. Though the first Kansas race of the year didn’t go as planned, the No. 14 team has shown strength at 1.5-mile tracks this season with Briscoe running up front at Las Vegas in March and battling for the win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend. In 2021, Briscoe earned a pair of top-20 finishes at Kansas with a best of 19th in the October event.

● Among his four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Kansas, Briscoe has a pair of top-three finishes, including a win in opening race of the Round of 8 in the 2020 playoffs. He also placed fifth in his first of two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Kansas in May 2017.

● Briscoe also won the 2016 ARCA Menards Series finale at Kansas after starting from the pole. He led twice for a race-high 67 laps to secure the victory by 1.464 seconds over Austin Cindric. His 14 top-fives and 18 top-10s in 20 ARCA races that year helped him clinch the championship in his rookie season.

● MVP was founded by Jamie Ane Eubanks alongside her husband JJ, a former professional basketball player, as a storefront travel agency in 2006. Today, it is a company that provides one of the best vacation planning services in the industry. It operates through three branches: MVP Parks, MVP Cruising and MVP Getaways. The company provides its exclusive and personalized, stress-free planning service at no additional expense to its clients, making the extensive array of Disney options and add-ons easy to understand and navigate. MVP actively seeks savings for its clients, monitoring early-morning releases of discounted room or vacation packages while also scouring existing reservations for price drops to where they can modify an existing reservation at the newfound lower price. MVP will also plan a family’s itinerary, expertly navigating Disney’s Genie + and Lighting Lane systems to maximize resort and park times by avoiding long lines while also securing those premium Disney dining experiences that include coveted character meetings.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

The first visit to Kansas this year didn’t go as well as the team expected, but you’ve run well on other mile-and-a-half tracks this year. Does that give you the confidence you and the team need this weekend?

“Yeah, it does. I think we were trying things that we thought were going to be better based off sim and what was being shown on paper, and now we know that isn’t the case. We were able to go back to some of what had been working for us and I think that really showed in some of the more recent races we’ve run, like Charlotte. For the most part, Kansas isn’t much different than what it has been compared to some of these tracks that race so differently with the new car. We’ll be running the fence all day and just hoping not to make a mistake that takes us out of it.”

You’ve got a bit of a gap to make up in points after Darlington. And Bristol, where anything can happen, is up after Kansas. What do you have to do to advance to the next round?

“Thankfully, the points situation is much better than I expected, but we’ve still got to have two solid races. I felt like Darlington was where we’d struggle the most out of these first three tracks. The plan for Kansas and Bristol is to get some stage points and be there at the end. We don’t necessarily need a win, even though that would make it a lot easier, we just need to have a really good points day. Wouldn’t be a bad thing for a couple of guys to have problems again, but we just need to do our job and we’ll be OK.”

No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe
Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: John Klausmeier
Hometown: Perry Hall, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey
Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen
Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Spotter: Joey Campbell
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Jack Man: Dylan Moser
Hometown: Monroe, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams
Hometown: Naples, Florida

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Shock Specialist: Brian Holshouser
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Rob Fink
Hometown: Mocksville, North Carolina

KEVIN HARVICK
Kansas Advance
No. 4 Rheem Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Hollywood Casino 400 (Round 28 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 11
● Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps/400.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Dorothy was right. There’s no place like home. And for Kevin Harvick, home is an intermediate racetrack. With apologies to those in Harvick’s hometown of Bakersfield, California, the veteran racer has made the intermediate tracks that comprise the majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule his home. Of Harvick’s 60 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, 24 have come at intermediate-style racetracks. Kansas Speedway in Kansas City is one of them – a sweeping, D-shaped oval that has produced high speeds and daring, side-by-side racing since its debut in 2001. Harvick has competed at the track for every one of its Cup Series races – one of only two drivers to do so (Kurt Busch being the other) – and has amassed quite the history in his 33 career starts. Three wins, five second-place finishes, 11 top-threes, 12 top-fives, 19 top-10s and 949 laps led make Harvick one of the most successful drivers in Kansas’ relatively young history. His average start is 13.4, his average finish is 9.1 and he has a lap completion rate of 98.7 percent.

● Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas serves as the second race of the 10-race playoffs. Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Rheem Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, is a part of the 16-driver playoff field, but he comes into the race last among his playoff counterparts. Harvick finished 33rd in the playoff opener last Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway when his car caught fire less than 100 laps from the finish. A potential top-10 result went up in smoke. It put Harvick 13 points below the top-12 cutoff line, as only the 12 highest drivers in points after the third playoff race next Saturday night at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway will advance to the second round of the playoffs. A win at either Kansas or Bristol will punch Harvick’s ticket to the Round of 12.

