Kansas
Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup teams ahead of Kansas playoff race
The second round of the Cup playoffs begin. Two drivers switch rides beginning this weekend. And NASCAR is back at the track that provided the closest finish in series history earlier this year.
Much is happening at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway heading into Sunday’s race (3 p.m. ET on USA Network).
Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams going to Kansas.
23XI Racing — Good news: Bubba Wallace’s third-place finish at Bristol marked his sixth top-five finish of the season and 11th top 10 of the year. Both are career highs. … 23XI Racing has won three of the last five races at Kansas, getting a victory each from Kurt Busch, Tyler Reddick and Wallace. … Reddick has scored the most points among all drivers at races on 1.5-mile speedways this season. He has 154 points. Bad news: Reddick has scored 11 stage points in the playoffs. That ranks worst among the remaining 12 playoff drivers. … Reddick has scored 69 points in the playoffs. That also ranks worst among the remaining 12 playoff drivers.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Michael McDowell has finished 11th or better in each of the last two races this season. … McDowell has started in the top 10 in the last two races at Kansas. Bad news: Todd Gilliland has not started better than 25th in five career Cup starts at Kansas.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Bristol winner Kyle Larson has a series-best eight finishes in the top three this season. … Larson won at Kansas in the most recent Cup race there. He beat Chris Buescher by .001 seconds in the closest finish in series history. … Larson is the only repeat winner in the last eight Cup races at Kansas. … Alex Bowman scored the most points in the first round of the playoffs. He had 120, including a series-best 41 stage points. … Chase Elliott finished third t Kansas in May. Bad news: William Byron has two top-10 finishes in the last eight races.
Three new drivers join this week’s top 10.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Denny Hamlin’s four Cup wins at Kansas are the most all-time. … Hamlin’s pit crew had the fastest four-tire pit stop at Bristol at 9.3 seconds, according to Racing Insights. … Christopher Bell has won the pole for the last two races at Kansas and three of the last five races there. Bad news: Hamlin has been the leader with 10 laps to go in the last two Kansas races but has not won either. He finished second in September 2023 and fifth in May. … Martin Truex Jr. has finished 20th or worse in the last eight races. … Ty Gibbs has finished no better than 15th in the last four races.
Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs and Harrison Burton were eliminated at Bristol.
JTG Daugherty Racing — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finished 14th or better in six of the last 13 races. Bad news: Stenhouse has failed to finish five of the last 11 races due to an accident.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: Ty Dillon is in the No. 16 car this weekend. It is his seventh start of the year and his 245th career Cup start. … Daniel Hemric has three top 20s in the last five races. Bad news: Hemric has started 30th or worse in 15 of 29 races this season.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Erik Jones finished third at Kansas last September. He was the only non-playoff driver to finish in the top nine in that race. … Jimmie Johnson is back in the No. 84 this weekend. This will be his seventh start of the year. Bad news: John Hunter Nemechek has not started better than 10th in a race this season.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch has two Cup wins at Kansas, along with four Xfinity wins and three Truck wins there. Bad news: Busch has finished 25th or worse in each of the past two races. He has finished 25th or worse 12 times this year. … Busch’s career-long winless streak has reached 50 races. … Austin Dillon has had six consecutive finishes of 15th or worse since his Richmond victory.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Corey LaJoie makes his debut with the team this weekend. … He will have Kaz Grala as a teammate this weekend. Bad news: The organization has not had a car qualify in the top 25 in eight of the last nine races.
NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio: “We were disappointed as a company for our fans.”
RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski has finished second in two of the last three races on a 1.5-mile speedway. Bad news: The organization’s last win at Kansas was in October 2012 by Matt Kenseth. … Keselowski has no top 10s in the last four races. … RFK Racing drivers were passed for the win in the last two races on 1.5-mile tracks. … Chris Buescher was finished 15th or worse in four of the last five races at Kansas. The exception was in May when he placed second, losing by .001 seconds to Kyle Larson in the closet finish in series history.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Justin Haley makes his debut with the team this weekend. … Two of the team’s cars qualified in the top 10 at Bristol, marking the first time the organization had accomplished that feat. Carson Hocevar started seventh. Corey LaJoie, in his final race for the team, started ninth. … The team has had at least one car finish in the top 20 in the last 15 races. Bad news: Zane Smith has six pit road speeding penalties this season.
Stewart-Haas Racing — Good news: Ryan Preece has had three top 20s in a row, which is tied for his longest streak of the season. … Chase Briscoe has three top 10s in the last four races. … Briscoe overcame a 21-point deficit to the cutline after Atlanta, the opening race in the first round, to advance. That’s tied for the largest margin overcome to make it to the second round without a win. … Josh Berry has started in the top 10 in seven of the last 13 races. … Noah Gragson has scored back-to-back top-15 finishes. Bad news: Berry has finished 20th or worse in 10 of the last 11 races.
A look at the winners and losers from the weekend at Bristol.
