CONCORD, N.C. – This weekend, Hendrick Motorsports and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series head to Kansas Speedway — a track where Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team found Victory Lane earlier this season.
This past May at Kansas, Johnson led just 10 laps — the final 10 laps — at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. That night, Johnson took home his third win of this season during the rain-delayed race.
Tune in this Sunday to catch all the action and to see if the No. 48 Chevrolet SS team can make it a clean sweep at Kansas Speedway.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: Sunday's race will air live on NBC at 2:15 p.m. ET. Can’t make it to a television? Tune into MRN or SiriusXM to catch the Kansas radio coverage. This weekend’s qualifying session will take place Friday evening on NBC Sports Network. Tune in to this weekend’s practice sessions this Friday and Saturday. Here is the full broadcast schedule:
Friday, October 16:
1 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Practice, CNBC
6:15 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, NBC Sports Network
Saturday, October 17:
11:30 a.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Practice, CNBC
2:30 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, NBC Sports Network
Sunday, October 18:
2:15 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Race, NBC/ MRN/ SiriusXM (2:31 p.m. ET green flag)
THIS WEEK’S PAINT SCHEMES: Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet SS this Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Jeff Gordon will compete in the No. 24 3M Chevrolet SS for a second consecutive weekend, while teammate Johnson pilots the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will debut the No. 88 Halo 5: Master Chief Chevrolet SS in the second race of the Contender Round on Sunday.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT KANSAS: With six victories at Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports ranks first among teams all-time at the 1.5-mile speedway. Gordon and Johnson are tied for first all-time with three wins apiece at the track. Johnson most recently won for the organization at the track earlier this season.
KANSAS POLE WINNER: With three career pole positions at Kansas, Kahne is tied for first all-time at the 1.5-mile oval with Kevin Harvick and teammate Johnson. Kahne last scored the No. 1 starting spot at the track in October 2012.
KAHNE AT KANSAS: Kahne has qualified in the top 10 in 10 of his 16 starts at Kansas Speedway. Kahne also is tied with Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman for the series’ most runner-up finishes at Kansas with two.
NEARING 25K: Gordon is 127 shy of 25,000 career laps led.
GORDON AT KANSAS: Gordon, driver of the No. 24 3M Chevrolet SS, has the most top-five finishes all-time at Kansas while he is tied for most victories and starts.
JOHNSON AT KANSAS: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Johnson has the series-best driver rating at Kansas with a score of 111.6 during the past 10 years at the track.
EARNHARDT AT KANSAS: This season, Earnhardt has had strong runs on 1.5-mile tracks, earning an average finish of 9.6 in eight races. At Kansas, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has an average finish of 15.8 in 18 races, but in the last four years, excluding a 39th-place result due to a trip to the garage after contact with the wall in last fall’s race, when he led 45 laps, his average finish has improved to 7.9. While he has yet to win in Kansas City, Kansas, he’s earned three top-five and five top-10 finishes in the eight most recent races at the venue.