MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, Kansas
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Age: 37
Team: No. 78 –Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota
Owner: Furniture Row Racing
Crew Chief: Cole Pearn
IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “I feel good about all of them (next three races before Homestead-Miami Speedway), but Martinsville comes first so we’re focused on that one the most. We have the first pit stall already, which is a good start for that. We have to go there and qualify well and hope to race well all day. If we can just continue to not have any major problems, we should be good to get to Miami and then go have some fun there.”
· Martin Truex Jr.
----------------
· Martin Truex Jr. won the 17th annual Hollywood Casino 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Kansas Speedway Sunday afternoon. It was the final of the three races in the Round of 12 of the MENCS playoffs. It is Truex’s 14th win in 437 career MENCS races and his series-high seventh victory in 32 races this year. He now has won three of the six playoff races this year.
· Overall, today’s finish marked Truex’s 22nd top-10 and 15th top-5 in 32 races of 2017.
· This was Truex’s second win in 19 starts at Kansas with his first victory there coming on May 13 of this year.
· Truex’s seven wins are the most in a MENCS season since Matt Kenseth won seven races in 2013.
· Of Truex’s seven wins on the year, six have come at 1.5 mile tracks, the most-ever wins in a season on tracks of this distance in MENCS history. The previous record was held by Carl Edwards (5 in 2008).
· This marked the 17th straight playoff race that was won by a driver who was still alive in the playoffs. The streak dates back to the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was won by Kyle Busch.
· Kurt Busch (2nd) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 32 MENCS races this year and his sixth in the top-5. It was his best finish since he won the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 26.
· Ryan Blaney (3rd) accounted for his 12th top-10 finish in 32 races this year and fourth top-5.
· Ty Dillon (16th) was the highest finishing rookie.
· For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).
· Kyle Busch won Stage 1 of today’s race while Denny Hamlin took Stage 2.
· The following are the playoff standings entering the Round of 8, which commences next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Martin Truex Jr.* 4069 5. Jimmie Johnson* 4017
2. Kyle Busch* 4042 6. Denny Hamlin* 4014
3. Brad Keselowski* 4026 7. Ryan Blaney* 4009
4. Kevin Harvick* 4017 8. Chase Elliott* 4006
*Advances to Round of 8
· In 12 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. has recorded seven top-10 finishes and three top-5 showings. He was part of the Championship 4 in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 when he finished 12th.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
· Christopher Bell won the 17th annual Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday. It is his first victory in five career XFINITY Series starts, all of which have been this year.
· For Bell, it was his third top-10 and second top-5 showing in five NXS starts this year. He became the first driver to get his first career NXS win at Kansas Speedway.
· The race marked the first of three races in the Round of 8 in the XFINITY Series playoffs.
· Tyler Reddick Jr (2nd) posted his fifth top-10 and third top-5 finish in 17 NXS races this year.
· Ryan Blaney (3rd) amassed his 10th top-10 and top-5 showing in 11 NXS races this year.
· William Byron (4th) was the highest finishing rookie as well as the highest finisher among the eight remaining NXS playoff drivers.
· Erik Jones set a record for the most laps led (186) in an NXS race at Kansas Speedway.
· Five of the top 10 finishers were playoff drivers.
· The following are the standings following the first of three races in the Round of 8 in the 2017 NXS playoffs. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Justin Allgaier 3066 5. Matt Tifft# 3033
2. William Byron# 3064 6. Ryan Reed 3032
3. Elliott Sadler 3055 7. Daniel Hemric# 3032
4. Brennan Poole 3038 8. Cole Custer# 3030
#Denotes rookie
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
· The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was off this week. They will resume action next Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.
