The Monster Energy Cup Series heads west to Kansas for some Saturday night racing and the KC Masterpiece 400.
Some early morning nasty weather on Friday forced NASCAR to make some big changes to the schedule in Kansas that limited drivers to only one practice session of two and a half hours. The bad weather also caused NASCAR to late in setting up the inspection stations; which resulted in some further delays.
After the weather caused some delays and shortages with practice, the cars have been pulled from the track while NASCAR has to make some repairs to the track itself. Track workers had to drill holes into the track to relieve water pressure under the track.
NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth returns to NASCAR with Roush Fenway Racing and taking over the driving duties this weekend for Trevor Bayne.
At the end of round one in qualifying; Clint Bowyer’s car failed inspection three times and did not make it on the track for a qualifying run. Kasey Kahne, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Kenseth, Timmy Hill, and Michael McDowell also failed to make it through inspection in time to qualify and have their staring spots placed by car owner points.
After three round so of qualifying Kevin Harvick won the pole for his fourth pole at the mile and a half track.
The starting line up for the KC Masterpiece 400:
Kevin Harvick
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Aric Almirola
Brad Keselowski
Denny Hamlin
Martin Truex Jr
Kurt Busch
Joey Logano
Chris Buescher
Paul Menard
Erik Jones
William Byron
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Newman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Chase Elliott
AJ Allmendinger
Alex Bowman
David Ragan
Darrell Wallace Jr
Kyle Larson – moved to the back of the field for tire changes
Jimmie Johnson
Jamie McMurray
Austin Dillon
Ty Dillon
Corey LaJoie
Ross Chastain
Gray Gaulding
Reed Sorenson
Landon Cassill
BJ McLeod
Clint Bowyer
Kasey Kahne
Matt Kenseth
Michael McDowell
Matt DiBenedetto
Timmy Hill
Stages one and two of the race are 80 laps each with stage three lasting 107 laps for a total of 267 laps around the one and a half mile track.
NASCAR has called for a competition yellow on lap 30 after a heavy overnight rain.
Kevin Harvick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and gets out in front for the lead.
After not making a qualifying run due to inspection issues, Clint Bowyer has moved up to 22nd place on lap three.
Lap four Kevin Harvick leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.
Lap seven Kevin Harvick has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on Ryan Blaney with Kyle Busch in third, Aric Almirola in fourth, and Brad Keselowski in fifth.
Bubba Wallace gets loose and brushes the wall but the track stays green.
Lap eleven Kevin Harvick is out in front by over nearly two seconds over Ryan Blaney.
Lap 17 Kevin Harvick’s lead is down to only a second over Ryan Blaney with Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five. Kyle Larson has moved up 27 spots since the start of the race.
Lap 19 Kyle Larson is in the top 10.
Lap 20 Kevin Harvick continues to lead the race with Ryan Blaney over a half a second behind.
Lap 24 Kevin Harvick has a lead of over a second on Ryan Blaney with Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five. Kyle Larson is in ninth place.
In his first race back since the end of last season, Matt Kenseth is in 28th place; calling the car undrivable.
NASCAR puts out the first caution flag of the race for the competition caution at the end of lap 30. Matt Kenseth is the “lucky dog”.
Several drivers have complained of ill handling cars and are looking for major adjustments during pit stops.
Taking only two tires, William Byron wins the race off of pit road.
After coming off of pit road first, William Byron’s team was charged with an uncontrolled tire.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 36 and holds on to the lead of the race.
Lap 37 and the top five are Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano.
Rim riding, Kyle Larson is in seventh place on lap 40.
Lap 41 Ryan Blaney has a half second lead on Kevin Harvick; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.
Kasey Kahne hits the wall but the track stays green.
Lap 44 Ryan Blaney’s lead is over half a second on Kevin Harvick.
Lap 51 Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on Kevin Harvick with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola rounding out the top five.. Hometown driver Clint Bowyer is in 10th place.
Kevin Harvick reported that he may have a tire going down.