Team Penske — Good news: Joey Logano has won three playoff races at Kansas, the most among all drivers. … Austin Cindric has had two of his five top 10s this season in the playoffs. Bad news: Austin Cindric and Logano are tied with Daniel Suarez with 13 finishes of 21st or worse. That the is most among any of the remaining playoff drivers. … Ryan Blaney has failed to finish three of the last five races. … Blaney has one top-10 finish in the last seven Kansas races.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain has three top 10s in the last four races. Bad news: Daniel Suarez has two top 10s in 15 Cup starts at Kansas.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Harrison Burton has four top-25 finishes in the last six races . Bad news: Burton was eliminated from the playoffs after Bristol. … He has finished 30th or worse in four of his five Cup starts at Kansas.
KISMET, Kan. (KWCH) – Last month, wildfires in southern Kansas raged, destroying farmer Randall Thorp’s property, tools and 960 acres of land.
As he handles the massive cleanup project, he knows he is not alone.
“It’s about the greatest show of love I’ve ever seen,” Thorpe said. “I didn’t realize that I would have all this support in my greatest time of need.”
The two main contributors to Thorp’s optimism are the community around him and his faith.
“I’ve seen a lot of darkness that, because of my faith in Jesus, I can see the light in my heart,” Thorp said. “And that’s what keeps me going.”
Throughout the past few weeks, friends, family and neighbors have come to his property to help sort out and clean up the debris.
“I come out here and I’m by myself and I find it hard to do anything, but when a group of people all shows up and they’re wanting to work, then I’m ready to get to work with them, and they’re all ready to help me,” Thorp said.
Even with all the uncertainty following the fire, Thorp has been able to feed the 150 cattle he has, a number that is now growing since it is calving season. Friendly helpers are providing free hay for his animals to eat.
There’s a long way until things will be back to normal, but Thorp is determined to get there.
“You know, I can see some light at the end of the tunnel, but I’ve got to stay strong and keep it going and make it through,” Thorp said.
The powerful show of dependability from fellow Kansans is something he will never forget.
“I’ve been shown lots of love,” Thorp said.
You can still donate to Thorp’s GoFundMe here.
Copyright 2026 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
Kansas City International Airport in Missouri was partly evacuated over a “threat” Sunday afternoon but has since resumed “normal operations,” officials said.
“The security incident at [Kansas City International Airport] is now clear and normal operations are resuming,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on X.
“I want to thank law enforcement including the FBI for their timely response. The safety of our passengers, airport staff, and crew members is always our number one priority.”
Airport representative Jackson Overstreet told The Associated Press in an email that the threat was reported at 11:50 a.m. local time, at which point an entire terminal was evacuated.
He said planes that landed after the threat were being held on the taxiway until it could be fully investigated.
FBI rep Dixon Land said the bureau was “aware of the incident” and worked with “law enforcement officials to determine the credibility of a threat.”
Passenger Logan Hawley, 29, told the outlet he was getting ready to board a flight to Texas when he saw police and K-9 units swarming the terminal.
“Suddenly there was an airport worker saying ‘immediately evacuate,’ people got up fast and rushed out of there,” Hawley said.
Roughly 2,000 people were ushered out of the terminal and onto the tarmac, he said.
Photos and video from the airport circulating online show large groups of passengers being led onto the tarmac or funneling out of the terminal.
With Post Wires
Kansas
Kansas family stranded in Iran with critical medical need makes it home through congressional intervention
SHAWNEE, Kan. – A Kansas family said a call to their congresswoman’s office helped bring their daughter and son-in-law home after they were stranded overseas with an unmet critical medical need.
Janet Fulgham said her daughter Laura and Laura’s husband Adam had been traveling in the UAE when an attack on Iran disrupted their plans to return home.
With their trip delayed and Laura facing a medical need that could not be met there, Fulgham said she contacted the office of Rep. Sharice Davids.
Fulgham said Davids’ office worked with the State Department to flag the emergency and secure a flight for the couple.
“The first thing that went through my mind was her medication. It is such a big part of her life. And then how do we get them out safely? How on earth do we get them out?” Fulgham said.
She said the experience prompted her to share a message with other families.
“Very often things are out of your control. But what I want everyone to know is, no matter what state you’re in, there are services to the American public that we may not know about,” Fulgham said.
Davids, who represents Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, said the situation reflects the real-world impact of international crises.
“This is one of those areas where you really see how much we’re talking about real people. You know, Laura and Adam are real Kansans who are stuck in a situation that they did not ask to be in. I’m just so relieved and glad that they’re back home,” Davids said.
Fulgham said the relief of her daughter’s return is tempered by awareness of others still waiting.
“Happiness and my delight that they’re home. Mixed with my total exhaustion. But then there’s so many other parents and friends and family members who are waiting for their loved ones. It’s hard to really celebrate when you know there’s such a big need,” Fulgham said.
Davids is expected to visit the family later this week. Her office said it is still working to help other Kansas families who remain stranded.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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