Kyle Larson leads this week’s NASCAR Cup Series Top-10 Power Rankings after the NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Kyle Larson:
Larson dominated at Kansas, starting on the pole, winning the first two stages, and closing the deal by holding off Christopher Bell down the stretch to win the AdventHealth 400.
“It was Mother’s Day,” Larson said. “Ironically, I celebrated by showing my rivals who their daddy is.”
2. William Byron:
Byron struggled at Kansas and finished 24th, one lap down.
“I suffered a flat right front tire early in the race,” Byron said. “And we just couldn’t recover. I apologize to my fans because there was really nothing good to see. It was like the opposite of Jerry Falwell, Jr., because they couldn’t bear to watch.”
3. Joey Logano:
Logano finished ninth at Kansas.
“It wasn’t my best day,” Logano said. “And it wasn’t my worst day. My worst day was that time I trash-talked my Penske teammate Austin Cindric over the radio, only to find out he did nothing wrong. But so be it. I have three Cup championships. So I burn rubber and bridges.”
4. Chase Elliott:
Elliott was a factor up front all day at Kansas before fading late and finishing 15th.
“My No. 9 Hendrick Chevrolet again sported the Amazon Prime paint scheme,” Elliott said. “Many of the good people down at the Dawsonville Pool Room think ‘Amazon Prime’ is the offspring of Wonder Woman and a Transformer.”
5. Ryan Blaney:
Blaney finished third at Kansas, posting his fifth top 5 of the season, and is fifth in this week’s power rankings.
“I’m still looking for my first win of the year,” Blaney said. “I’m also looking for my first Twitter beef with a former baseball player of the year.”
6. Christopher Bell:
Bell chased Kyle Larson all day at Kansas but couldn’t outgun the Hendrick driver. Bell settled for the runner-up spot, posting his seventh top 5 of the season.
“Kyle really was in a class by himself,” Bell said, “which is familiar territory for him. I think the first time was back in 2020 when that class he was in by himself was sensitivity class.”
7. Denny Hamlin:
Hamlin suffered mechanical issues midway through the race at Kansas and finished 36th in the AdventHealth 400.
“As you probably know,” Hamlin said, “I’m engaged in an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. ‘Antitrust’ is also just the general opinion I have about NASCAR as a whole.”
8. Tyler Reddick:
Reddick finished 17th at Kansas and is fifth in the points standings.
“Pit strategy played a big role in this race,” Byron said. “That’s another way of saying the race was boring.
9. Alex Bowman:
Bowman came home fifth at Kansas, posting his third top 5 of the year.
“In case you didn’t know,” Bowman said, “Advent Health is a non-profit organization, much like Rick Ware Racing.”
10. Ross Chastain:
Chastain finished 18th at Kansas and is in last place in this week’s power rankings.
“It’s great having Busch Light on my No. 1 Chevy,” Chastain said. “Obviously, I brake for Busch Light. And, I slam the brakes for Denny Hamlin.”
Kyle Larson capped off a masterful run from pole position in a dominant Cup victory in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 11.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led a dominant race-high 221 of 267 scheduled laps at Kansas. He both dominated and swept the event’s first two stages periods from the pole position. He was outmuscled by teammate Chase Elliott at the start of the final stage period with 94 laps remaining.
But Larson capitalized on Elliott’s slow pit service within the final 70 laps. He went on to retain the lead through three consecutive caution periods. This was due, in part, to on-track carnages that followed suit, beginning with 67 laps remaining.
Larson motored away from Christopher Bell and the field during the final restart with 49 laps remaining. He had enough horsepower, fuel and tire wear for the remainder of the event. He easily cruised to his third Cup Series victory of the 2025 season and his third at Kansas.
On-track qualifying on Saturday determined the starting lineup. Kyle Larson notched his first Cup pole position of the 2025 season with a pole-winning lap at 183.730 mph in 29.391 seconds. Joining Larson on the front row at Kansas was Chris Buescher. Buescher clocked in his best qualifying lap at 183.374 mph in 29.448 seconds.
Prior to the event, several drivers dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. They included Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, Ty Dillon, Ty Gibbs, rookie Shane van Gisbergen, Brad Keselowski and Zane Smith
Green Flag
When the green flag waved at Kansas and the race started, pole-sitter Kyle Larson jumped ahead of Chris Buescher through the frontstretch. He proceeded to lead through the first two turns. The field fanned out to multiple lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch. Larson, however, retained the lead through Turns 3 and 4. Larson then proceeded to lead the first lap while Christopher Bell battled and overtook Buescher for the runner-up spot.
On the sixth lap, the Kansas event’s first caution flew. AJ Allmendinger, who was racing within the top-30 mark, had huge smoke billowing out from his No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet entry and dropped fluid off of Turn 4. This terminated his run due to the engine dying. At the moment of caution, Larson was leading over Bell, Buescher, William Byron and Joey Logano. Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez were scored in the top 10.
The start of the next restart on the 10th lap at Kansas featured Larson and Bell dueling for the lead through the frontstretch and the first two turns. Bell tried to muscle ahead from the outside lane. After dueling with Bell through the backstretch. Larson then muscled ahead and slid his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet entry in front of Bell’s No. 20 Reser’s Toyota Camry XSE entry. This allowed the former to retain the lead for the following lap. As Larson led Bell, Buescher started to reel in Bell for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, the field behind fanned out while jostling for early spots.
Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Larson extended his early advantage to more than a second over Bell while Buescher, Byron and Blaney were racing in the top five. Behind, Bubba Wallace was up in sixth place ahead of Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric and Josh Berry, the latter of whom rallied from starting at the rear of the field due to an unapproved adjustment, while Ryan Preece, who was among select names who pitted during the first caution period, was up to 11th place.
Meanwhile, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar and Austin Dillon occupied top-15 spots. Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski and Zane Smith trailed in the top 20. Behind, Ross Chastain was mired in 21st place ahead of Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Noah Gragson and Justin Haley. Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Jesse Love and Ty Dillon were in the top-30 mark. In addition, Corey Heim, who was making his first of select Cup starts for 23XI Racing, was mired back in 35th place in between teammate Riley Herbst and John Hunter Nemechek.
