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Kansas Speedway has been on the NASCAR schedule since 2001 and while it has had its moments, no one circled it as the ‘action track’ when looking at the calendar every year. However, that changed swiftly with the arrival of the Next Gen car.

While the car has made short track racing and road courses duller than before, it has shone rather brightly on intermediate tracks, and that is never more true than when the series rolls into Kansas twice a year. Kansas has managed to produce six different winners in the last six races, and each event played out in its own unique (and thrilling) way.

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In 2022, there were constant battles all around the track (and a lot of flat tires), making for a chaotic race from start to finish. But the highlight was the thrilling battle for the win between Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch. With 86 laps to go, Larson was pushing hard and spun sideways in front of Busch, hitting the outside wall before straightening the car out. The race remained green and the two champions continued to battle back-and-forth throughout the final stage, cutting through slower traffic as they swapped the lead numerous times. With just eight laps to go, Busch squeezed Larson, who tagged the outside wall as Busch escaped for what would ultimately be the final win of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

Kurt Busch, 23XI Racing Toyota, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

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Tire issues continued to be a storyline in the fall visit later that same year, changing the complexion of the race constantly. And still, this was likely the calmest Kansas event from the Next Gen era with Bubba Wallace claiming victory, driving the same No. 45 vacated Busch after his career-ending crash at Pocono. There was never a moment where someone wasn’t trying to overtake another driver on track, leaving those watching on the edge of their seats.

Crash damage

Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

Things started to get really wild in the spring of 2023. There were 37 lead changes — a new record for Kansas. The drivers were going as hard as possible from the very start with William Byron nearly wrecking from the lead within the first two laps. By Lap 5, three drivers were already locked in a hectic fight for the top spot, culminating in contact that sent Larson spinning from the race lead. This just set the tone for the entire event, which saw 12 different drivers lead the race (a third of the field).

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It ended in dramatic fashion as Larson got wrecked from the lead (again), this time slamming the wall on the final lap. He was battling Hamlin, who clipped Larson before driving off with the victory. But the biggest moment of this race came after the checkered flag flew as Noah Gragson confronted Ross Chastain on pit road over some on-track dispute. He grabbed the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet by the firesuit, causing the watermelon farmer to clobber Gragson in the side of the face with a right hook.

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, spins from the lead

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

The fall of 2023 had plenty of its own drama with regular season champion Martin Truex Jr. crashing out of the pivotal playoff race within the first five laps. As commentator Steve Letarte said then: “Kansas…it’s a mile-and-a-half, it looks so normal, it looks so benign. It is anything but, and it’s impossible to say why.” Kansas just has an inherent wildcard factor that goes far beyond any other intermediate track in the current era.

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Hamlin was cruising out front when a late-race yellow set up a sprint to the checkered flag. That gave us an eyebrow-raising moment on pit road as Chase Elliott door-slammed teammate Larson after a tight pit exit. And Elliott wasn’t even in the playoffs! Daniel Suarez now led the race after staying out on old tires with several cars directly behind him who only took new right-sides. Reddick had four fresh tires though, and restarted in fifth for the two-lap dash. Reddick quickly charged forward, taking the win with an impressive three-wide pass for the lead at the white flag.

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota, Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford, Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

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The drama did not subside with the 2024 season as Chastain and Larson engaged in a stunning battle for the lead in the very first stage of the spring race, swapping the top spot nearly every lap in an appetizer for what was to come. The race ended in a historic photo finish as Larson pulled alongside Chris Buescher in a drag-race to the line. Elliott and Truex were rapidly closing on them as well, nearly fanning out four-wide at the finish as Larson door-slammed Buescher. At the checkered flag, just 0.001s separated Larson and Buescher in what now stands as the closest finish in the history of the Cup Series.

Photo finish with Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet; Chris Buescher, RFK Racing Ford; Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet; Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Logan Riely / Getty Images

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The 2024 fall event, and the most recent race at Kansas, began with a multi-car crash on Lap 1. There were 30 lead changes, but despite being a playoff race, two non-playoff drivers stole the show in the final stage. Kyle Busch and Chastain were swapping the lead as both searched for their first win of the 2024 season. It was advantage Busch as he caught Chase Briscoe — a playoff driver — who he was trying to lap. Busch ended up in a bad aero spot exiting Turn 2, spinning out in a shocking turn of events. Chastain then fought his way around Truex for the lead on the final restart and held back a charging Byron to win the race and play spoiler at Kansas.

Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet; Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Why is Kansas so good?