● Winning is what got Harvick into the playoffs. His victory Aug. 7 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn secured his spot in the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season and his 16th overall since the playoffs began in 2004. Harvick then put an exclamation point on his playoff standing by winning Aug. 14 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway to earn the ninth seed heading into Darlington.

● Kansas is one of the 10 tracks that make up the NASCAR Playoffs, and of Harvick’s 60 career NASCAR Cup Series victories, 23 have come at the remaining playoff venues. Three of those wins have been at Kansas, while Harvick also has three wins apiece at Bristol and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. He has two wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and one win each at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The remaining nine wins were earned at the most valuable playoff venue – Phoenix Raceway, home to the championship-deciding race. The only playoff track where Harvick doesn’t have a win is the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.

● Harvick won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas in the 2013 Hollywood Casino 400 with a massive 1.140-second margin over runner-up Kurt Busch. Harvick scored his next Kansas win in the 2016 Hollywood Casino 400 with another impressive performance, crossing the stripe 1.183 seconds ahead of next best Carl Edwards. Harvick’s most recent Kansas victory came in May 2018 when he beat Martin Truex, Jr., by .390 of a second.

● Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Kansas with three victories apiece. Only Harvick, Hamlin and Logano are still active, and only 10 of the 17 Cup Series winners at Kansas are active. Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 marks the 34th Cup Series race at Kansas.

● Harvick’s 12 top-fives at Kansas are the most among active drivers, as are his 19 top-10s, and both are by a wide margin. Next best in top-fives are Kyle Busch and Hamlin with 10 top-fives apiece. And when it comes to top-10s, Truex is next best with 15 top-10s.

● No one has led more laps at Kansas than Harvick. His 949 laps led around the 1.5-mile oval are 146 more laps than Truex, his nearest pursuer in this category.

● Harvick is good at Kansas even outside of the NASCAR Cup Series. He has six top-fives across 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, with the highlight being a victory in September 2006 when he beat Matt Kenseth for the win by .423 of a second. Kenseth retired from NASCAR upon the conclusion of the 2020 season and was recently named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

● With Harvick currently in his 22nd year of NASCAR Cup Series competition, a familiar name is back with the driver of the No. 4 Ford Mustang. Rheem, America’s No. 1 water heating brand and major air conditioning and heating manufacturer, is commemorating its 15th year in racing, and as a part of the celebration, Rheem partnered with Harvick and the No. 4 team in 2022. The pairing reunites Rheem with Harvick, a relationship that began in 2007 when Harvick won the Daytona 500 in dramatic fashion, beating NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin for the victory by .02 of a second in a frantic, green-white-checkered finish. It led to Rheem serving as a primary partner for Harvick’s Xfinity Series team, Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), in 2008. Rheem’s debut with KHI came on May 2, 2008 at Richmond where Harvick finished second in the Lipton Tea 250. Harvick delivered Rheem its first victory as a primary sponsor on Feb. 27, 2010 when he won the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas. Rheem aligned as a primary partner with Harvick in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2011 and stayed with him through the 2013 season before Harvick joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. This weekend at Kansas, Rheem will entertain more than 200 customers, including 100 from Air Management Supply, a three-time Rheem “Wholesaler of the Year”, and Chemours, a global chemistry company with leading market positions in titanium technologies, thermal and specialized solutions, and advanced performance materials.

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Rheem Ford Mustang

Do you have an extra gear that you grab for the playoffs?

“When the Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus era was in full swing, we had to make some decisions on how we wanted to race. We wanted to race like them, and that was championship mode every week so that you didn’t have to figure out how to do something differently when you got to the playoffs. You couldn’t put on this new face or this new mindset, or decide you’re going to do this differently or that differently. You’ve got to have that figured out before you get there and rely on your abilities and the things that you’ve done in the past. You’ve just got to continue to do that going forward, and hopefully the cars are better and you can rely on that extra speed as you go into the playoffs. We try to do the same things week after week. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) doesn’t have a demeanor change whether the sky is falling, or if it’s cold or hot outside, or the car is fast or slow, he’s pretty much the same guy. That helps us all because he’s so even-keeled about everything that he does.”

Winning at Michigan was the obvious turnaround for your season. What did you see before that win others on the outside of your race team did not?

