This week NASCAR travels to Kansas for some Midwest racing with the Advent Health 400.

Rain and lightening put a halt to on track activities on Friday; as the drivers take to the track for practice, the skies are blue, but the wind is swirling.

NASCAR has divided the drivers into two groups for two 25 minute practice sessions.

As practice begins, eight cars are still trying to work their way through technical inspection.  There was a total of 19 cars that failed the inspection process on the first time through but every car has made it through inspection with no issues.

Jamie Little announced that the Boys and Girls Club are inducting Bubba Wallace into their Hall of Fame at the end of the month.  Bubba is carrying a special Boys and Girls Club paint scheme this weekend.  This will also be Bubba’s 300th career start.

Mike Joy reports that the “incident” that brought out the late race caution last week to send the race into overtime at Bristol Motor Speedway was not a “head hunting” event.  Riley Herbst got loose and Kyle Busch chose not to lift.  Earlier, Kyle Busch passed Riley Herbst with no issues and could have used that moment to “send a message” but chose not to do so.

The drivers are seeing a tire fall off from half a second to a full second depending on how well the car is handling.

Christopher Bell tops the leaderboard on a single lap run at 30.012 seconds; along with the multiple lap runs.

Practice speeds are faster than the pole for the race last fall.

The top five cars in group two practice are all Toyota’s with 23XI leading the way.   The top seven cars are all from group two and have run sub 30 second laps.

Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, and Tyler Reddick are the only drivers this season to finish every race on the lead lap.

Kaulig Racing has chosen to run the new Ram trucks in the Craftsman Truck Series, but they run Chevrolets in the Cup Series; as a result, the Cup Series drivers get no help in the form of data, etc. from Chevrolet.  Nor do they have a simulator.

Tyler Reddick topped the leaderboard in single lap times at the end of group two practice with a time of 29.559 seconds.

Corey Heim is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run and posted a time of 29.664 seconds.

With a time of 29.142 seconds, Tyler Reddick puts his number 45 car on the pole for his third pole of the season with Denny Hamlin starting alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Advent Health 400:
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe
Carson Hocevar
Chris Buescher
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Blaney
Bubba Wallace
Christopher Bell
Ryan Preece
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Joey Logano
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Shane van Gisbergen
Michael McDowell
Erik Jones
Austin Dillon
Brad Keselowski
Riley Herbst
Kyle Busch
Corey Heim
Zane Smith
Todd Gilliland
AJ Allmendinger
Noah Gragson
Cole Custer
Josh Berry
Ross Chastain
John Hunter Nemechek
Alex Bowman
Austin Cindric
Cody Ware
Connor Zilisch
Ty Dillon

Joey Logano and Noah Gragson’s crews made changes to the steering on both cars and will have to start the race from the back of the field for unapproved adjustments.

Stage one is 80 laps, stage two is 85 laps, and stage three is 102 laps for a total of 267 laps around the 1.5 mile track.  The drivers can run around 65 laps on a single load of fuel.

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with bossman Denny Hamlin alongside.  A four time winner this year; Reddick started from the pole on three of them.  Drivers quickly spread out three and four wide.  Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick battle for the lead including a little bumping before Reddick takes the lead.

The top five are Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Carson Hocevar.

Lap three, Carson Hocevar passes Kyle Larson for fourth.

Lap four, Denny Hamlin passes Tyler Reddick for the lead.

While there has been some activity on the track, the race start is much calmer than the O’Reilly Series race on Saturday night when Carson Kvapil ended up on his roof.

Lap eight, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Carson Hocevar, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 10, Denny Hamlin has increased his lead to over a second on Tyler Reddick.

Lap 13, Denny Hamlin has increased his lead to nearly a second and a half on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Carson Hocevar, and Kyle Larson continue to round out the top five.

Joey Logano has moved up eight spots since the start of the race; Noah Gragson five.

Lap 21, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race and is a second and a half in front of Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Lap 27, Cody Ware is the only driver not on the lead lap.  Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race.

Carson Hocevar reports that his “right front is gone”.

Lap 29, Kyle Larson has passed Chase Briscoe for third.  Ty Gibbs has passed Carson Hocevar for fifth.

Daniel Suarez changed from Trackhouse Racing to Spire Motorsports this season.  He reports that he is very happy with his new team.

Lap 32, leader Denny Hamlin has encountered slower traffic.  There are now 32 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 33 Ryan Preece is the first driver to make a pit stop as green flag pit stops begin.

Lap 36, Denny Hamlin has increased his lead on Tyler Reddick to two and a half seconds.

Lap 37, half the field has come down pit road for service, but the leaders are still out on the track.

Lap 38, Tyler Reddick makes his pit stop.

Lap 39, Denny Hamlin comes in for his service and gives the lead over to Carson Hocevar.