Lap 56 Ryan Blaney continues to lead the race with a lead of nearly a second and a half over Kevin Harvick; Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola rounds out the top five. It is at this track one year ago, that Almirola was involved in a crash that resulted in a broken back.
The race begins in the daylight and will work its way into the night; several drivers are complaining about handling issues.
Lap 62 Ryan Blaney has a lead of near a second and a half on Kevin Harvick. Jimmie Johnson brings his car down pit road for a loose wheel.
Lap 65 the top five are Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola.
Lap 68 Ryan Blaney’s lead is under a second on Kevin Harvick with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola rounding out the top five.
Lap 71 Ryan Blaney has a lead of less than half a second on Kevin Harvick.
Lap 74 Ryan Blaney leads the race by less than half a second with Kevin Harvick in second, Brad Keselowski in third, Joey Logano in fourth, and Aric Almirola in fifth.
Bubba Wallace has a flat tire but makes it down pit road and the track stays green.
Lap 76, Kevin Harvick has caught Ryan Blaney when Blaney encounters lapped traffic.
Lap 78 Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney swap the lead back and forth.
Ryan Blaney wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ryan Blaney
Kevin Harvick
Brad Keselowski
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Aric Almirola
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Busch
Kurt Busch
Clint Bowyer
The end of stage one also brings twilight to the track.
AJ Allmendinger is the “lucky dog” n 23rd place.
Kevin Harvick wins the race off of pit road.
Chris Buescher’s team was charged with an uncontrolled tire on pit road.
Kevin Harvick brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 89 and hold on to the lead of the race as Kyle Larson makes it three wide back in the field.
Lap 91 the top five are Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson.
Lap 95 Kevin Harvick has a one second lead on Ryan Blaney with Joey Logano Kyle Larson, and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.
Daniel Suarez brings his car down pit road for an unscheduled pit stop due to a loose tire.
Lap 97 Kevin Harvick’s lead is now over a second on Ryan Blaney as Joey Logano and Kyle Larson battle for third.
Lap 100 Kevin Harvick has a lead of over a second on Ryan Blaney with Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.
Lap 102 Joey Logano and Kyle Larson battle back and forth for third place.
Kevin Harvick is reporting a vibration.
Lap 110 Kevin Harvick has a half second lead on Ryan Blaney with Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.
Brad Keselowski made an unscheduled pit stop due to a loose tire.
Kevin Harvick’s team reports that the video looked good and not tire issues.
Lap 115 Kevin Harvick leads Ryan Blaney by half a second; with Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.
Lap 122 Brad Keselowski makes a second trip down pit road, and green flag pit stops begin.
The top five are Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano.
Lap 125, leader Kevin Harvick makes his green flag pit stop. Ryan Blaney is the new leader.
Ryan Blaney’s cooling system has shut off.
Austin Dillon takes over the lead when Ryan Blaney makes his pit stop.
Lap 129, Austin Dillon is the only driver on the lead lap that has not yet made a green flag pit stop.
Lap 130 Austin Dillon makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Kevin Harvick.
Lap 132, Kyle Larson gets past Kevin Harvick for the lead.
Lap 139 Kyle Larson has a second lead on Kevin Harvick with Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch rounding out the top five.
Happy Harvick is decidedly unhappy with the way his car is running.
Lap 142 Kyle Larson has a one second lead on Kevin Harvick with 18 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 145 Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Kevin Harvick with Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.
Lap 150 the top five are Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano.
Lap 151 Kyle Larson has a lead of a second and a half on Kevin Harvick with 17 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 154 Kyle Larson has a lead of over half a second on Kevin Harvick.
Kyle Larson wins stage two and darkness has descended over the race track. Ricky Stenhouse Jr is the “lucky dog”.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
Kevin Harvick
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Aric Almirola
Kurt Busch
Clint Bowyer
Erik Jones
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 168 with Kyle Larson holding on to the lead.
Lap 169 the top five are Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Joey Loagno.
With less than 100 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are getting aggressive, even getting four wide briefly.
Kyle Busch is reporting a vibration.
Lap 173 Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Kevin Harvick with Ryan Blaney in third, Joey Logano in fourth, and Kyle Busch in fifth.
