Victory Lap: Kansas Speedway

 

Crack at History

At just 31 years old, Kyle Busch is close to accomplishing something nobody has ever done in the history of NASCAR. After his Kansas win on Saturday night, there are just two tracks on the Sprint Cup Series circuit at which the defending Champion hasn't won. Both of those tracks - Charlotte Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway - are both fast approaching on the NASCAR calendar. "There's been a lot of rough days (at Kansas)," said Busch following the win. "I certainly found the boundaries that you need to have here being able to feel the race car and I’m so used to just attacking all these race tracks that sometimes I over-attack and that may be what has bit me here in the past, but tonight I really felt this race car all night long."

Streaking Rookies

Thanks to a fifth-place finish by Ryan Blaney on Saturday, a rookie has finished in the top-5 in four of the last five races (Richmond being the only exception). It was Blaney's first top-5 finish to go along with four top-10's for the Wood Brothers this season, while fellow rookie Chase Elliott has more top-10 finishes (seven) than any other Hendrick driver, in addition to three top-5's.

The Final Five

Daytona's new motorsports stadium will get a "fresh coat of paint" with Axalta Coating Systems coming in as the fifth and final founding partner. "Axalta has been a long-standing and strong sponsor of our sport for many years and we’re thrilled to welcome them as a partner at Daytona International Speedway,” said ISC Chief Executive Officer Lesa France Kennedy. “Their activation will enable us to further enhance the fan and spectator experience which is a main focus of our new stadium.” Their activation includes naming and branding rights within the center injector at the facility and is a part of Axalta's 150th anniversary celebration.

Stewart Rising

When Tony Stewart made his season debut in Richmond he was 112 points out of the 30th place, the cutoff mark for drivers with a win to qualify for the Chase. Just three starts later, he's almost cut that margin in half to a mere 59 points. Thanks to a sixth-place finish by the No. 14 at Talladega and Stewart's 12th-place showing on Saturday, he is poised to continue his season surge this weekend at Dover where he has three career wins.