What’s Happening?

This weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series head west to Kansas Speedway as the Cup Series takes on the second race of the Round of 12, and the Xfinity Series continues its first round of the playoffs.

• Though the 1.5-mile intermediate located in Kansas City, Kansas, was once considered to be a cookie-cutter track, Kansas Speedway may be NASCAR’s most exciting track. This is due to NASCAR’s Next Gen Car, which has turned the once stale intermediate product into must-watch racing.
• Kansas opened in 2001, as part of NASCAR’s westward expansion at the time. That season, the track hosted all three NASCAR National Series on one weekend. The track gained a second race date in 2011, and though the fall race is a Cup/Xfinity double header, the triple header weekends have continued to happen sporadically.
• Though multiple drivers have won at the track on three occasions, only one driver, Denny Hamlin, has broken through with a fourth win at Kansas. In fact, when NASCAR introduced the Next Gen Car in 2022, the first four Gen Seven races at the track were won by Hamlin or one of his 23XI Racing drivers.

Weekend TV Schedule (All Times Eastern)*

Saturday, September 27: Xfinity Series Practice and Qualifying | Cup Series Practice and Qualifying | Truck Series Race

• 10:30 AM – 11:25 AM: Xfinity Series Practice on The CW App
• 11:35 AM – 12:35 PM: Xfinity Series Practice and Qualifying on The CW App
• 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Cup Series Practice on TruTV
• 2:10 PM – 3:00 PM: Cup Series Practice and Qualifying on TruTV
• 4:00 PM: NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 MRN on The CW [TV] & MRN [Radio]

Sunday, September 28: Cup Series Race

• 3:00 PM — Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET on USA [TV] & MRN [Radio]

*Kansas Speedway is in Central Time

Race Facts: Kansas Speedway

Track Facts: Kansas Speedway

• Year Opened: 2001
• Length: 1.5 Miles
• Banking: 17-20° in Corners
• Surface: Asphalt
• Rain Tires: No
• Lights: Yes

Kansas Lottery 300 on The CW:

• Race Length: 200 Laps (300 Miles)
• Stages: 45 Lap Stage One, 45 Lap Stage Two, 110 Lap Final Stage
• Most Recent Race Winner: Aric Almirola (2024)

Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET on USA:

• Race Length: 267 Laps (400.5 Miles)
• Stages: 80 Lap Stage One, 85 Lap Stage Two, 102 Lap Final Stage

2024 Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET Results:

• First: Ross Chastain — No. 1
• Second: William Byron — No. 24
• Third: Martin Truex Jr — No. 19
• Fourth: Ryan Blaney — No. 12
• Fifth: Ty Gibbs — No. 54

Top Storylines of the Weekend

• Four Races into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and Chevrolet is nowhere to be found. Through these four races, the best Chevrolet is a 10.5, by a non-playoff driver, Carson Hocevar. The best average finish of the four Chevrolets remaining in the playoffs is the 11.8 average finish of William Byron. Chevy has won the past three races at Kansas, and, if the OEM wants to get the job done in the playoffs, it feels like it’s now or never.
• The NASCAR Xfinity Series is the only NASCAR National Series still in the first Round of its playoffs. A non-playoff driver, Aric Almirola, won the playoff opener at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago. Now, the four drivers sitting below the cutline are Nick Sanchez, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, and Sammy Smith. After this weekend, the series heads to the roval, where it already feels like a Connor Zilisch win, so Kansas is the place to win if you are below that line.
• Kansas always seems like a playoff wildcard, and that by no means says that a playoff driver will win the race. Of the three fall playoff races at Kansas in the Next Gen Era, two have been won by non-playoff drivers. In 2022, Bubba Wallace won; last year, it was Ross Chastain. Notably, all three of the Next Gen playoff race winners, including Tyler Reddick in 2023, are in the playoffs.

Entry Lists

Cup Series

Open and Notable Entries:

• #4 – Noah Gragson
• #23 – Bubba Wallace
• #34 – Todd Gilliland
• #35 – Riley Herbst
• #38 – Zane Smith
• #44 – J.J Yeley
• #45 – Tyler Reddick

Xfinity Series

Notable Entries:

• #11 – Brenden Queen
• #17 – Rajah Caruth
• #19 – Justin Bonsignore
• #24 – Patrick Staropoli
• #32 – Austin Green
• #35 – TBA
• #76 – Kole Raz
• #91 – TBA

Note: This article will be updated as more information about the weekend comes out.