Ryan Blaney and AJ Allmendinger make contact on pit road.  Blaney was leaving, Allmendinger was coming in.

Lpa 40, Carson Hocevar makes his pit stop.

Lap 41, Denny Hamlin retakes the lead with Kyle Larson in second.

Lap 43, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher.

Lap 45, Bubba Wallace passes Chase Briscoe for fifth.

Lap 48, Denny Hamlin has a two second lead on Kyle Larson; tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher  round out the top five.

Carson Hocevar had an 18 second pit stop after the air gun broke.  He is now back in 17th.

Tire wear was a serious issue all up and down pit road with threads wrapping and cording.

After his pit road mishap, AJ Allmendinger is tow laps down.

Lap 53, Denny Hamlin is nearly three seconds in front of Kyle Larson; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

There are just 25 cars on the lead lap.  Kyle Busch is the first car one lap down.

Lap 59, since his pit road issue, Carson Hocevar has moved up to 12th place.

Lap 60, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over two and a half seconds on Kyle Larson; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher rounding out the top five.

Just 15 laps remain in stage one, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lad of over three seconds on Kyle Larson; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher rounding out the top five.

Kyle Busch is reporting tire issues.  He had fabric shredding coming down pit road for his first stop.

The teams were all given eight sets of tires plus the qualifying scuffs.

With nine laps remaining in stage one, Joey Logano is in danger of being lapped.

In a three wide battle, Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott just avoided a big wreck.

Seven laps remain in stage one, Denny Hamlin finally puts Joey Logano a lap down.

Christopher Bell has passed Chris Buescher for fifth.

Five to go in stage one, Denny Hamlin continues to lap slower traffic with just 21 cars on the lead lap.

Denny Hanlin wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Ty Gibbs
Christopher Bell
Chase Elliott
Chase Briscoe
Carson Hocevar
Bubba Wallace
Corey Heim

Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road. 

Ryan Blaney was charged with having too many crew over the wall while they worked on the front splitter.  He will restart the race form the back of the field.

Carson Hocevar had another slow stop and spent 17 seconds on pit road after the crew had to jack the car twice.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 89.  Kyle Larson gets out in front after passing Denny Hamlin on the inside.

Chase Elliott passes Denny Hamlin for second.

Tyler Reddick takes third; putting Hamlin in fourth.

Lap 93, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Chase Elliott; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell round out the top five with 23 cars on the lead laps.

Lap 96, Tyler Reddick passes Chase Elliott for second.

Lap 99, AJ Allmendinger makes an unscheduled trip down pit road.

Lap 100, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 105, Bubba Wallace finally gets around Alex Bowman for ninth place.

Lap 107, Kyle Larson has a lead of over half a second on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five with 22 cars on the lead lap.

Daniel Suarez is having radio issues.

Lap 114, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.  There are 22 cars on the lead lap.

Kyle Larson has just passed Kevin Harvick for leading the most laps all time at Kansas.

After a second bad pit stop, Carson Hocevar has worked his way back up to 13th.

Lap 118, Kyle Larson continues to inch further out in front with a lead of over a second and a half.

Lap 120, Ty Gibbs works his way down pit road as green flag pit stops begin.  Several drivers are reporting major tire issues.

Chase Elliott is the first of the top five drivers to come down pit road for service as pit road begins to get very busy.

Lap 125, leaders come down pit road for service including Kyle Larson; Chris Bueschder is the new leader.

Tyler Reddick had a slow pit stop and loses several spots.

Carson Hocevar is the new leader.

Chase Elliott’s crew had a pit stop of less than 10 seconds.

Lap 127, Carson Hocevar gives up the lead to make his pit stop and turns over the lead to Kyle Larson.

Lap 131, the top five are Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Chrisotpher Bell.

Lap 134, Denny Hamlin passes Chase Elliott for second; Kyle Larson leads the race by nearly five seconds.

Tyler Reddick ahs gotten into the wall and reports that it has knocked the steering off.

Lap 139, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a lead of over five seconds on Denny Hamlin; Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.  Six of the top eight drivers are in Toyotas.

Lap 143, Denny Hamlin has cut into Kyle Larson’s gap and is now just under five seconds behind.

Carson Hocevar has moved up to 12th after rejoining the race in 16th during pit stops.

Lap 148 of 267, every car is still on the track with 20 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 152, Kyle Larson’s lead is now down under four seconds on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 155, Kyle Larson has a three second lead on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Christopoher Bell round out the top five with just 19 cars on the lead lap.

With five laps remaining in stage two, Kyle Larson’s lead is now under two seconds on Denny Hamlin.

Kyle Busch makes an unscheduled trip down pit road.