Lap 181 Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly a second on Kevin Harvick with Ryan Blaney in third, Joey Logano in fourth, and Kyle Busch in fifth.
Lap 190 Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly two seconds on Kevin Harvick with 19 cars on the lead lap.
Kyle Busch is reporting grip issues.
Lap 194 the top five are Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch.
Lap 200 – only 67 laps remain – Kyle Larson is out in front by nearly four seconds with Kevin Harvick in second. Drivers are beginning to make green flag pit stops.
Austin Dillon was charged with a commitment cone violation when making his green flag pit stop.
Lap 205 Kyle Larson is running away with the lead, he is out in front of Kevin Harvick by over three seconds.
Lap 207 Kyle Larson’s lead is now under three seconds over Kevin Harvick with 18 cars on the lead lap.
Fifty five laps to go, drivers can make it to the end of the race from here and are making green flag pit stops.
Lap 215 Ricky Stenhouse Jr leads the race amid green fag pit stops.
Fifty to go, Ricky Stenhouse Jr is in the lead with nine cars on the lead lap.
The top fiver are Ricky Stenhouse r, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano.
Less than 50 laps remain in the race and all 38 cars are still on the track.
Forty five to go, Ricky Stenhouse Jr is in the lead with Kyle Larson in second; Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
When Ricky Stenhouse Jr makes his pit stop, Kyle Larson takes over the lead of the race with Ryan Blaney in second and Kevin Harvick in third.
Lap 232 Kyle Larson has a two second lead on Ryan Blaney with Kevin Harvick in third.
With 31 laps to go in the race the caution flag comes out when Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez make contact and send sparks flying. This is the first caution flag of the night for an on track incident.
Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road.
Nineteen cars take the wave around to make a total of 17 cars on the lead lap.
Key Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with only 25 laps remaining in the race. Larson holds on to the lead but gets challenged by Kevin Harvick; and swapping the lead back and forth with Joey Logano on their bumpers.
Kevin Harvick passes Kyle Larson to take over the lead with 24 laps remaining in the race.
With 20 laps remaining in the race, Kevin Harvick leads the race. Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney make contact after some hard racing and bring out the caution flag.
Taking only two tires William Byron wins the race off of pit road, but the first six cars did not pit.
Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola had to make a second trip down pit road to tighten loose lug nuts.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 250 and the cars get three wide across the track. Martin Truex Jr is in the lead with Joey Logano in second.
A big crash gets William Byron’s car on fire, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher were also involved. William Byron gets out of his car without any assistance.
NASCAR has put out the red flag and stopped the race in order to get the track cleaned up and cleared.
When the race restarts Martin Truex Jr will be the leader with Joey Logano, Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott will be the top five.
The yellow flag is out and there are only 10 laps remaining in the race. Martin Truex Jr brings the field down for the green flag restart and holds on to the lead as drivers get spread out across the track.
With only Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over half a second on Kevin Harvick.
Five to go and Martin Truex Jr has a one second lead on Kevin Harvick with Joey Logano in third, Kyle Larson in fourth, and Denny Hamlin in fifth.
Lap 264 Kevin Harvick has closed the gap on leader Martn Truex Jr to less than half a second.
Kevin Harvick passes Martin Truex Jr just before taking the white flag.
Kevin Harvick wins the KC Masterpiece 400 for his fifth win of the 2018 season.
The unofficial results of the KC Masterpiece 400:
Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Paul Menard
Erik Jones
Kurt Busch
Aric Almirola
Kyle Busch
Rick Stenhouse Jr
Chase Elliott
David Ragan
Brad Keselowski
Clint Bowyer
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Jimmie Johnson
Michael McDowell
Kasey Kahne
Matt DiBenedetto
Darrell Wallace Jr
Corey LaJoie
Landon Cassill
Ross Chastain
Reed Sorenson
Daniel Suarez
Gray Gaulding
Ryan Newman
Jamie McMurray
Timmy Hill
William Byron
Chris Buescher
BJ McLeod
Matt Kenseth
Ryan Blaney
Ty Dillon