KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The starting grid is set for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway and Kyle Larson will line up inside the top five.
Driving the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Larson will start from the fourth position after posting a lap of 182.383 mph in the final round of group qualifying. The starting spot is his sixth of the season inside the top five. In practice, the 31-year-old driver was the best on the 15-lap consecutive average board and second on the 10-lap consecutive average chart.
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Larson has a strong Kansas record with a win, seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in 18 starts. His 639 laps led at the Kansas City, Kansas, venue are his fourth-most at any track on the schedule. In the last six races there, Larson scored a win (fall of 2021), posted four top-fives, led 475 laps and led in five of those six events.
Chase Elliott is set to line up ninth in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy. In group practice, he was eighth-fastest on the board. Elliott is the series' most recent winner on a 1.5-mile track with last month's victory at Texas Motor Speedway. Kansas has been among the 28-year-old driver's best tracks in the Cup Series. Elliott's 10.6 average finish is the best among all drivers in Sunday's race and he earned top-10 finishes in both events last year. Overall, in 16 starts, he has one win (fall of 2018), six top-fives and 10 top-10s at Kansas.
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Alex Bowman will start 18th in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Sunday's 267-lap race. While at Hendrick Motorsports, Kansas has been one of the 31-year-old driver's best tracks, with his eight top-10 finishes standing as his most at any track and a best finish of second in the spring of 2019. He enters this event with three straight top-10s at the 1.5-mile track. Bowman also comes into this race with back-to-back top-10s on the season to give him six for the year.
Following contact with the wall in qualifying, William Byron's starting spot will be 36th in the No. 24 RAPTOR Chevy. The 26-year-old driver made contact with the wall in turns one and two and drove his car straight to the garage when his lap was over. Due to repairs being made to the team's primary car, Byron will start at the rear.
That came after Byron had one of the strongest cars in practice, placing second overall at 180.222 mph, ranking first in the 10- and 20-lap consecutive average and second in the 15- and 25-lap consecutive average. Byron's seven top-10 finishes at Kansas are tied for his most at any track, with his track-best result of third coming last spring."
"I was a little tight coming up to the green there and I overcommitted a little bit," Byron told reporters after qualifying. "I hate it, but our car is really good. We'll just have to work a little harder."
Christopher Bell grabbed the pole position for 400-mile race.
The team is tied for the most victories among all Cup Series organizations at Kansas Speedway with eight wins. Team vice chairman Jeff Gordon won the first race at the track in 2001 and earned three wins in total at the 1.5-mile oval. Jimmie Johnson also posted three wins at the Kansas City, Kansas, venue. Elliott and Larson each have one triumph. The team's 2,116 laps out front at the facility are also the best among all teams in the series.
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Team owner Rick Hendrick's seven wins on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car lead all in the Cup Series, with the next closest teams having three triumphs. Two of those victories have come in both races this season on 1.5-mile tracks, with Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Elliott at Texas. Since 2022, Larson has had a series-best three wins on 1.5-mile tracks, while Byron has had two victories, and they are two of the four drivers with multiple victories on that track length. Bowman and Elliott each had one triumph on this track length during this period.
Tune in to watch the 12th race of the Cup Series season on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). With one top-five finish, Hendrick Motorsports will be the first to reach 1,250 in the sport's top series.