Kyle Larson wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Bubba Wallace
Brad Keselowski
Ty Gibbs
Chris Buescher
Carson Hocevar

Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road.  Kyle Larson comes out third.  Chase Elliott got blocked in his pit stall and couldn’t get out causing a slow stop.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 174.  Hamlin takes the lead. 

Chrisotpher Bell passes Denny Hamlin for the lead lon lap 175.

The top five are Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson.

Tyler Reddick passes teammate Bubba Wallace for third.

Eighty-nine laps remaining in the race; Christopher Bell has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Ty Gibbs reports a very tight condition in his car.

Lapa 186, Christopher Bell’s lead over Denny Hamlin is down to under half a second; Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

With 78 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are running laps of over 31 seconds.

Several of the drivers are reporting tight conditions in their cars.

Lap 198, Christopher Bell has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Due to bad pit stops, Carson Hocevar lost a total of 19 spots on pit road so far today; but he has passed 25 cars on the track to make up the difference.

Happy 84th Birthday  to the “Cat in the Hat” – Jack Roush – the R in RFK Racing.

Lap 204, Christopher Bell holds on to the lead over Denny Hamlin as a new batch of pit stops loom.

Tyler Reddick has passed Denny Hamlin for second.  Christopher Bell has a near one second lead on Reddick.

Lap 211, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

With 53 laps remaining in the race, Tyler Reddick has closed the gap on leader Christopher Bell and is now just a half a second behind.

Lap 216 green flag pit stops have begun.

Lap 220, green flag pit stop continue.

Lap 222, leader Christopher Bell makes his pit stop.  Daniel Suarez is the new leader.

Daniel Suarez is off pace and works his way to pit road.

Denny Hamlin is the new leader with Tyler Reddick in second; Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five as green flag pit stops cycle through.

Lap 225, Denny Hamlin’s lead is over three seconds over Tyler Reddick.

Just 40 laps to go and Tyler Reddick continues to chip into Denny Hamlin’s lead; he is now just two and a half seconds back.

Lap 232, Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell battle for fourth.

With 34 laps to go, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over three seconds on Tyler Reddick.

The top five are Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, and Chrisotpher Bell.

Denny Hamin has led 102 of the 238 laps run so far.

Just 27 laps to go, Denny Hamlin’s lead is down to a little over two seconds on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Lap 244, Denny Hamlin’s lead is down to two seconds over Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

With 19 laps to go, Denny Hamlin’s lead is down to under a second and a half on Tyler Reddick.

Sixteen to go, Tyler Reddick is just over a second behind leader Denny Hamlin.

Lap 254, Denny Hamlin’s lead is now just over half a second on Tyler Reddick.

Twelve to go, Denny Hamlin has just a quarter of a second lead on Tyler Reddick.

Eleven to go, Tyler Reddick has caught Denny Hamlin and the challenge begins.

Ten to go, Tyler Reddick passes bossman Denny Hamlin for the lead.

The top five are Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace.

Seven to go, Denny Hamlin battles with Tyler Reddick for the lead.

Four to go, leaders have encountered slower traffic with Tyler Reddick leading the race by half a second.

Three to go, Denny Hamlin passes Tyler Reddick for the lead.  Reddick reports that he is out of fuel but keeps coming after tapping into the reserve.

The yellow flag comes out with just two laps to go when Cody Ware spins out in front of the leaders just before the white flag.

The race goes into overtime with 17 cars on the lead lap.

Drivers come down pit road for service with many of the drivers taking only two tires.  Denny Hamlin wins the race off of pit road with Tyler Reddick coming out second.

The top 10 drivers took only two tires with all of the lead lap cars coming down pit road.

A number of drivers took the wave around.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the overtime shootout to end the race with Tyler Reddick alongside.  Hamlin gets out in front first but gats no help, Kyle Larson comues up on the inside to take the lead.  Drivers are spread out three and four across the track.

Kyle Larson takes the white flag but  Tyler Reddick comes up to battle for the lead. 

Tyler Reddick wins the race for win number five!  His win was just one tenth of a second ahead of Kyle Larson.

He is the first driver since Dale Earnhardt Sr in 1987 to win five of the first nine races in the season.

The crew runs across the grass to join Tyler at the car.

The unofficial results of the Advent Health 400:
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
Bubba Wallace
Brad Keselowski
William Byron
Chase Ellliott
Ty Gibbs
Chris Buescher
Ryan Preece
Austin Cindric
Carson Hocevar
Riley Herbst
Corey Heim
Austin Dillon
Todd Gilliland
Alex Bowman
Daniel Suarez
Christopher Bell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
John Hunter Nemechek
Erik Jones
Ryan Blaney
Cole Custer
Ross Chastain
Josh Berry
Noah Gragson
Connor Zilisch
Joey Logano
AJ Allmendinger
Zane Smith
Ty Dillon
‘Michael McDowell
Kyle Busch
Shane van Gisbergen
Cody Ware