At the Lap 35 mark, Larson stabilized his lead at Kansas to a second over Bell while select names that included Wallace, Berry, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Nemechek, Love, Michael McDowell and Chastain peeled off the racetrack to pit their respective entries. More names that included Noah Gragson, Cindric, Justin Haley, Keselowski, rookie Shane van Gisbergen, Buescher, Logano, Elliott, Hocevar, Reddick, Byron, Blaney and Ty Gibbs pitted over the following four laps before the leader Larson pitted on Lap 40.
Bell, Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also pitted with Larson. Wallace received a penalty for a tire rolling into another competitor’s pit box and interfering with a competitor’s pit service. Love received a penalty for driving through too many pit boxes while exiting his own. Stenhouse also received a penalty for having crew members over the pit wall too soon.
On Lap 42, Bowman, who assumed the lead for the previous two laps, pitted his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet entry. This allowed Kyle Busch to cycle into the lead at Kansas. Busch, who led a single lap, would then surrender the lead by Lap 44 to pit. Denny Hamlin, who pitted during the first caution period, assumed the lead. By the time Hamlin, who led two laps, pitted under green along with teammate Chase Briscoe and Todd Gilliland, Ty Dillon cycled into the lead by Lap 45.
Larson would track down Dillon and cycle back into the lead at Kansas by Lap 48. Both Dillon and Herbst opted to remain on the track and stretch their fuel tank to the conclusion of the first stage period. Byron and Bell assumed second and third on the track, respectively. Dillon, who received a huge bump in the rear by Wallace through the backstretch, dropped to fourth place just past the Lap 50 mark.
At the Lap 60 mark, Larson led by two seconds over teammate Byron. Bell, Elliott and Blaney were in the top five. Behind, Cindric, Bowman, Buescher, Preece and Logano followed suit in the top 10. Larson continued to extend his lead to more than five seconds by Lap 70.
By then, Byron, who blew a right-rear tire exiting the backstretch and spun his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet entry while trying to enter pit road without drawing a caution on Lap 66, had plummeted to 32nd place and dropped out of the lead lap category. In addition, Ty Dillon had fallen back to 30th place while Herbst, who pitted under green, was down in 37th place.
Conclusion of Stage 1
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Larson, who led by three seconds, cruised to his seventh Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Teammate Elliott overtook Bell, claiming the runner-up spot. Blaney and Cindric were also in the top five. Bowman, Hamlin, Preece, Logano and Zane Smith settled in the top 10, respectively.
By then, 20 of 38 drivers were on the lead lap. Notably, drivers including Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell, Erik Jones, Byron, Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek and Bubba Wallace were mired a lap behind.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field at Kansas, led by Larson, returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first ahead of Elliott, Blaney, Bell and Bowman while Cindric, Preece, Hamlin, Logano and Zane Smith followed suit, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Carson Hocevar received a penalty for equipment interference.
Stage 2
The second stage period started on Lap 88 as Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson and Elliott occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch while the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes. Elliott would then use the outside lane approaching the frontstretch to lead the following lap.
The duel between Larson and Elliott allowed Blaney, Bell and Bowman to close in as both Larson and Elliott continued to duel by the Lap 90 mark. Larson then muscled ahead through Turns 3 and 4 prior to the following lap. Meanwhile, Elliott was being challenged by Bell, Blaney, Bowman and Preece for the runner-up spot.
By Lap 100 of the Kansas race, Larson extended his lead up to two seconds over Bell while Elliott, Blaney and Preece trailed in the top five. Behind, Berry occupied sixth place in front of Bowman, who made on-track with Zane Smith, earlier. Hamlin, who reported clutch issues earlier, was in eighth place ahead of Smith and Keselowski.
Meanwhile, Buescher, after enduring a slow pit service during the first stage break period, was back in 11th place. ahead of Kyle Busch, Cindric, Hocevar and Haley while Logano, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe were mired in the top 20 ahead of Chastain, Gilliland, Wallace, Erik Jones and Suarez. In addition, Byron, who was mired a lap down, trailed in 27th place.
Fifteen laps later, Larson’s advantage grew to more than five seconds over Bell. Bell, Blaney and Berry were in the top five ahead of Hamlin, Bowman, Zane Smith, Keselowski and Preece, respectively.
Another five laps later, another cycle of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Cindric pitted his No. 2 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry from the top-15 mark. Gragson and Zane Smith would pit during the next lap before Zane Smith, Chastain, Austin Dillon and Love pitted by Lap 123. Bell and Reddick would also pit by Lap 124 before front-runners Elliott, Blaney, Buescher, Kyle Busch and Briscoe pitted by Lap 125.
Larson then pitted from the lead by Lap 126 along with Berry, Bowman, Keselowski, Logano, Gilliland, Wallace, Nemechek and Hamlin before Preece, who led a lap for himself, pitted during the following lap. This allowed Hocevar to cycle into the lead ahead of his Spire Motorsports teammate Haley before the latter pitted by Lap 129.
By the time Hocevar pitted under green just past the Lap 130 mark, Larson cycled into the lead. Larson would proceed to lead the event’s halfway between Laps 133 and 134 while teammate Elliott, Bell, Blaney and Berry followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who endured a 17.4-second pit stop due to his crew members dropping lug nuts, was mired back in 10th place. He was behind Bowman, Keselowski, Zane Smith and Buescher while Kyle Busch, Preece, Logano, Reddick, Chastain, Gragson, Haley, Austin Dillon, Briscoe and Hocevar were scored in the top 20, respectively.
Through the Lap 145 mark, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Elliott while Bell, Blaney and Berry continued to occupy the remaining top-five spots on the track. Despite having his advantage over Elliott decrease to a second towards Lap 155, Larson, who earlier reported vibration concerns, maintained the top spot.