Well, the track allows for multi-groove racing and passing is far easier than at most other circuits, which really helps it keep the action flowing. It has insane grip and progressive banking which means there is no dominant line. Drivers are all over the track in the corners, sometimes shifting lines mid-turn. There’s also the impact of a noticeable draft, which allows for the driver being passed to immediately fight back. The field remains tightly packed and rarely does the leader ever manage to drive away. Significant tire wear also never fails to keep things exciting.

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But more than anything, the drivers just have options. No one feels stuck, which is often the complaint at several other tracks on the schedule with this car. They don’t have to rely on pit stops or alternate strategy calls, but can actually make something happen for themselves. Because of this, there’s always something going around the riveting 1.5-miler. And if Sunday’s race has names like Larson, Hamlin or Chastain near the front, recent history tells us to watch out as something big is about to happen.

Read Also:

2025 NASCAR at Kansas schedule, entry list, and how to watch

Where can NASCAR take the championship as part of new rotating finale?

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If you were in charge of NASCAR for a day, what rule changes would you put in place?

Mike Neff: Holy crap, we don’t have that much room in this column. The main rules I would change? The minimum clearance for the front of the car will be 4 inches. The splitter will be removed, and we will go back to a valence. Stage racing stays but there are no stage cautions.  The points are awarded, but the race continues. Wheels will have five lug nuts, and tire sidewalls will be 4 inches. There are more, but that would be a good start.

Amy Henderson: Remember the shrimp guy in Forrest Gump? The list went on for days. It’s like that. First, find areas to open up where teams can work more: suspensions, gears, etc. Lose the splitter, raise the cars up and find ways to replace aero grip with mechanical grip. Find a way to create more horsepower — and more importantly, unrestricted horsepower, at least on the non-superspeedways. If that means a smaller engine, so be it. Tires that wear out. Get rid of the stage cautions (keep the points if you want). Lastly (not really, but I could go on all day), give teams real input on the cars and racing packages. I bet if you put guys like Chad Knaus, Paul Wolfe, Cole Pearn and other longtime wrenches in a room, they could fix a lot of things.

Christopher Hansen: You could have a laundry list of changes to the current state of NASCAR, but starting with one of the more obvious is bringing back more horsepower for the NASCAR Cup Series car. More often than not over the past few seasons, we keep seeing comparisons to the current NASCAR Xfinity Series car and how it is more durable than the Next Gen car. Also, bringing back the standard five lug nuts for wheels would help with making loose wheels become a distant memory.

Wyatt Watson: I would get rid of the playoffs and return to a season-long points format to crown a champion. Nothing would make me happier than to return to a points format that rewards consistent finishes and worthy results for a champion. However, I would keep stage racing around but get rid of the stage caution to allow for natural race strategy to play out.

Which Chevrolet Cup team is having the better season so far: Kaulig Racing, Spire Motorsports or Trackhouse Racing?

Jake Altmayer: In terms of raw speed this season, I have to go with Spire, as the team has been consistently bringing fast cars to the racetrack and is frequently contending for top-10 finishes. However, Kaulig has actually improved the most of the Chevrolet teams since last season, as both of its drivers (AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon) have been regularly running inside the top 20, with Allmendinger even contending for a playoff spot. While it will likely be an uphill battle to get one of its drivers into the playoffs, so far I’ve been really impressed by the speed that Kaulig has shown in 2025.

Neff: Trackhouse has Ross Chastain, who is doing well in points and running up front, but Daniel Suarez and Shane van Gisbergen have had subpar seasons.  Kaulig has been very middling, so it is probably Spire that is having the best season. Carson Hocevar‘s finishes have not been indicative of where he has been running. Michael McDowell has been close to winning a couple of races. Justin Haley hasn’t been at the level of the other two, but every now and then he has a good showing.

Henderson: While Trackhouse has shown speed, it has lacked consistency, and Suarez and van Gisbergen have really struggled. Kaulig hasn’t been able to buy Allmendinger a stroke of luck, and their other driver is Dillon. Spire, meanwhile, has shown growth and is becoming more consistent. It’s the only organization in this trio with two drivers in the top 20 in points. Its drivers are qualifying well. It’s starting to put together complete races, and that is something that has to be learned by doing it. While Trackhouse is still the more likely playoff contender, I absolutely would not be surprised if a Spire car made the cut this year, either on points or a sneaky win. It’s really maximizing its resources right now.

Hansen: Spire. Take Texas Motor Speedway, where two of the three entries qualified inside the top 10 in Hocevar and McDowell, with both running well late until accidents took both out of contention for solid finishes. Hocevar and McDowell both currently sit inside the top 20 in points. Their Spire teammate Haley just had a crew chief change, bringing on former crew chief Ryan Sparks to replace Rodney Childers during the off-week, in what has been to this point an underwhelming start to the season for Haley, with one top-10 finish in 11 races. Chastain has seemingly carried Trackhouse most of this season and is coming off a runner-up finish at Texas, while Suarez and rookie van Gisbergen have had their struggles to start this season, putting them deep in the standings. Meanwhile, Kaulig has shown some good speed from veteran Allmendinger, currently sitting 19th in the overall standings. Even Dillon has been able to put together some solid finishes inside the top 20, including a 12th-place run at Texas last weekend.

