For the first time since the mid-March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and just the second time so far during the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, the series is set to contest a race at a traditional mile-and-a-half oval this weekend at Kansas Speedway.
The four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas City, Kansas oval is also on the 10-race playoff schedule, heightening the importance of leaving this Sunday's 267-lap race with confidence and a strong notebook to take forward.
Because Kansas is an intermediate track, the qualifying format is relatively basic. Unlike on short tracks, each driver on the 37-car entry list is set to make one single-lap qualifying attempt, rather than a two-lap attempt, and unlike on superspeedways, there is only one round of qualifying to determine the full starting lineup; there is no 10-driver second round shootout for pole.
The qualifying order was determined by the metric that NASCAR introduced ahead of the 2025 season, factoring in both the point standings and the results of the most recent race.
This formula replaced the far more complicated metric that NASCAR had used from 2020 to 2024. A full breakdown of the current metric can be found here.
Follow along with our qualifying updates from Kansas as the series prepares to officially mark the one-quarter mark of the season and the one-third mark of the regular season.
NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Kansas
Rank | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
2 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
3 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
5 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
6 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
7 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
8 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
9 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
10 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
11 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
12 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
13 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
14 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
15 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
17 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
18 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
19 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
20 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
21 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
22 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
23 | Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
24 | Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota |
25 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
26 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
27 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
28 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
29 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
30 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
31 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
32 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
33 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
34 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
35 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
36 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
37 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
Tune in to Fox at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, April 19 for the live broadcast of the AdventHealth 400 from Kansas Speedway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now if you have not already had the chance to do so!
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