2026 Kansas Lottery 300
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| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 33 in the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | April 18, 2026 | ||
| Location | Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482.80 km) | ||
| Average speed | 116.946 miles per hour (188.206 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | JR Motorsports | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 67 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Sheldon Creed | Haas Factory Team | |
| Time | 30.833 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 54 | Taylor Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | The CW | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Jamie McMurray, and Parker Kligerman | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, Todd Gordon, and Joey Logano | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Tim Catafalmo (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Kansas Lottery 300 was a NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race held on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Contested over 200 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km), it was the tenth race of the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, and the 26th running of the event.
In an eventful race, Taylor Gray, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, took advantage of a late green flag pit stop and took the lead from Sheldon Creed, leading the final 48 laps to earn his second career NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series win, and his first of the season.[8] Creed finished second, and Justin Allgaier finished third. Jesse Love and Brent Crews rounded out the top five, while William Byron, Cole Custer, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, and Ryan Sieg rounded out the top ten.
The race was marred by an airborne crash involving Carson Kvapil. On the first lap, Josh Bilicki and Kyle Sieg spun in turn two and brought out the first caution. Shortly after the spin, William Byron made side contact with Kvapil, causing Kvapil to lose control and hit the outside wall. Parker Retzlaff, with nowhere to go, collided with Kvapil at the same time in which he hit the wall, causing him to go airborne. The car lifted off the ground and slid for a few seconds on its roof before flipping one time and landing back on the roof. After crew members planted the car back on all four wheels, Kvapil climbed out under his own power and was released from the infield care center shortly after.[9]
This was the second of four races for the Dash 4 Cash program.[10] The drivers eligible for the D4C were Brent Crews, Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, and Sheldon Creed, since they were the highest finishing O'Reilly Series regulars following the race at Bristol.[11] Creed finished in second and claimed the $100,000 bonus.
Background
Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. It was built in 2001 and hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The NTT IndyCar Series also raced there until 2011. The speedway is owned and operated by NASCAR.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Starting lineup
Practice and qualifying were originally scheduled to be held on Friday, April 27, at 6:00 PM and 7:05 PM CST respectively, but were canceled due to inclement weather.[12][13] Carson Kvapil, driving for JR Motorsports, was awarded his first career pole position as a result of NASCAR's pandemic formula with a score of 1.900.[14]
