NASCAR Team News for Kansas

By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net

Catchup on Podcasts and read the team news

With The CUP playoffs moving to week five of ten in Kansas this week, teams are readjusting their machines and getting drivers and teams ready for their last chance at a 1.5 mile oval before next weeks Roval in Charlotte.

Here is the TEAM news before the green flag drops.

Spire Motorsports In 25 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Spire Motorsports has logged one top-10 and three top-20 finishes. Zane Smith earned a team-best 10th-place result at the Kansas City, Kan.-venue last June. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet ZL1s with Justin Haley, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.The Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN Bet will be televised live on USA Sunday, Sept. 28 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 31st of 36 points-paying events on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90.

Justin Haley – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.In nine previous Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, dating to May 2021, Haley has earned three top-20 finishes and calls a pair of 18th-place efforts a series/venue career best. He has logged a 26.2 average start, a 27.1 average finish and has been running at the finish of all but two of those nine races.The 26-year-old has four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Kansas Speedway where he posted two fourth-place finishes (October 2019 and 2021). He’s recorded a 9.8 average starting position, a 5.3 average finishing position, and has never finished worse than seventh on NASCAR’s junior circuit at the popular mile-and-a-half quad-oval.

●  Back for More: Building on the successful launch of its second NASCAR Xfinity Series effort at World Wide Technology Raceway, the organization will field the No. 76 for standout Kole Raz in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. Raz joins forces under the same banner as Harrison Burton, who will pilot the No. 25 AirBox Ford Mustang amid his ongoing championship run. Looking ahead, the team intends to campaign its No. 76 Ford Mustang in select NASCAR Xfinity Series races across the closing six weeks of the 2025 season.

With just two races remaining on the 2025 ARCA Menards Series schedule, veteran driver Jason Kitzmiller will return to a familiar battleground in Friday night’s Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway.

Kitzmiller is closing in on the finish line of his first full season in ARCA Menards Series competition. Through 18 races, the West Virginia native has been a steady and determined presence behind the wheel of the No. 97 A.L.L. Construction Racing Chevrolet.

Now, with back-to-back events left to cap the 20-race calendar, the successful entrepreneur is focused on delivering a strong statement to close out the year. Kansas, in particular, offers Kitzmiller a unique opportunity. The 1.5-mile oval is a track where he’s logged laps in both practice and competition, and its familiarity provides confidence as he looks to put his team in the spotlight heading into the offseason.

Kyle Larson is the featured driver this week

5 KYLE LARSON Age: 33 (July 31, 1992) Hometown: Elk Grove, California Last Week: 7th (New Hampshire) Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels Standings: 3rd       No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet  2025Cup CareerKansasRaces3039621Wins3323Poles1221Top 5111309Top 101719912Laps Led94310,199924Stage Wins9716Average Finish14.414.112.4 Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team enters the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 in third place, 41 points above the cutline.Larson is one top-10 finish away from 200 NASCAR Cup Series top 10s and is two away from his 100th with Hendrick Motorsports.With three, Larson is the only repeat winner in the last 10 races at Kansas Speedway.The Elk Grove, California, native needs to lead 26 more laps to become the all-time leader at the track (950).The 33-year-old has finished in the top 10 in seven of the last eight Kansas races including three wins. He led 221 laps in his victory there in May, the most ever led by a driver at the track.In nine Kansas races with Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has an average finish of 7.1, including all three of his wins at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. In addition, he has six top fives and seven top 10s.Since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, Larson ranks first or tied for first at Kansas in wins (three), runner-up finishes (tied with two), top fives (tied with six), top 10s (tied with seven), laps led (760) and races led (tied with seven).