Denny Hamlin is 7/1 to win 2023 Advent Health 400 at Kansas

FedEx Racing Express Facts – Kansas Speedway

 

Denny Hamlin

#11 FedEx Express Toyota

Joe Gibbs Racing

  

Sunday Race Info

Race: AdventHealth 400

Date/Time: Sunday, May 7 / 3 p.m. ET

Distance: 267 laps / 400.5 miles

Track Length: 1.5 miles

 

Express Notes

Press Kit: Download the 2023 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedex.com/en-us/racing/press-kit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Kansas Notes: Hamlin is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series winner at Kansas Speedway. After earning his first win at the track in April 2012, he claimed back-to-back victories in October 2019 and July 2020. Last season, Hamlin finished fourth and second in two starts at Kansas. Overall, he has posted three consecutive top-five finishes at the 1.5-mile tri-oval dating back to October 2021.

Dover Recap: The FedEx Racing team finished fifth in last weekend’s race at Dover Motor Speedway. Hamlin started 13th after qualifying was canceled due to rain. He wasted little time rocketing into the top five as he finished second in stage one. The No. 11 driver managed to finish fifth in stage two and ultimately ended the day with a fifth-place result as teammate Martin Truex Jr. grabbed Joe Gibbs Racing’s second victory of the season.

Hamlin Statistics

Track: Kansas Speedway

Races: 29

Wins: 3

Poles: 4

Top-5: 11

Top-10: 12

Laps Led: 349

Avg. Start: 12.9

Avg. Finish: 13.3

 

Hamlin Conversation – Kansas

What are your thoughts on racing Kansas this weekend?

“Kansas has been a great track for us the past few years, so I’m looking forward to this weekend. I’m excited about how our 11 team ran and how well Toyota ran as a manufacturer there last year with all the JGR cars up front. We feel like this is an opportunity for us to put ourselves in contention and we’ll just have to execute all day to give ourselves a chance.”

 

FedEx Express Along for the Ride at Kansas Speedway: For this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway, Hamlin’s FedEx Express Toyota Camry TRD will feature MCIR on the b-post to recognize the Express ramp in Kansas City. The Kansas City market includes 600 team members with 153 dedicated to the Kansas City International Airport ramp.

 

FedEx Office – Closest to Kansas Speedway: 13450 W 8th Street Pkwy, Lenexa, KS 66215, 913-894-2010

 

2023 FedEx Racing Team Results
DATE	EVENT	LOCATION	START	FINISH	LAPS	STATUS	LED	PTS	TREND
Feb. 19	Daytona 500	Daytona	18th	17th	212/212	Running	6	19th	▬
Feb. 26	Pala Casino 400	Fontana	13th	6th	200/200	Running	11	9th	▲
March 5	Pennzoil 400	Las Vegas	12th	11th	271/271	Running	10	6th	▲
March 12	United Rentals Work United 500	Phoenix	2nd	23rd	317/317	Running	0	12th	▼
March 19	Ambetter Health 400	Atlanta	14th	6th	260/260	Running	14	9th	▲
March 26	EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix	Austin	21st	16th	75/75	Running	0	14th	▼
April 2	Toyota Owners 400	Richmond	11th	20th	400/400	Running	71	12th	▲
April 9	Food City Dirt Race	Bristol	30th	22nd	250/250	Running	0	12th	▬
April 16	NOCO 400	Martinsville	11th	4th	400/400	Running	36	9th	▲
April 23	GEICO 500	Talladega	1st	17th	196/196	Running	7	9th	▬
May 1	Würth 400	Dover	13th	5th	400/400	Running	4	7th	▲
Averages/Totals			13.3	13.4	100%		159

 

 

Aric Almirola is 100/1 to win at Kansas

 

ARIC ALMIROLA   Kansas Advance No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

●  Event: Advent Health 400 (Round 12 of 36) ●  Time/Date:  3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 7 ●  Location:  Kansas Speedway in Kansas City  ●  Layout:  1.5-mile oval ●  Laps/Miles:  267 laps/400 miles ●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps ●  TV/Radio:  FS1 / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