· The following are the playoff standings heading into the Round of 6 in the NCWTS playoffs, which will commence next week at Martinsville. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Christopher Bell 3047 4. John Hunter Nemechek 3014
2. Johnny Sauter 3027 5. Ben Rhodes 3013
3. Matt Crafton 3014 6. Austin Cindric# 3007
#Denotes rookie
Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, Kansas
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Age: 37
Team: No. 78 –Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota
Owner: Furniture Row Racing
Crew Chief: Cole Pearn
IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “I feel good about all of them (next three races before Homestead-Miami Speedway), but Martinsville comes first so we’re focused on that one the most. We have the first pit stall already, which is a good start for that. We have to go there and qualify well and hope to race well all day. If we can just continue to not have any major problems, we should be good to get to Miami and then go have some fun there.”
· Martin Truex Jr.
----------------
· Martin Truex Jr. won the 17th annual Hollywood Casino 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Kansas Speedway Sunday afternoon. It was the final of the three races in the Round of 12 of the MENCS playoffs. It is Truex’s 14th win in 437 career MENCS races and his series-high seventh victory in 32 races this year. He now has won three of the six playoff races this year.
· Overall, today’s finish marked Truex’s 22nd top-10 and 15th top-5 in 32 races of 2017.
· This was Truex’s second win in 19 starts at Kansas with his first victory there coming on May 13 of this year.
· Truex’s seven wins are the most in a MENCS season since Matt Kenseth won seven races in 2013.
· Of Truex’s seven wins on the year, six have come at 1.5 mile tracks, the most-ever wins in a season on tracks of this distance in MENCS history. The previous record was held by Carl Edwards (5 in 2008).
· This marked the 17th straight playoff race that was won by a driver who was still alive in the playoffs. The streak dates back to the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was won by Kyle Busch.
· Kurt Busch (2nd) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 32 MENCS races this year and his sixth in the top-5. It was his best finish since he won the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 26.
· Ryan Blaney (3rd) accounted for his 12th top-10 finish in 32 races this year and fourth top-5.
· Ty Dillon (16th) was the highest finishing rookie.
· For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).
· Kyle Busch won Stage 1 of today’s race while Denny Hamlin took Stage 2.
· The following are the playoff standings entering the Round of 8, which commences next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Martin Truex Jr.* 4069 5. Jimmie Johnson* 4017
2. Kyle Busch* 4042 6. Denny Hamlin* 4014
3. Brad Keselowski* 4026 7. Ryan Blaney* 4009
4. Kevin Harvick* 4017 8. Chase Elliott* 4006
*Advances to Round of 8
· In 12 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. has recorded seven top-10 finishes and three top-5 showings. He was part of the Championship 4 in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 when he finished 12th.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
· Christopher Bell won the 17th annual Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday. It is his first victory in five career XFINITY Series starts, all of which have been this year.
· For Bell, it was his third top-10 and second top-5 showing in five NXS starts this year. He became the first driver to get his first career NXS win at Kansas Speedway.
· The race marked the first of three races in the Round of 8 in the XFINITY Series playoffs.
· Tyler Reddick Jr (2nd) posted his fifth top-10 and third top-5 finish in 17 NXS races this year.
· Ryan Blaney (3rd) amassed his 10th top-10 and top-5 showing in 11 NXS races this year.
· William Byron (4th) was the highest finishing rookie as well as the highest finisher among the eight remaining NXS playoff drivers.
· Erik Jones set a record for the most laps led (186) in an NXS race at Kansas Speedway.
· Five of the top 10 finishers were playoff drivers.
· The following are the standings following the first of three races in the Round of 8 in the 2017 NXS playoffs. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Justin Allgaier 3066 5. Matt Tifft# 3033
2. William Byron# 3064 6. Ryan Reed 3032
3. Elliott Sadler 3055 7. Daniel Hemric# 3032
4. Brennan Poole 3038 8. Cole Custer# 3030
#Denotes rookie
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
· The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was off this week. They will resume action next Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.
· The following are the playoff standings heading into the Round of 6 in the NCWTS playoffs, which will commence next week at Martinsville. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.
Name Pts. Name Pts.
1. Christopher Bell 3047 4. John Hunter Nemechek 3014
2. Johnny Sauter 3027 5. Ben Rhodes 3013
3. Matt Crafton 3014 6. Austin Cindric# 3007
#Denotes rookie
