Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service

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Matt Kenseth Edges Teammate Kyle Busch for Kansas Pole

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News
KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 14: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, KS – OCTOBER 14: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

To learn how to master the track that continued to jinx him, Kyle Busch paid close attention to the way Matt Kenseth drove Kansas Speedway.

Though Kenseth was helpful, he apparently kept a thousandth of a second in his pocket. That was the margin by which Kenseth edged Busch in Friday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series knockout qualifying session at the 1.5-mile track.

Touring Kansas in 28.112 seconds (192.089 mph) to Busch’s 28.113 seconds (192.082 mph), Kenseth earned the top starting spot for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (at 2:15 p.m. ET on NBC), the fifth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the second race in the Chase’s Round of 12. Continue reading →

Is a Seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Title in the Cards for Jimmie Johnson?

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, answers questions from the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo - Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, answers questions from the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Where Jimmie Johnson is concerned, last week’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Charlotte means more than the end of a 24-race dry spell and a ticket into the Chase’s Round of 8.

Guaranteed to be one of the final eight drivers eligible for the series title this year, Johnson can start to entertain the possibility of a seventh championship that would tie him for the all-time record with two icons of the sport—Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Continue reading →

NASCAR Continues Trend Toward Lower Downforce with 2017 Rules

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News
Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Xfinity Toyota, holds a press conference after practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas Photo - Josh Hedges/Getty Images
Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Xfinity Toyota, holds a press conference after practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 14, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas Photo – Josh Hedges/Getty Images

With the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in full swing, driver Carl Edwards hasn’t had time to review or digest the 2017 rules package released to Sprint Cup teams this week.

But Edwards did applaud the continued direction NASCAR is taking with measures that will remove downforce from the cars that race in the sanctioning body’s premier series. Continue reading →

Late Pass Gives Logano XFINITY Win, as Chase Field Cut to Eight

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Track News Xfinity Series

If stealing a race were against the law, there would be an arrest warrant out for Joey Logano on Sunday night.

Grabbing the lead from Kyle Larson after a restart on lap 183 of 200, Logano held off a charging Elliott Sadler by 0.462 seconds to win the Drive for the Cure 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the event that trimmed the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Chase field from 12 drivers to eight.

Larson, who led 165 laps and at one point had the lead lap to himself, closed on Logano with three circuits left but brushed the turn two wall on lap 197 and fell to fourth at the finish behind Sadler and Daniel Suarez. Continue reading →