●  While the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang team’s short-track package has proven to be competitive this year, all eyes are set on improving at the intermediate tracks that comprise a majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule starting this weekend on the 1.5-mile oval at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Aric Almirola drove into the top-15 but was involved in an accident not of his own doing. A week later at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Almirola drove in and around the top-15 before bringing home a 16th-place finish. This weekend marks the first of two races at Kansas this season.   ●  The No. 10 Smithfield Ford team’s season has been a rollercoaster ride. It got off to a strong start during the first two outings of the season. Almirola won his heat race and started on the pole for the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Then, in the points-paying season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the 39-year-old veteran won his Duel qualifying race and led 16 laps of the Daytona 500 – the most laps he’s led at Daytona in 23 starts. Almirola and his team were mired by bad luck at Fontana, Phoenix Raceway and Richmond (Va.) Raceway in subsequent races, unable to capitalize on newfound top-10 and top-five speed. He then led the field for a combined 28 laps during what were promising days at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, but a late-race accident ended Almirola’s day at Atlanta and he posted a 22nd-place finish at Talladega. His best outing of the early season came three weekends ago at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where he qualified third, ran up front all race long and earned a sixth-place finish and 42 points in the driver standings. Having experienced both ends of the spectrum of performance thus far, Almirola hopes Kansas will prove to be a turning point for the season and kick off a stretch of top-10s over the summer months, which he’s been known to do on multiple occasions.   ●  History at Kansas: In 22 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas, Almirola has seven top-10 finishes and has led 69 laps.   ●  Driver Points: Almirola arrives at Kansas 25th in the driver standings, 189 points out of first.    ●  Almirola’s career: In 435 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, Almirola has three wins, 28 top-five finishes, 92 top-10s, four poles, and has led 1,018 laps.   ●  Fans will see the iconic white, black, and gold Smithfield Foods scheme adorn Almirola’s Ford Mustang this weekend. Smithfield has been a sponsor of Almirola’s for the entirety of his fulltime NASCAR Cup Series career – making it one of the longest-lasting partnerships in NASCAR. Smithfield is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Its 63,000 team members are dedicated to producing “Good food. Responsibly.®” Smithfield is one of the world’s leading vertically integrated protein companies. The company has pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including its industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30 percent across its entire U.S. value chain by 2030. Smithfield believes in the power of protein to end food insecurity and has donated hundreds of millions of food servings to local communities.   ●  Beyond the 10 YouTube Series: In 2023, Almirola is continuing to share his life beyond the No. 10 Ford with season five of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and the show gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

You’ve run in and around the top-15 at intermediate tracks so far this year. What are your expectations this weekend?     “Las Vegas was really the only chance we got to test our 1.5-mile program and we ran around 15th that weekend. I thought we actually had a good car in Fontana to start the year, but we got taken out when everyone stacked up on a restart and our day was done. I think we had a top-10 car in Fontana. Vegas is so much different of a track and is always tough to figure out. I like racing at Kansas, but the results don’t always show it. I think we just need to be patient and not over-adjust and just figure it out throughout the day as a team. We’ve done a great job of that this year, but have been caught up in unfortunate situations when we find the speed. We have worked really hard on improving this program on the simulator that Ford Performance provides us and we hope we can turn it around this weekend.”   Why is it so important to get this package right?   “Well Kansas, Texas, and Miami are all in the playoffs, and in order to be a playoff contender, you have to get this right. All of these tracks are different in their own way and we’ve seen more success at different 1.5-mile tracks throughout the years, but it starts this weekend in Kansas, to find speed and build notes for the future. More importantly, we need to have solid days to move up in the standings. We have to qualify well to put us in a position to earn stage points and put together another clean day like we had at Martinsville.”   What are your thoughts about racing at Kansas?   “I’ve always enjoyed Kansas. I know that I did have a really bad accident there, but in my mind I just view that as a bad accident. It just happened at a place. It just so happened to be at Kansas. It could have happened anywhere. I don’t really put that on Kansas and so, every time I’ve been back since then, it’s never really been a thought that’s crossed my mind. I actually enjoy going to Kansas. I have friends in Kansas City who I enjoy spending time with that makes it even more enjoyable to be there and, on top of that, I love the racetrack. The racetrack is a really fun racetrack to run at for me and I’ve had a lot of success there and had a lot of really good runs there.”

Martin Truex Jr is 8/1 to win at Kansas

 

Martin Truex Jr. Kansas Advance No. 19 Reser's Fine Foods Toyota Camry TRD for Joe Gibbs Racing