Conclusion of Stage 2
When the second stage period at Kansas concluded on Lap 165, Larson, who was mired in lapped traffic, fended off teammate Elliott by 0.079 seconds to notch his second Cup stage victory of the day and the eighth of the 2025 season. Elliott settled in second ahead of Blaney, Berry and Bell while Keselowski, Bowman, Hamlin, Zane Smith and Preece were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 18 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Elliott edged Larson to exit pit road first as they were followed by Blaney, Berry, Keselowski, Bell, Preece, Logano, Zane Smith and Bowman, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Berry was penalized for speeding on pit road.
With 94 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as teammates Elliott and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch before Elliott used the inside lane to muscle his No. 9 Amazon Prime Video Chevrolet entry ahead through Turns 3 and 4. As Elliott led the following lap, the field fanned out to multiple lanes while Keselowski moved up to third place in front of Bell, Blaney and Logano. Keselowski would proceed to overtake Larson for the runner-up spot as Bell, Blaney, Bowman, Preece, Logano, Zane Smith and Hamlin occupied the top-10 spots while Elliott led with 90 laps remaining.
Then with 73 laps remaining, the caution flew when Keselowski, who was racing in the runner-up spot and trying to reel in Elliott, got loose after he blew a right-rear tire and smacked the outside wall entering Turn 1. Keselowski’s incident resulted in his No. 6 Allegra/Kroger Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry being towed to the garage. This took him out of contention, allowing Larson, Hamlin, Bell and Blaney to move up into the top-five mark in the leaderboard.
During the latest caution period, the leaders led by Elliott returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Bell edged Larson off of pit road first while Blaney, Logano, Bowman, Briscoe, Preece, Zane Smith, Buescher and Reddick followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Elliott exited pit road outside of the top-10 mark due to enduring a slow pit service, where his pit crew had issues changing the right-rear tire. In addition, Hamlin stalled his No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE entry while trying to exit his pit stall as part of his ongoing clutch issues. The recent clutch issues resulted in Hamlin’s entry being pushed to the garage, dropping him out of contention for a strong result.
The start of the next restart with 67 laps remaining did not last long when Ty Dillon, who was racing in the middle of the pack, slipped up the track entering the first two turns, barely clipped Cody Ware and smacked the outside wall, where they collected Daniel Suarez in the process. At the moment of caution, Larson was ruled the leader over the latest scoring loop over both Logano and Bell.
The next restart with 61 laps remaining also did not last long after Kyle Busch, who was racing just outside the top-10 mark and mired in a tight four-wide battle with Chastain, Berry and Gragson, was sent for a spin through the infield backstretch after being bumped by Gragson amid an accordion effect that included Berry and Chastain. Despite getting stuck in the grass, a wrecker pushed Busch’s No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet entry out of the grass. This allowed the driver to drive back to pit road, but he lost a lap in the process. Amid Busch’s incident, Larson retained the lead over Logano, Bell, Bowman and Blaney.
Like the previous two restarts, the next restart with 55 laps remaining did not last long when Haley, who was racing in the top-20 mark and mired in a near five-wide battle, made contact with Corey Heim that resulted with Haley slipping back up the track and colliding into Erik Jones towards the backstretch’s outside wall. As the field scattered, Haley, who would reverse his damaged entry back to his pit stall following the incident, clipped Wallace sending the latter hitting the outside wall and terminating his daylong charge back to the lead lap amid his early pit road penalty. Austin Dillon was also involved, scrubbing against Jones in the process. By then, Larson barely fended off Logano to retain the lead while Bell made his way into the runner-up spot.
With the event restarting under green with 49 laps remaining, Larson, who restarted on the inside lane in front of teammate Bowman, boosted ahead of Bell and the field with the lead through the frontstretch and the first two turns. As the field behind diced for late spots, Larson led the following lap over Bell and Bowman while Briscoe made a strong move to overtake both Preece and Logano for fourth place. Over the next three laps, Blaney battled teammate Logano for sixth place in front of Hocevar, Buescher and Reddick, the latter of whom nearly spun amid a check-up during the previous restart, while Larson retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over Bell with 45 laps remaining.
Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Larson extended his lead to more than a second over Bell while Bowman, Briscoe and Preece trailed in the top five. Behind, Blaney, Hocevar, Buescher, Logano and Reddick occupied top-10 spots ahead of Nemechek, Zane Smith, Elliott, Berry and Chastain while Cindric, Gragson, Heim, Todd Gilliland and van Gisbergen were racing in the top 20, respectively.
Fifteen laps later, Larson stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over Bell while Bowman and Briscoe followed suit in third and fourth, respectively. Behind, Blaney overtook Preece for fifth place while Buescher, Hocevar, Logano and Berry trailed in the top 10 by double digits. Meanwhile, Reddick dropped to 11th as he was battling Nemechek to maintain the spot while Elliott was mired in 13th place in front of Zane Smith, Cindric and Heim.
Final Laps
With 10 laps remaining, Larson’s advantage grew to two seconds over Bell while Bowman, Blaney and Briscoe continued to race in the top five. Over the next five laps, Blaney, who was the fastest competitor on the track, overtook Bowman for third place as he trailed the lead by four seconds. By then, however, Larson maintained the lead by more than a second over Bell.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained in the lead by more than a second over Bell. Despite having his large advantage erased due to falling off the pace, starting from the backstretch, Larson was able to have enough power to nurse his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet entry back to the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag by seven-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Bell.
With his third victory at Kansas, Larson, who surpassed 10,000 career laps led prior to his Kansas victory, notched his 32nd career win in NASCAR’s premier series, which tied him with NASCAR’s Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett on the all-time wins list. The Californian also achieved his 26th victory driving the No. 5 Chevrolet entry for Hendrick Motorsports and he joined Christopher Bell as three-time Cup race winners through the first half of the 2025 regular-season stretch.
Compared to a year ago where he edged Chris Buescher by a record 0.001 seconds to win in dramatic fashion, Larson expressed enthusiasm over winning the spring Kansas event by a reasonable margin and having enough power and tire wear to steer his entry back to the finish line first.