Which Richard Childress Racing Xfinity driver would you rather build a Cup team around?

Watson: I would rather build a team around Austin Hill because he has built the experience necessary to enter the Cup Series. If it weren’t for RCR having only two charters and both Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch occupying the two seats, Hill should have already been racing Cup years ago. He is dominant on superspeedways and has occasionally shown speed and a winning car at intermediates and short tracks alike. Hill has been long overdue to make the next step into the Cup Series, and Jesse Love needs to spend a few more seasons in the Xfinity Series before he’s ready for the jump.

Altmayer: While both drivers have a lot of raw talent, I’d have to go with Love. At just 20 years old, Love has shown great speed at virtually every type of track he’s raced at so far, and he also has the consistent results to back it up. Love may not have the same level of experience that Hill does, but given how young he is, he has the most potential of the RCR pairing. 

Hansen: When building a dream team, it’s best to have a proven veteran driver with years of experience like Hill has. However, Love has made great strides in his second full time Xfinity season with RCR, with eight top-10 finishes to begin the 2025 season. If I was forming a Cup team but could only take one of those two drivers, I would choose Hill, given his success not only on the drafting-style tracks but also his ability to win at other tracks on the NASCAR schedule like he’s done in Xfinity. For example, winning at Martinsville Speedway this year and on a 1.5-mile track like Las Vegas Motor Speedway in spring 2023.

Which intermediate track produces the best racing in the Cup Series?

Henderson: Homestead-Miami Speedway has had the best racing. Kansas Speedway has had some great finishes. Either one of them is going to put on a show. Homestead deserved to be awarded the finale next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kansas host it one of these years as well. Darlington Raceway is still The Lady in Black. Charlotte Motor Speedway has been good enough to earn the fall race back on the oval. Las Vegas has had better racing than some of the finishes have shown. Those are my top five, in that order.

Watson: Kansas edges out Charlotte in being the best intermediate track. Kansas has everything you need in a track for the Next Gen car: constant battles throughout the field, comers and goers, multi-groove racing, you name it. To be fair to Charlotte, we only get to watch the oval once a year for the Coca-Cola 600, and last year the race got shortened by rain. There might be some recency bias, especially with last year’s spring race producing the closest finish in NASCAR history, but from race to race in the spring and the fall, Kansas has produced banger-after-banger races.

Neff: Currently, it is Vegas. The asphalt is aged, and the result is tire falloff and multi-groove racing. Homestead is a close second. The variety of racing lines available to the drivers makes for some awesome races. Texas is getting close. The asphalt needs a couple more years of age to get the higher groove to come into play, but the racing is decent. Kansas puts on pretty good races. Atlanta, hopefully, will age and get back to the great track it was. Charlotte’s repave has been incredible in that the surface has not degraded over all of the years since it was repaved. 

Altmayer: While you could make a case for most of the intermediate tracks, I have to go with Kansas. Since NASCAR switched to the Next Gen car in 2022, the track has put on consistently great racing, with drivers having multiple lanes to run on its aging surface, allowing for plenty of passing opportunities. Additionally, in the Next Gen era, the track has never scored less than an 80% on Jeff Gluck’s Good Race poll, which reflects the quality of racing we’ve seen at the 1.5-mile speedway. 

What is it that Mike Neff doesn’t do? Mike announces several shows each year for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association. He also pops up everywhere from PRN Pit Reporters and the Press Box with Alan Smothers to SIRIUS XM Radio. He has announced at tracks all over the Southeast, starting at Millbridge Speedway. He’s also announced at East Lincoln Speedway, Concord Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com’s Around the Track page.

Wyatt Watson has followed NASCAR closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretchas a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt writes breaking NASCAR news and contributes to columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monster. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch’s social media and serves as an at-track reporter, collecting exclusive content for Frontstretch.

Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattGametime

Jake Altmayer joined the Frontstretch team in 2025, assisting as a news writer and contributing to other weekly columns and articles, such as Friday Faceoff and Xfinity Breakdown. A 2024 graduate of DePaul University, Altmayer has closely followed NASCAR’s national series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks) for nearly a decade and has attended more than a dozen races over the course of that time. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, spending time with his loved ones, and listening to his favorite band, the Beach Boys.