Event Overview

●  Event: AdventHeatlth 400 (Race 12 of 36) ●  Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 7 ●  Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City ●  Layout: 1.5-mile oval ●  Format: 267 laps, 400 miles ●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps ●  TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● 75 Greatest: On the heels of winning Monday’s rain-delayed race at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, Truex got a surprise phone call Tuesday from NASCAR CEO Jim France to let him know that he was chosen by NASCAR as one of the 75 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR history. NASCAR will be honoring the 75 greatest drivers later this month at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway during the annual throwback weekend at the track.   ● 32 and Counting: With the win at Dover, Truex notched his 32nd career Cup Series victory, putting him 29th on the all-time Cup Series win list.   ● Truex and the No. 19 team for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) set the tone for the season right out of the gate by winning the 150-lap feature in the non-points Clash at the Coliseum on Feb. 5 in Los Angeles. Truex won his heat race, then went on to lead the final 25 laps of the feature en route to a victory that gave him and the team much-needed momentum heading into the 2023 season. While the team had been knocking on the door of its first points-paying win of the season, the breakthrough finally came at Dover. The Reser’s Fine Foods team is hoping to keep the momentum going at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City this weekend.   ● Truex has two wins, 10 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s and has led a total of 827 laps in 29 career Cup Series starts at Kansas. Truex’s average Kansas finish is 12.2.     ● Strong in the Heartland: Truex’s two Kansas wins came by way of a season sweep of the spring and fall races there in 2017. The feat kicked off a 12-race stretch on the 1.5-mile oval during which he earned six top-fives and finished inside the top-10 all but once.   ● Reser’s Fine Foods is the primary sponsor on the No. 19 Toyota this weekend at Kansas, and the 1.5-mile oval also happens to be just down the road from Reser’s largest manufacturing facility in Topeka, Kansas. Truex will be visiting the Topeka manufacturing facility to greet hardworking employees and learn more about how Reser’s makes its fresh refrigerated deli salads and hot side dishes. The visit will help celebrate the importance of manufacturing and the people who make it all possible.   ● Family owned and operated, Reser’s has been a proud sponsor of good times at racetracks, picnics, and barbecues since 1950 with a family of brands that includes Reser’s American Classics, Main St. Bistro, and more. Reser’s operates 14 facilities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and actively supports the communities it serves. Visit resers.com to learn more.   ● While he doesn’t like to play favorites, Truex certainly excels at tracks with worn-out surfaces, where driver skill is key to managing the tires and the racecar over the course of a long race. At four such tracks, Kansas, Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway, Truex has notched six wins, 23 top-five finishes and 45 top-10s, and has led 2,209 laps. After Kansas this weekend, the Cup Series will race at Darlington next week.   ● With his victory at Dover on Monday afternoon, Truex heads to Kansas having moved up to fourth in the driver standings, 40 points behind leader Ross Chastain.

Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Reser's Fine Foods Toyota Camry TRD

You got the call this week that you are on the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. What does that mean to you?   “It’s amazing. I’ve said it before, but when I got the opportunity to race cars for a living, I never thought I would get to where I’m at. I’ve been really fortunate along the way to have a lot of great teams behind me and win a lot of races and win a Cup championship and two in Xfinity. I feel very lucky to be on the list. It’s a big honor.”   What does it mean to you and the team to get a points win under your belt this early in the season?   “We started with the Clash win. It was really big for us. I know that it’s not a points event and all that, but just for us with last year really struggling on short tracks, I feel like we put a huge effort together this offseason to be prepared for this year, to really put in an effort and talk about the things that we needed to do better from last year. I think our whole team was really motivated to get better and to do whatever we needed to do and really communicated a lot about the things we needed to work on. So, really, the Clash was a big deal to get, and it gave us a lot of confidence. Even though the past couple years had been really strong, until then it was a little up and down, but we still had a lot of confidence and felt like we were going in the right direction. I said I think it was this week that I feel really good about where we’re at and I feel like we’re ready to break loose and get on a run. We have some really good tracks coming up the next several weeks, with Kansas and Darlington the next two weeks in particular. Looking forward to this weekend with our Reser’s Fine Foods Camry and to see if we can get some more.”   What is racing at Kansas like, and what other track is most similar?   “I would say Kansas is a lot like Homestead but with a tri-oval. Similar corners and little bit of progressive banking. The wall has really come into play the last couple of years there since the asphalt has worn out. So, running high is very important there, and also momentum is very important at Kansas. You have a big, wide front straightaway that gives you the option to make big bold moves on the restarts where it can get pretty wild there. Kansas is definitely high on my list of places I like to race and we are hoping for a great weekend there with our Reser’s Fine Foods Camry.”   There’s a lot of variety in the schedule now – you go from short tracks, to dirt, to concrete, to road courses, and this week to a 1.5-mile oval. How do you take on the challenge of the variety of tracks you go to in the Cup Series?   “I feel like the schedule nowadays is all over the place with all the road courses we have, it’s just that every week is so different and you have to do your homework and study and think back to last year and past races just to remind ourselves. We have really short practices now, so you don’t get a lot of time to get dialed in and get comfortable, and not getting in that rhythm and just getting the car dialed in. We don’t have a lot of time and we need to show up and be ready to go. For the most part, I’ve been doing to these tracks for quite a while now and you lean on that past experience a lot.”