This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Kansas for their second visit of the year to Kansas Speedway. Coverage of the Hollywood Casino 400 begins with Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. Race coverage will start at 3 p.m. ET, while the green should fly around 3:10 p.m. ET. Radio coverage will be provided by local MRN radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's Hollywood Casino 400 was likely one of the best races of 2024 with 30 lead changes and a number of drivers in contention late. Christopher Bell led the most laps, but dropped back late.

With 24 laps to go, a crash broke out involving Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland and Carson Hocevar to bring out the final yellow. This kept the field bunched up from the previous yellow.

Martin Truex Jr. had taken the lead from Brad Keselowski on the previous restart. On this restart, Ross Chastain was able to get the jump on Truex and take the lead. From there, Chastain barely held on to take the win.

He won by .388 seconds over William Byron. Truex ended up third, then Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length:  1.5-mile tri-oval, 267 laps (400.5 miles) 
Banking: 17-20 degrees
Frontstretch: 2,721 feet, banked 10 degrees
Backstretch:  2,207 feet, banked 5 degrees
Grandstand Seating:  64,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 2001
 

Website: http://www.kansasspeedway.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/KansasSpeedway
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kansasspeedway

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Saturday, Sept. 27, 1:05 - 1:50 p.m. ET on TruTV/HBO Max

Qualifying: Saturday, Sept. 27, 2 p.m. ET on TruTV/HBO Max

Say What?!

"I feel our intermediate program is the strongest for the No. 1 car out of the different types of tracks. I think if we can replicate how we ran at Kansas last year and Charlotte this year, that we’ll have a strong shot to win or definitely run inside the top-five. We haven’t been able to do that at all of the mile-and-a-half tracks this year though. The little bit of a question mark going into Kansas is if we can replicate those races." - Ross Chastain

"Kansas is tough all around and a lot of it has to do with the wind. The wind can really play havoc on the car’s handling, depending on which direction it’s blowing. I would say that you are trying to maximize your speed at all areas of the track and sometimes when you’re running high against the wall you overstep those bounds and get in trouble." - Kyle Busch

"I’m super optimistic to get back to Kansas. Knowing what we know now, we have a much better plan of attack. I feel like we’re in a position to convert our speed into a tangible result.

"Kansas is in great condition. No bumps, no wear, you can pretty much run that track from top to bottom. If you want to run the apron, you can run the apron. If you want to run the wall, you can run the wall. And you can run any combination of lanes in between. It’s really just a very good, solid, smooth, clean racetrack, which makes it easier to extract the car’s full potential." - Cody Ware

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.