“I was trying really hard to pace myself because I believe that was our longest [green flag] run of the day,” Larson said on the frontstretch on FS1. “I’d been struggling a little bit at the end of the runs. Chase [Elliott] was really good, so I felt like I just needed to try to be better on my end. I don’t know if it was paying off or not at the end. He continued, saying, “I was still struggling. I don’t know if the right front [tire] was starting to wear a lot or what, but I was starting to lose a lot of grip and then, I was vibrating really bad. I was afraid a right rear or something would let go.
Great car, great execution today, too, for our team. Glad to not win by an inch right here this time [compared to last year] and [have] a little bit safer gap. It’s cool to win here at Kansas and now, we’ll try to execute two good weeks at Indy.”
Larson’s Cup victory at Kansas occurred as he is in the midst of a month-long racing marathon in May. He will next race in sprint cars at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway on Monday, May 12, before he travels to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, beginning this Tuesday, May 13, and spend the duration of this upcoming week and next weekend to both practice and attempt to qualify for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. The latter activities are part of his second Double Duty attempt by competing in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in this year’s Memorial Day weekend between Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports, respectively. Mired within Larson’s second Double Duty attempt is his bid to win a fourth All-Star Race feat next Sunday, May 18, at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Bell, who started in third place and cut Larson’s large advantage down to within seven-tenths of a second during the final lap, settled in second place for his sixth top-five result of the 2025 season and his best-ever result at Kansas.
“I was struggling just as bad as [Larson] was, so I was just trying to get to the end,” Bell said. “I know Ryan [Blaney] was coming on really strong there. Overall, to get home second with a lot of stage points was something that we needed after the last couple of weeks. This Reser’s Camry was just not quite what we needed.
“I feel like our day was kind of a product of qualifying well, having good pit stops, having good restarts and nothing really took us out of [the race]. Whenever the long green flag runs came, it seemed like we were going backwards and there were a couple of guys that could drive by us. To walk out of here second, I’m really happy with and hopefully, we can be a little bit stronger when we come back.”
Ryan Blaney posted his second consecutive third-place result in recent weeks while Chase Briscoe and Alex Bowman finished in the top five. Josh Berry, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Joey Logano and John Hunter Nemechek completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Notably, Corey Heim finished in 13th place in his first of select Cup start for 23XI Racing behind Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson. Chase Elliott, who led 29 laps, settled in 15th place after he never recovered from his late slow pit service.
In addition, Zane Smith ended up in 16th place in front of Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain, Shane van Gisbergen emerged as the highest-finishing rookie competitor in 20th place, Kyle Busch settled in 21st place and a lap down following his late spin, William Byron capped off his long event in 24th place and Carson Hocevar, who hit the wall in the closing laps, dropped to 26th place.
There were 15 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 37 laps. In addition, 20 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 12th event of the 2025 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by 35 points over teammate William Byron, 85 over Christopher Bell, 91 over teammate Chase Elliott and 107 over Ryan Blaney.
Results:
1. Kyle Larson, 221 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner 2. Christopher Bell, three laps led 3. Ryan Blaney 4. Chase Briscoe 5. Alex Bowman, two laps led 6. Josh Berry 7. Ryan Preece 8. Chris Buescher 9. Joey Logano, one lap led 10. John Hunter Nemechek 11. Austin Cindric 12. Todd Gilliland 13. Corey Heim 14. Noah Gragson 15. Chase Elliott, 29 laps led 16. Zane Smith 17. Tyler Reddick 18. Ross Chastain 19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 20. Shane van Gisbergen 21. Kyle Busch, one lap down, one lap led 22. Austin Dillon, one lap down 23. Michael McDowell, one lap down 24. William Byron, one lap down 25. Cole Custer, two laps down 26. Carson Hocevar, two laps down, four laps led 27. Riley Herbst, two laps down 28. Ty Gibbs, three laps down 29. Jesse Love, three laps down 30. Cody Ware, six laps down 31. Justin Haley, 12 laps down 32. Erik Jones – OUT, DVP 33. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident 34. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident 35. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident, four laps led 36. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Drivetrain, two laps led 37. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident 38. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Engine
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the 41st running of the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, May 18, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
#21: Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing, Motorcraft Quick Lane Ford Mustang
Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang Dark Horse drove through the field twice in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway and ended up with a sixth-place finish. It was his third finish of sixth or better in the 12 races this season.
Berry had to start shotgun on the field after contacting the wall in qualifying on Saturday, but he didn’t stay there long. He gained six spots in the first five laps to 32nd place then made a big jump to 19th by staying on the track as others pitted following a caution flag at Lap Seven. Seven laps later he was in 14th place, and he broke into the top 10 by the 18th lap. After a green-flag pit stop at Lap 36, Berry worked his way back into the top 10 but dropped two spots late in Stage One to end that 80-lap segment in 12th place.
Berry then kept the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang in the top 10 throughout Stage Two, ending that segment in fourth place and earning seven Stage points. But he was nabbed for speeding on pit road and had to go back to the rear of the pack for the start the third and final segment of the race.
Just as he did at the drop of initial green flag, Berry immediately began marching forward and broke into the top 15 with 61 of 267 laps remaining. He returned to the top 10 with 20 laps to go, and with six laps remaining he took sixth place and held it to the checkered flag.
Berry and the Wood Brothers team now turn their attention to next Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where they will be guaranteed a starting spot in the main event due to their win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.
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About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The company’s Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their loyalty. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, along with connected services. The company does that through three customer-centered business segments: Ford Blue, engineering iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing breakthrough EVs along with embedded software that defines exceptional digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro, helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses with vehicles and services tailored to their needs. Additionally, Ford is pursuing mobility solutions through Ford Next, and provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford employs about 177,000 people worldwide. More information about the company and its products and services is available at corporate.ford.com.
About Ford Performance Ford Performance is based in Dearborn, Mich. It is responsible for Ford’s performance vehicle development and major racing operations globally, including NASCAR, IMSA, SRO British GT, FIA World Rally Championship, Supercars Championship, World of Outlaws, Ultra4, SCORE-International, FIA Rally-Raid, Formula Drift, NHRA, Rebelle Rally, Thailand Super Series and our latest commitment in Formula 1 with RedBull Ford Powertrains. Ford Performance also maintains a constantly evolving fleet of electric performance demonstrators to showcase the limits of electrification technology. In addition, the organization also oversees the development of Ford’s racing engines, as well as the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts. For more information regarding Ford racing’s activities, please visit Performance.Ford.com or follow @FordPerformance on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and YouTube.
