The NASCAR Cup Series is on a short week after Sunday’s Wurth 400 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway was delayed until Monday due to rain.
Though the wheels keep turning with the series embarking on the 12th race of the season at Kansas Speedway this weekend.
Let’s look back at some key notes from the Monster Mile before getting ready for the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas.
Dover In The Rearview Mirror
Martin Truex Jr.’s win at the one-mile concrete oval was a much needed win for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, as it snapped a 54-race winless streak dating back to Richmond (Va.) Raceway in September of 2021.
• Second-place finisher Ross Chastain earned his fourth top-five finish of the season, vaulting him to the top of the points standings.
“They’re all big, it’s just incredible to be racing out here in the Cup Series with my heroes. To continue to do this with my group at Trackhouse, is everything that I want in life and my career.”
Martin Truex Jr. celebrates in victory lane at Dover Motor Speedway. (David Moulthrop Photo)
• Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron settled for fourth on Monday after leading the most laps with 193. The two-time winner this season led his 2,000th career lap during the Wurth 400.
“Honestly, Stage One and Two we had a really good balance on our car,” Byron said. “Then Stage Three, we just got too loose. We couldn’t load the rear tires, we just fell back that one run.
“Just a little bit of communication and working together on the radio just to figure out what we need. I just should’ve done a little better job there of communicating that.”
• RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (eighth) and Chris Buescher (ninth) notched a pair of top-10 runs for the second consecutive week, a sign of things to come for the organization.
“We had a good recovery,” Keselowski said. “Had top-five in the first stage, had a pit road issue, and we recovered from that. Solid top 10 day – drove back through.
“We’re not far off here, just looking for a little more, and I felt like we were pretty close. Excited about that, proud of our day – especially Chris (Buescher) running well. Just a strong showing.”
• Kevin Harvick’s 43rd and final race at Dover began strong, running solidly inside the top 10. Though a tire issue right before the end of Stage Two left the Stewart-Haas Racing driver a lap down for the rest of the event. Harvick finished 19th.
• A sixth-place run at Dover gave Christopher Bell a series-leading eighth top 10 of the season.
• Filling in for an injured Alex Bowman, Josh Berry earned his second consecutive top 10 in the Cup Series after finishing the Wurth 400 in 10th. At Richmond last month, Berry finished second to teammate and winner Kyle Larson while subbing for Chase Elliott.
• While he finished a lap down, Corey LaJoie ran strong at the one-mile oval, lurking around the top 15 for the majority of the day. LaJoie brought his Spire Motorsports Chevrolet home in 14th.
On To Kansas
The first of two stops at the 1.5-mile oval in Kansas City for the Cup Series brings drivers urgently looking to turn their seasons around.
• Bubba Wallace won at Kansas in October, collecting the the second victory of his career. 23XI Racing swept both races last season, with now-retired Kurt Busch winning the spring race.
Wallace hasn’t earned a top 10 since Martinsville (Va.) Speedway two weeks ago.
Bubba Wallace takes the checkered flag in the Hollywood Casino 400. (HHP/Harold Hinson)
• Harvick is tied for the most wins at Kansas (three) and leads the series with an 8.933 average finish among active drivers. The 47-year-old is the only driver to compete in every Cup Series race held at Kansas (34 starts).
“I think Kansas has been a great race track and, really, from a driver’s standpoint, a fun racetrack because of the fact that it’s worn in so well,” Harvick said. “You can race at the top of the race track, which is the preferred groove as the tires wear out. It’s faster at the bottom of the race track on new tires.
“But as a driver, having options is something that is a lot of fun. With Atlanta having been repaved along with some of the other racetracks, Kansas has become one of the more unique racetracks because of the fact the asphalt and the shape of the racetrack is so driver-friendly, as far as where you can drive on the race track,” Harvick continued.
“You can literally drive from the wall to the apron all the way around the race track. So, it’s a fun race track. It’s been good to us and, hopefully, we can continue that trend on Sunday.”
• The last two races have not been kind to Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who failed to finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (30th) and Dover (31st) after accidents.
Kansas happens to be one of Logano’s stronger tracks with three victories (tied for most) and 502 laps led (fifth most all-time).
• Kansas has been a particularly strong race track for Toyota, most notably Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI. Three-time Kansas winner Denny Hamlin finished inside the top five twice last year (fourth and second), while teammate Bell nearly mirrored Hamlin’s results (fifth and third).
• Dover winner Truex had a pair of strong runs at Kansas last year as well, with a sixth and fifth-place effort.
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Keyword: NASCAR Notes: From Concrete To The Prairie