In a recent episode of Hendrick Motorsports’ ‘Road to the Championship’ series, Jeff Gordon, the iconic driver of the No. 24 car and current Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, shared his thoughts on the future of the No. 24 team and its current driver, William Byron.

Gordon expressed his admiration for Byron’s dedication and growth: “I sense that William is two things: He’s very focused on his career, he loves racing, he loves performing at a high level. Clearly, he’s a quick learner. He applies himself. He’s matured. We have this unique connection that we represent that 24 car.”

Reflecting on the legacy of the No. 24 car, Gordon highlighted the bond between past and present fans: “There’s a lot of fans out there that are fans of mine, that have followed my entire career at Hendrick Motorsports and now follow William, and then he’s brought new fans to the 24 team.”

Gordon concluded with a strong endorsement of Byron’s role in the team’s future: “I can’t imagine seeing anybody ever drive the 24 again, other than William, in the future.”

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Jeff Gordon’s illustrious career with Hendrick Motorsports began in 1992, when he debuted in the No. 24 car. Over the next two decades, Gordon amassed 93 Cup Series wins and four championships, becoming one of NASCAR’s most successful and influential drivers.

His success helped elevate the profile of the No. 24 car and brought a new wave of fans to the sport. Gordon’s impact extended beyond the track, as he became a prominent figure in popular culture and a key ambassador for NASCAR.

William Byron, born in 1997, grew up idolizing drivers like Gordon and began his racing career in the virtual world through iRacing. He quickly transitioned to real-world racing, achieving success in the K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the Xfinity Series, where he won the championship in 2017.

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Byron joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2018, taking over the No. 24 car. Since then, he has secured multiple Cup Series wins, including back-to-back Daytona 500 victories in 2024 and 2025, and has consistently been a playoff contender. Byron’s performance and dedication have solidified his position as a worthy successor to Gordon’s legacy in the No. 24 car.

As the No. 24 team continues to compete at the highest level, the partnership between Gordon and Byron exemplifies the seamless transition of leadership and talent within Hendrick Motorsports. Fans of the team can look forward to a promising future with Byron behind the wheel, carrying forward the legacy of the No. 24 car.

NASCAR has confirmed it is “serious” about increasing the horsepower of the Next Gen car with four big names among those to have for an increase.

Current Cup Series drivers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson favor increasing horsepower to make NASCAR more exciting, while stock car legends Richard Petty and Kevin Harvick have also offered their backing.

NASCAR’s current horsepower sits at 670, but it could be increased to 750. Mike Forde, of NASCAR’s Racing Communications, has stated that increasing the car’s horsepower has been a topic of discussion in driver meetings, and it is under “serious” consideration by the governing body.

Forde made the revelation on the Hauler Talk podcast, with NASCAR’s Next Gen car facing questions already. “Yeah, well, I’m sure that’ll come up this weekend and that’s something that we’re going to look at seriously,” he said.

“I think, you know, you, you hear I, you know, levels of 900, a thousand horsepower. I don’t know if that’s going to be on [the table], it’s not on the table just because of the cost, but you know, there’s some conversation of, can you go up to 750?

“And that’s something that, well, I’m sure we’ll discuss with the drivers too. I don’t want to make any promises or get anyone’s hopes up, but that is, we seriously listen to the, to the drivers and their feedback and we’ll see what we can do there.”

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Forde’s revelation follows on from four prominent NASCAR figures calling on the governing body to increase horsepower in the cars. “You hear [Steve] O’Donnell talk about it because reporters ask him constantly, ‘The drivers overwhelmingly want this. It seems like the fans want this, why not?'”Hamlin said.

“They [NASCAR] usually have a reason, but sometimes it’s, ‘Hey, we’re looking at all options, we’re not ruling it out, we’re not saying we are,’ right?”

“At least try it,” Larson said on the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast on the potential of going up to 1000HP. “Just take us to, I don’t know, Richmond or wherever, and go test.

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“Go to Martinsville. Go test and try it out. I feel like they’ve always used the excuse of ‘we’re trying to keep the horsepower to where other manufacturers might want to come in.'”

NASCAR legends Harvick and Petty have also backed Hamlin and Larson. Both have questioned why there hasn’t been an increase, with NASCAR’s Next Gen car struggling for wow factor. “It’s absolutely ridiculous that we just went to an unrestricted mile-and-a-half and they qualified wide open,” Harvick chimed in. “What in the world do we need to do to get more horsepower? This screams horsepower to me. This is not a good scenario.”

“The way to make it more exciting is give them more horsepower. Let them run faster. The faster they go, the harder the driver must remain on his toes,” Petty claimed. “And when you’ve got cars racing 200 miles per hour as opposed to 185, all the drivers aren’t capable of running that speed that close to each other.”