About Wood Brothers Racing Founded in 1950 by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood in Stuart, Virginia, Wood Brothers Racing holds a special place in NASCAR history as the sport’s longest-running team. Over eight decades, the team has earned 101 victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, along with 120 poles, and remains proud of its longstanding relationship with Ford Motor Company, fielding only Ford products since its inception. Glenn’s brother, Leonard Wood, played a key role in shaping modern racing by developing the techniques behind today’s pit stops. With a rich legacy rooted in innovation and tradition, Wood Brothers Racing continues to honor its heritage while adapting for the future as it competes in NASCAR’s premier series with Josh Berry.
Ty Dillon and the No. 10 team qualified for Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway in the 29th position. Due to an unapproved adjustment following issues in practice, Dillon was forced to start the race from the rear of the field. With a fast Chevy, Dillon was immediately able to start his march forward. The team made a routine pit stop during an early caution and made the decision to run the remainder of the stage without another pit stop. Running lap times comparable to the top 10, Dillon was able to move in to the top 25 before the field started making green-flag stops midway through the first stage. Sticking to their plan, the No. 10 team was able to lead laps before the fresher tires of the competition proved to be too much. Dillon fell through the field and was scored 34th, two laps down at the end of stage one. Dillon spent stage two and the early part of stage three focused on continuing to run strong laps and returning to the lead lap. Unfortunately, an incident on the lap 201 restart collected the No. 10 Chevy and relegated the team to a 35th-place finish.
No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1
Start: 33rd Stage 1 Finish: 38th Stage 2 Finish: 38th Finish: 38th The No. 16 Action Industries Chevy had a terminal engine issue on lap six. Allmendinger was relegated to a 38th place finish.
About Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 27 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet Team Finish 22nd at Kansas Speedway Despite Damage From Late-Race Incident
Finish: 22nd Start: 20th Points: 22nd
“It was a tough day for our No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet team at Kansas Speedway, so a 22nd-place finish is actually pretty good considering how challenging the race was for our team. The handling of our Chevy was loose early in the race and then ended up too tight in Stage 2. Unfortunately, we got caught up in a late-race incident that caused significant damage to the nose and right side, which took away any chance of a competitive finish. I’m proud of everyone’s effort at Richard Childress Racing. The crew did a great job making repairs and getting us back out there. We’ll go back to the drawing board and come back stronger when we return to Kansas in the fall.” -Austin Dillon
Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet Team Leave Kansas Speedway with 21st-Place Finish
Finish: 21st Start: 35th Points: 18th
“It was a tough weekend for our No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet team. I was happy with our Chevy in practice because we had really good long run speed, but then I got into the fence on my qualifying lap. Fortunately, it didn’t hurt our car but it put us at the back of the field to start the race. We made some good progress during the race and crew chief Randall Burnett made solid adjustments to help with handling. We were in a good spot for a decent finish when I got spun out. There wasn’t much we could do after going a lap down. It’s not the finish we deserved today.” -Kyle Busch
Jesse Love Continues to Gain Experience in No. 33 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway
Finish: 29th Start: 32nd Points: N/A
“Our weekend started out strong with a solid practice in the C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet. The car had top-15 pace and I thought we could have a really good race. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way for our No. 33 team. The balance fired off on the loose side and during our first scheduled green flag stop, I drove through too many boxes on exit which forced us to do a pass through under green. From there, it was a battle. When the right rear tire would burn off, the car didn’t have any security. Andy Street (crew chief) and the team kept working on it during every stop. We took the wave around at one point and regained a lap with a timely caution. While the result wasn’t what we wanted, I’m still very appreciative of the opportunity to drive in the Cup Series. I’ve learned a lot about these cars in a short period of time.” -Jesse Love
KANSAS CITY, KS (MAY 11, 2025) – Coming off his best performance of the season at a 1.5-mile track last weekend in Texas, Cole Custer and the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang team fought hard all afternoon to bring home a 26th-place finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
Custer qualified 31st during Saturday’s qualifying session at the 1.5-mile Kansas oval, setting the stage for a challenging race ahead. Despite the difficult starting spot and a loose-handling race car early on, Haas Factory Team worked tirelessly throughout the 267-lap event to improve speed and handling.
The No. 41 team opted to split the first stage in half, bringing Custer down pit road on lap 46 for four tires and fuel. The call paid off with a gain in track position, as Custer worked his way up to 28th by the end of Stage 1.
In the second stage, crew chief Aaron Kramer took a strategic gamble, keeping Custer on track longer than most of the field in hopes of catching a caution. Custer climbed to as high as 23rd during the cycle, but the green-flag run extended, and he was forced to pit on lap 142. As most lead-lap cars had already stopped earlier, Custer ultimately fell back to 32nd by the stage’s end.
Undeterred, the No. 41 crew rebounded in the final segment. A strong pit stop during the stage break gained Custer three positions, allowing him to restart 29th. Continued adjustments tightened up the handling on his HaasTooling.com Ford, and Custer began working various grooves across the track in search of grip. Following his final scheduled pit stop on lap 193, he steadily picked up positions to finish 26th by the time the checkered flag waved.
“The team fought hard all day. We didn’t have the speed we wanted, but I felt like we did a solid job of executing and brought home a decent finish,” Custer said. “We’ll keep trying to get it better and continue to work in the right direction.”
Up Next: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway next weekend for the All-Star race, while the Xfinity Series takes the weekend off. The Open race is set for 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1, while the main event will begin at 8 p.m. ET.
About Haas Factory Team The Haas Factory Team is a NASCAR Cup and Xfinity program owned by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. Beginning in 2025, the team will feature Cole Custer driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer take on the Xfinity Series in the No. 00 and No. 41 Ford Mustangs, respectively. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Haas Factory Team reflects a commitment to performance and engineering excellence, carrying forward Gene Haas’s commitment to motorsports.