“We see everything. Since we came back from the off weekend in June and went to Nashville and had a good weekend and were able to be competitive and run in the top-five, really from that point on things have been progressing well and the cars have had some decent speed and we’ve been able to make some changes here and there with things with the team. And I think as we’ve gone along for a month and a half, the cars had speed, we just had no luck to go along with it. But we knew things were headed in the right direction, and it was just a matter of putting ourselves in the right position and continuing to do that and having the scenarios turned around and having a little bit of good luck. That’s all turned around and, hopefully, that wave up is as long as that wave was down.”

After the win at Michigan, you won the very next week at Richmond. How satisfying were those back-to-back victories?

“I think the most gratifying part of it all was the fact that we all worked through it together. As you look at the new car and not really understand a lot that’s going on with it because it’s so drastically different, it made you look at things a lot differently than what you did before. For myself and Rodney, we’ve been around this for a long time, and having to forget all of the stuff that you’ve done, you’re going to the same racetracks, but it’s a different thought process. It’s a different process of how you get to that answer than what it used to be. You had to be somewhat open-minded, and I can be open-minded if it’s something that you want to do.”

Kansas has historically been a very good track for you, but in the series’ prior visit back in May, you finished 15th. What are your expectations for your return to Kansas this weekend?

“Kansas was an OK race for us. I think the tire’s a little bit different, a little less stagger this time, so that’ll change the setups a little bit as we go into Kansas. You have to be good middle to the top of the racetrack in order to make good time at Kansas and be able to survive on the long run and make enough speed. So you’re going to need to be comfortable from the middle of the racetrack up to the top to make good lap times, so that’s what we’ll concentrate on.”

Middle to the top of the racetrack is where you want to run at Kansas, but when do you adjust that line in the event you’re getting beat?

“I’m going to always want my car to be versatile just because if you are married to that top lane and your car won’t work anywhere else, you don’t have a really good chance of making time and passing people. If you get married to that top lane and catch 15th, 16th place in the field and they’re also married to that top lane, it becomes difficult to pass and then your gaps shrink rapidly as you’re trying to make your way through the field. You need to have some versatility. If your car’s decent up top, you can make good lap times up there, regardless, and park yourself in front of the guys who are also wanting to run up the top. But if your car’s a little more versatile than others, you can kind of swing down through the middle, especially in turns three and four.”

Your history at Kansas is impressive. Three wins, five second-place finishes, 11 top-threes, 12 top-fives, 19 top-10s and 949 laps led across 33 career NASCAR Cup Series starts. What makes you so good there?

“I think Kansas has been a great racetrack and, really, from a driver’s standpoint, a fun racetrack because of the fact that it’s worn in so well. You can race at the top of the racetrack, which is the preferred groove as the tires wear out. It’s faster at the bottom of the racetrack on new tires. But as a driver, having options is something that is a lot of fun. With Atlanta having been repaved along with some of the other racetracks, Kansas has become one of the more unique racetracks because of the fact the asphalt and the shape of the racetrack is so driver-friendly, as far as where you can drive on the racetrack. You can literally drive from the wall to the apron all the way around the racetrack. So, it’s a fun racetrack. It’s been good to us and, hopefully, we can continue that trend on Sunday in our Rheem Ford Mustang.”

By being able to move around on the track at Kansas, can you be more aggressive with these cars than you can at other tracks?

“In certain situations. I think from pushing, restarts, things like that, you can be pretty aggressive with them, but you also have to be pretty careful with them in certain spots, because it can get out from underneath you pretty quickly.”

Race strategy, particularly at Kansas, has come into play in recent races. While strategy is more in the realm of your crew chief, Rodney Childers, when it dictates a race outcome instead of sheer performance, do you have to sort of switch your mindset, perhaps by finding some patience even when you want to just go as hard as you can?

“These cars, in certain situations, have worn the tires a lot more than what they’ve done in the past. Kansas can be a high-wear racetrack just because of the way that the surface has aged, which is a great thing. So, I think for a lot of that, you’ll just have to see what the pit windows are and what the tire wear is when we go there. But it’s definitely a racey track. Those guys can see a lot more on the pit box than I can see in the car, so I usually just go with what they tell me and kind of roll from there.”

No. 4 Rheem Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Kevin Harvick

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Dax Gerringer
Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Engineer: Stephen Doran
Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania

Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Daniel Coffey
Hometown: Granite Falls, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard
Hometown: Delhart, Texas

Jack Man: Brandon Banks
Hometown: High Point, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Richie Bean
Hometown: Bradford, Vermont

Mechanic: Nick DeFazio
Hometown: Orange, California

Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Hodges
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell
Hometown: Woodville, Ohio