With apologies to Dorothy, we are in Kansas. Again.
The NASCAR Cup Series will line up Sunday afternoon for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., in the first of three consecutive races on 1.5-mile layouts that feature plenty of horsepower.
In the series’ first visit on April 19, Tyler Reddick, now 61 points behind leader Kyle Larson, beat the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet by 0.118 seconds in overtime for his fifth win in nine races, becoming the first driver to do that since Dale Earnhardt won seven of nine to start 1987.
Among active drivers, Denny Hamlin has four NASCAR Cup Series victories at Kansas, while Larson and Joey Logano have three apiece and Reddick and Chase Elliott own two. The only other Chase competitor who has won there is Bubba Wallace.
Chase contenders took 13 of the first 14 spots in the Spring.
How will Kansas race after Bristol’s pit-road antics in a crazy Saturday night that ended with drivers throwing hands?
On Hamlin’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast Monday, guest Ryan Blaney — one-half of the brief bout with Carson “The Hurricane” Hocevar — explained his side of what happened in one of NASCAR’s most bizarre 2026 moments.
The 2023 Cup champ opened up about what transpired on the Lap 457 spin that hung him with a DNF and the two-fisted encounter with Hocevar.
A fiery communicator often with salty language over the radio when things don’t go well for his No. 12 Ford, Blaney is known for being very calm when he climbs out of the car following an incident.
He admitted he was out of character and reversed the order at Thunder Valley: Downplaying the incident right away but then having his emotions overcome him as he walked toward Hocevar.
“I definitely regret the way I acted. That’s unlike me,” said sixth-place Blaney, who trails Larson by 52. “I was just frustrated. … I didn’t think I deserved to get absolutely trashed.”
A few memorable altercations at the high-speed, half-mile track between drivers come to mind when a Bristol incident is brought up.
Rusty Wallace angrily fired a water bottle at Dale Earnhardt in 1995 at the night race, though nothing really became of it.
In 2002, Kevin Harvick ran down pit road in the Spring Busch race and Spider-Manned his away across Greg Biffle’s car, grabbed a fistful of the Roush driver’s suit like he owed him money, and gave him an earful about an earlier wreck.
Those two incidents can kindly move to the back of the memory line.
“I just (had) to eat it and continue to talk my trash,” said a remorseful Blaney, who received two straight right punches that found purchase on the same spot on his left cheek. “And I’ll be honest, I went over there, and I got my ass kicked, for sure.
“I ate a two-piece and got tagged pretty good. I just wanted to show my displeasure. … I wish I’d have gone about that a different way.”
Mike Tyson famously said that everyone has a plan until he gets punched in the face and reality sets in.
Blaney has enough for two plans.
He and everyone else can plan on dealing with the Hurricane’s “no-give and all-take” approach because the No. 77 racer is certainly willing to defend his driving style and himself.
–Field Level Media