RICK WARE RACING AdventHealth 400 Date: May 11, 2025 Event: AdventHealth 400 (Round 12 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval) Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps)
Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
RWR Finish:
● Cody Ware (Started 37th, Finished 30th / Running, completed 261 of 267 laps)
RWR Points:
● Cody Ware (36th with 68 points)
RWR Notes:
● Ware was caught up in a lap-202 incident in turn two that also collected Daniel Suárez and Ty Dillon.
Race Notes:
● Kyle Larson won the AdventHealth 400 to score his 32nd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Kansas. His margin over second-place Christopher Bell was .712 of a second.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 37 laps. ● Only 20 of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap. ● Larson leaves Kansas as the new championship leader with a 35-point advantage over second-place William Byron.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 18 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the undercard NASCAR All-Star Open.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (May 11, 2025) – The NASCAR Cup Series rolled into Kansas Speedway for the AdventHealth 400, delivering a Mother’s Day special under sunny Midwestern skies. On the 1.5-mile intermediate oval, a 38-car field took the green flag. Erik Jones, driving the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE, led the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries from the 16th starting position. Teammate John Hunter Nemechek followed closely in the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, rolling off 17th. Kyle Larson started from the pole, and when the checkered flag flew after 400 miles, it was Larson who found himself in victory lane.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE RACE RECAP: START: 17TH | FINISH: 10th | POINTS: 19th
The opening 80-lap Stage 1 saw only one early caution on Lap 8 for the No. 16 car, with the remaining 70 laps running green. The leader set a blistering pace, putting all but 19 cars a lap down.
John Hunter Nemechek struggled early with a tight-handling race car and repeatedly called for more grip. After falling as far back as 36th, he clawed his way up to 28th. But with four laps remaining in the stage, as he entered Turn 3, Nemechek radioed the Dollar Tree team reporting a possible tire going down.
The crew quickly prepared for a pit stop, but Nemechek chose to nurse the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE around the 1.5-mile oval to the stage break, ultimately finishing Stage 1 in 30th.
During the stage break, the crew mounted four fresh tires, packed the car with fuel, and raised the front end to add more downforce and improve handling.
“We’ll take the time now and get some speed in our car and drive back to the front,” said crew chief Travis Mack.
At the restart, Nemechek found himself four- and five-wide, which shuffled the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE back to 30th. Midway through the stage, he reported that the car was still a bit tight but had improved grip compared to Stage 1.
With the car handling better, Nemechek set his sights on racing back into the free pass position. With just 15 laps remaining in Stage 2, leader Kyle Larson closed in to put him another lap down. Nemechek dug in, matched Larson’s pace, and managed to stay in front of the leader to remain just one lap down, finishing Stage 2 in 27th.
During the stage break, Nemechek reported that the car felt slightly loose but overall “pretty good.” The team opted for a routine pit stop: four tires and fuel, with no further adjustments.
With a solid car underneath him, Nemechek began working his way forward. Though he started the stage several positions behind the free pass spot, within 20 laps he overtook the No. 99 and moved into the coveted position. All the team needed now was a caution—and they got it just a few laps later, on Lap 195, putting Nemechek back on the lead lap.
Crew chief Travis Mack came over the radio with encouragement: “You were outpacing the top-5 cars there—we’ve got a good car. Let’s be patient.” Nemechek replied confidently: “Let’s see if we can drive back up through here.”
The third stage was much different than the previous two stages, when several cautions for accident jumbled up the running order. With 50 laps to go, Nemechek lined up 18th by the time he came back to complete that next lap, he was up to 14th and wasn’t stopping there. On lap 254 cracked the top 10. Nemechek would hold onto 10th as the race came to a close. This finish gives Nemechek a back-to-back top-10 finish, his fourth top-10 of the season.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTABLE: “We’ve made a lot of gains for sure. Last week was a really good showing, and we had speed. This week, both cars had speed as well. Luckily, we were able to come home 10th in our Dollar Tree Camry. I like it. I like that we have decent speed. Solid day, solid effort. It wasn’t pretty – that is for sure, but we were able to maximize our finish and come home 10th.”
ERIK JONES NO. 43 ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE RACE RECAP: START: 16TH | FINISH: 32nd | POINTS: 29th Erik Jones tackled the hot and slick racetrack of Kansas Speedway in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400. After starting 16th, Jones battles in the opening laps to hold the position but struggled with the handling of his car in traffic, similar to the issues he had in Saturday’s practice session. He fell back to 27th as he fought an extremely tight No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE. He finished the stage in 25th, one lap down.
After having to come to pit road twice during the stage break to tighten a lug nut, Jones restarted at the back of the field in 33rd for the start of Stage 2. He found himself 24th by lap 101 and told the team he could use some more of the last adjustment when they came in for green flag pit stops as it helped his car. The team brought him in on lap 123 for four tires, fuel, and another set adjustment. The No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE took a turn toward the loose side on the final run of the stage though. Still, Jones was able to hold on for a 24th-place result in Stage 2.
After pitting during the stage break caution, Jones found himself in 24th once again when the field took the green flag. Despite being a lap down and still battling an ill-handling car, Jones held on until the caution came out on lap 195. The No. 43 team took a gamble to not pit with the rest of the cars and wave around to get their lap back. This move ended up working out in their favor as a caution came out before the field made it back around one time on the lap-200 restart. Unfortunately, cautions bred cautions and Jones found himself a product of a three-wide battle gone wrong as he was collected in a wreck with Justin Haley and Corey Heim just a few laps later. The result was a broken left rear toe link on the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE. The No. 43 team took the car behind the wall and went on the DVP clock to repair the damage. They sent Jones back out with less than 30 laps to go, but he did not meet minimum speed and was forced to retire early. The result was a 32nd-place finish at Kansas.
ERIK JONES QUOTABLE: “We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I felt like we were making progress in that final stage after fighting a tight Toyota Camry XSE pretty much all day. We caught a break in the final stage when we took the wave around to get our lap back and caught a quick caution. Just got caught in a bad spot on a restart and killed the car. I wish we could’ve gotten a better finish for AdventHeath to thank them for all their support, but things didn’t go our way.”
NEXT UP:
ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: (LEGACY MC) is a premier auto racing organization co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, “The King”, serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.
BELL, BRISCOE SCORE TOP-FIVES TO LEAD TOYOTA AT KANSAS Nemechek delivers back-to-back top-10s, Heim earns impressive top-15 in season debut
KANSAS CITY (May 11, 2025) – Christopher Bell (second) and Chase Briscoe (fourth) led Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon. For Bell, it his sixth top-five in 12 starts this season – and fifth top-10 in the last six races. Briscoe, who started from the rear of the field, matched his Toyota-best finish for the fourth time.
John Hunter Nemechek (10th) earned consecutive top-10s for the second time this season. The LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver has now matched his last season total of four top-10s just 12 races into this season.
Truck Series points leader Corey Heim also delivered an impressive showing as the Toyota Development Driver finished 13th in his first start of the season and first time in a Cup car since June 2024. It was a career-best Cup Series result, besting the 22nd he earned in this race one year ago.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Kansas Speedway Race 12 of 36 – 400.5 miles, 267 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kyle Larson*
2nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
3rd, Ryan Blaney*
4th, CHASE BRISCOE
5th, Alex Bowman*
10th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
13th, COREY HEIM
17th, TYLER REDDICK
27th, RILEY HERBST
28th, TY GIBBS
32nd, ERIK JONES
33rd, BUBBA WALLACE
36th, DENNY HAMLIN
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What more did you need to catch Kyle Larson?
“Yeah, I don’t know. I didn’t feel like we were very good today. We qualified well, had good pit stops – never really had any issues to set us back, but on the track, we were constantly going the wrong direction instead of going forward, but everyone fought hard on this Reser’s Camry and got us a good finish. I don’t know. I’m sure I will be a lot happier about it tomorrow and later in the week, but just didn’t feel like we were very good, and we were still right there, so I think that is a testament to how good this team is.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
What changed throughout the afternoon with the adjustments that you made?
“We just started in the back, so it made it tough to know what we needed. Even that first stage, we had a terrible pit stop during the green flag pit cycle and we came out about three-quarters of a straightway behind the 5 (Kyle Larson) car and we were able to run him down and pass him and get back on the lead lap, then in the second stage, we kind just lost our magic, I felt like, and then finally the third stage, we kind of found it back and our car started going forward again and was able to go from 17th or 18th back up to fourth. I would have loved to have track position all day – that is the name of the game half of the time, but overall great Bass Pro Shops Toyota. We needed just a good solid run like this, so that helps.”
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
Finishing Position: 10th
What does this finish say about where this team is at?
“We’ve made a lot of gains for sure. Last week was a really good showing, had speed. This week, both cars had speed as well. Luckily, we were able to come home 10th in our Dollar Tree Camry. I like it. I like that we have decent speed. Solid day, solid effort. It wasn’t pretty – that is for sure, but we were able to maximize our finish and come home 10th.”
What differences have you seen at the shop in the preparation that has allowed for this kind of success?
“There is a lot. It is not just one person. It is the team. The whole way that everyone works together. There is just a lot that goes into it. Proud of the effort of everyone at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. We just have to continue it on.”
COREY HEIM, No. 67 Robinhood Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 13th
Top-15, ran all of the laps. What did you learn today that you can take to Nashville?
“I think from the very beginning I was trying to settle in. Such a different experience than my Truck Series regular style driving. Such a different approach with aero balance and trying to find clean air and trying to get grip. It is tough. We are at the top level, and I had to settle in. It has been about a year since I drove one of these things. First stage was messy to say the least. I went a lap down, but the team stuck with me and made really good adjustments, and we climbed back through the field all day. We kind of just made consistent steps forward. I’m super proud of everyone at 23XI, Toyota – very thankful for Robinhood for coming on board. The Robin Neon looked great out there running top-15 at the end. Just proud of the consistent progress, and team definitely stuck with me in the first stage. It wasn’t pretty on my part, but grateful for everyone believing in me and grateful for the opportunity.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 33rd
Do you know what happened?
“Not really sure. Not sure if the 67 (Corey Heim) got into somebody, and I just tried to hang a left and stay in the gas and I got clipped in the right rear. It’s unfortunate. I hate it. It all stems back from our penalty earlier on. We tried so hard to fight back but it wasn’t meant to be. We had a lot of confidence coming into this race. Felt good about it yesterday, but just not our day. Not our last couple of weeks, but Happy Mother’s Day. Excited to get back home to see my wife and our baby boy and focus on that.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 36th
Can you take us through what happened?
“Yeah, I think eventually just broke the transaxle trying to leave the stall there. Unfortunate for the Progressive Toyota team. Really fast again – just can’t keep it together right now.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.
NASCAR CUP SERIES KANSAS SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT MAY 11, 2025
Larson Takes Team Chevy to Three-Straight Triumphs at Kansas Speedway
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS. DRIVER 1st – Kyle Larson 5th – Alex Bowman
In yet another dominating performance, Kyle Larson took the checkered flag in the NASCAR Cup Series’ AdventHealth 400, delivering Chevrolet its third-straight trip to victory lane at Kansas Speedway. The victory – Larson’s third win of the 2025 season and 32nd all-time in the division – is Chevrolet’s 16th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory at Kansas Speedway to continue to lead the series at the 1.5-mile Midwest oval.
Larson’s victory marks Chevrolet’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series win of the 2025 season, and the manufacturer’s second in five events on non-drafting intermediate ovals – each earned by the 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native.
The victory came after a weekend sweep for the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet team, starting with a strong performance on Saturday that ended with the team’s first pole win of the season. Taking command on the opening lap, Larson went on to take both green-white checkered flags to bring his stage win total to a series-leading eight with just 12 races complete. The stage sweep came after tallying 150 of 165 laps led in the first two stages, and despite a calamity-filled final stage, Larson went on to bring his total to a race-high 221 laps led en route to back-to-back triumphs in the track’s spring event.
An early qualifying lap for Alex Bowman put the Hendrick Motorsports mid-pack in the starting lineup, but the Blake Harris-led No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team quickly rebounded to showcase the speed they carried in Saturday’s practice session. The 32-year-old Tucson, Arizona, native navigated his Chevrolet-powered machine through the field to collect top-seven finishes in each stage, going on to take the checkered-flag in the fifth position for the team’s second top-five finish.
Chevrolet’s all-time NASCAR Cup Series statistics at Kansas Speedway:
Wins: 16 Poles: 14 Top-Fives: 77 Top-10s: 167
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 12 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the All-Star Race weekend on Sunday, May 18, with the All-Star Open at 5:30 p.m. ET and the All-Star Race at 8 p.m. ET. Live coverage of both events can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Post-Race Driver Quotes:
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 22nd
“It was a tough day for our No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet team at Kansas Speedway so a 22nd-place finish is actually pretty good considering how challenging the race was for our team. The handling of our Chevy was loose early in the race and then ended up too tight in Stage 2. Unfortunately, we got caught up in a late-race incident that caused significant damage to the nose and right side, which took away any chance of a competitive finish. I’m proud of everyone’s effort at Richard Childress Racing. The crew did a great job making repairs and getting us back out there. We’ll go back to the drawing board and come back stronger when we return to Kansas in the fall.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 1st
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WAY THIS RACE UNFOLDED, YOU HAD A VERY DOMINATE RUN, BUT THERE WERE MOMENTS YOU HAD SOME CONCERNS. HOW DID YOU WORK THROUGH THAT?
“Yeah, it was tough. I could get out to a good lead, and I could kind of manage my tires. But Chase (Elliott) was really good at the end of the long runs. We decided to take control of the race, and we kind of lost it a little bit there. We had some restarts work out in our favor, and that last run just played out well enough to get the win. I wasn’t very good again at the end of the run, but I am just proud of my team and proud of this HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy team. It’s just been an awesome day.”
HOW MUCH DID YOU NEED TYLER AND CLIFF TO KEEP REMINDING YOU ABOUT SAVING THE TIRES OVER THE COURSE OF THE RUN?
“Yeah, it helps. Cliff (Daniels) is really good at keeping me informed with what is going on with other people and especially our team. So, yeah, he had me concerned, but I could feel it, as well. Just happy that last run went good. I was a bit nervous there at the end and it was starting to shake a lot, and I was afraid it was going to blow a right-rear tire. I tried to back my pace down a lot, but had enough to get to the end there.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO LEAVE HERE WITH THE WIN AND HEAD TO INDY AND HAVING CHARLOTTE AND NORTH WILKESBORO AND A BUSY TIME AHEAD?
“It’s really cool to head to Indy as the point leader two years in a row in the Cup Series. It’s really tough to do, and it’s really cool for our team and our sport that the Cup Series point leader gets to run the Indianapolis 500. It’s awesome, and thanks again to these guys right here. I won’t get to celebrate with them tonight, but we will do a little celebrating here before we have to leave the track.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Finished: 21st
“Tough weekend for our No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet. I was happy with it in practice, we had really good long run speed. I got in the fence on my qualifying lap, fortunately it didn’t hurt the car but it put us at the back to start the race. We made some good progress and were in a good spot for a decent finish when I got spun out. Not much we could do after going a lap down to put tires on it. Not the finish we deserved today.”
Jesse Love, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 29th
“Our weekend started out strong with a solid practice in the C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet. The car had top-15 pace and I thought we could have a really good race. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way for our No. 33 team. The balance fired off on the loose side and during our first scheduled green flag stop, I drove through too many boxes on exit which forced us to do a pass through under green. From there, it was a battle. When the right rear tire would burn off, the car didn’t have any security. Andy Street (crew chief) and the team kept working on it during every stop. We took the wave around at one point and regained a lap with a timely caution. While the result wasn’t what we wanted, I’m still very appreciative of the opportunity to drive in the Cup Series. I’ve learned a lot about these cars in a short period of time.”
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 5th
What more did you need out there?
“Not to crash the car on the Stage Two restart. We were really good before that, and then we destroyed the race car – the toe’s knocked out of it and the body was killed. While it might not look destroyed and we still ran fifth, these things are just super sensitive. It’s a bummer that happened. You just don’t get many race cars that are that good. We had one last weekend (at Texas Motor Speedway) and we didn’t capitalize on it. We had one at Bristol (Motor Speedway) and didn’t capitalize on it. Today, we ended up with a top-five, but I don’t feel like we capitalized on it.
I’m frustrated on that side of things, but super proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. It’s not something we did or that the car did. Two guys under me decided to drive us straight into the fence. That’s Next Gen racing, though. The restarts get pretty crazy, and unfortunately, it just kind of hurt the rest of our day.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 23rd
“Tough day for this No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet team. We just got behind a little bit those first couple of runs. We were really loose and corded the right-rear tire. We lost a lap, and then we just never really recovered from there. I thought we were going to get lucky there and get a caution near the end, but it didn’t work out. Just a struggle in the race, for whatever reason. We’ll go back and figure out what we need to do better. We fought hard; got one lap back, but needed to get two back. Just hate it for this team. We had really good speed yesterday, it just didn’t correlate to today.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 20th
“That was a decent finish for how it felt. My SafetyCulture Chevrolet definitely got better there at the end. The team made adjustments that helped me get more comfortable with the car. Just going to keep learning and making progress on the ovals.”
Suarez on the accident that ultimately ended his day early in the final stage:
“He (Ty Dillon) was on new tires and drove into the corner and wrecked the No. 51 (Cody Ware) and myself there. We were just in the wrong place there, but at the end of the day, it’s our fault. We shouldn’t be in those positions and in those situations. I thought our No. 99 Choice Privileges Chevrolet had decent speed, but we never had a shot. We just fired off today very, very off balance. We were super, super tight. Eventually, we got it a little bit better, but our car was just off on balance. I feel like our car had potential, but we just didn’t do a good job with our adjustments overnight.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
