by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Friday, September 27, 2024 (8:30 P.M. ET, FS1)

TRUCKS Race 19 of 23

Round of 10: Race 3 of 3

Kubota Tractor 200 at Kansas

2023 Last-Place Finisher: Spencer Davis

ENTRY LIST

The first elimination race of the Truck Series season sees 34 drivers entered for 36 spots, meaning all will qualify. This is the series’ 10th short field in 19 races the season and the first since IRP, four races ago.

DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage

Brenden “Butterbean” Queen returns for his third series start and first since Nashville, where he finished 19th with this same TRICON team. Best Repair Company returns as sponsor as he takes the place of William Sawalich, who finished 11th in the most recent race at Bristol.

DRIVER SWAP: #7-Spire Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #41-Niece Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Niece Motorsports

For the first time in his Truck Series career, Conor Daly will start more than one race in a single season, his first since a 29th-place run at IRP. Then as now, Daly will drive Niece Motorsports’ #44 with his IndyCar sponsor Polkadot. Daly takes the place of Bayley Currey, who finished 15th this week, as Currey takes the place of 20th-place finisher Connor Mosack in Niece’s #41. Mosack, in turn, jumps to the Spire #7 entry with which Connor Zilisch won the pole and finished 19th in Bristol. Zilisch is not entered in tonight’s race as he focuses on XFINITY this week.

RETURNING: #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing

The series’ return to Kansas means the return of Jennifer Jo Cobb to her home track, where she looks to improve on her 32nd-place finish in the spring race earlier this year. This will mark the first time Cobb’s started more than one Truck Series race in the same year since 2021.

MISSING: #21-Floridian Motorsports

Not among this week’s entrants is the Floridian team, whose driver Mason Maggio finished 31st at Bristol driving a 2005 Ricky Rudd “throwback” scheme.

DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing

As he continues to try his hand at multiple forms of motorsport, Frankie Muniz returns to the Truck Series for the first time since his 31st-place series debut at Nashville, and again drives the Reaume #22. He takes the place of Keith McGee, who finished 33rd in Bristol.

DRIVER CHANGE: #25-Rackley-W.A.R.

It was revealed this week that Dawson Sutton will drive the #25 for the rest of this season, taking over for the team’s original full-time driver Ty Dillon. It was also reported that Dillon will fill another role with the team. Sutton has two previous Truck Series starts in the Rackley #26, their part-time second team, yielding a 28th-place debut at North Wilkesboro and an 18th in Nashville.

DRIVER CHANGE: #46-Young’s Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports

After making his first two XFINITY Series starts at Portland and Loudon for DGM Racing, Nathan Byrd returns to make his first attempt in the Truck Series, replacing 28th-place Bristol finisher Justin Mondeik in the #02 with backing from CleanCore Solutions. Mondeik will also run tonight as he takes the place of 34th-place finisher Tyler Tomassi in another Randy Young entry, the #46, with El Bandido Yankee Tequila as sponsor.

MISSING: #66-ThorSport Racing

After an overheating truck at Bristol led to his first NASCAR last-place finish, Conner Jones and the part-time ThorSport entry are not among this week’s entrants.

MISSING: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Also not making the trip west is the Charlie Henderson team with which Stefan Parsons finished 16th in Bristol.

MISSING: #81-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #91-McAnally Hilgemann Racing

After his 18th-place debut last Thursday, Corey Day will continue his part-time campaign over the season’s final weeks, this time replacing 26th-place Bristol finisher Jack Wood in the full-time #91 entry. HendrickCars.com is again the sponsor, and Wood is not entered in the race.

CUP INVADERS: None

Saturday, September 28, 2024 (3:30 P.M. ET, USA)

XFINITY Race 27 of 33

Round of 12: Race 1 of 3

Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas

2023 Last-Place Finisher: Kyle Weatherman

ENTRY LIST

After a single mid-week withdrawal, the XFINITY Series Playoffs kicks off with 38 drivers entered for 38 spots, meaning all will make the show.

RETURNING: #10-Kaulig Racing

As he tries to advance to the next round of the Truck Series Playoffs tonight, Daniel Dye will also pull double-duty on Saturday as he brings back Kaulig’s part-time #10 entry, sponsored by Race To Stop Suicide. Dye has proven a quick study in the XFINITY Series, earning a pair of top-ten finishes in his seven starts this season. However, a crash in his most recent start at Michigan left him 34th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #14-SS-Green Light Racing

J.J. Yeley will also pull double-duty – his with XFINITY and Cup – starting with Bobby Dotter’s #14 entry on Saturday with MPV Express as sponsor. Yeley takes the place of Chad Finchum, who qualified a solid 18th at Bristol before issues during the race left him 32nd, 20 laps down.

DRIVER CHANGE / SWAP: #19-Joe Gibbs Racing

DRIVER CHANGE / SWAP: #20-Joe Gibbs Racing

Another double-duty effort with the Truck Series is one Taylor Gray, who takes the place of 19th-place Bristol finisher Joe Graf, Jr. in the #19 instead of 5th-place finisher Ryan Truex in the #20, as the preliminary entry list showed. The #20 goes to Aric Almirola, who very nearly won his first Cup Series race at the Kansas track in 2012, and has since earned seven top-ten finishes in his 24 Cup starts there. He now makes only his fourth XFINITY start at the track, his first since a 12th-place finish for JR Motorsports in 2011, and his first at the track for JGR since a 39th-place effort in 2006.

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

Still another Truck Series entrant is upstart Corey Heim, who nearly pulled off the win at Atlanta in his most recent series start with this same Sam Hunt Racing effort. Despite contact with the wall, he still managed to finish fifth – his third top-five finish in just 11 series starts this season. This time, he takes over for Jeffrey Earnhardt, who enjoyed a strong start to the Bristol weekend with a 6th-place qualifying run and an 8th-place finish in Stage 1 before a crash left him 35th.

MISSING: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing / Peterson Racing Group

Not among Saturday’s entrants is Austin Green, whose first oval-track start in NASCAR ended with a hard hit to the Turn 2 wall, leaving him in last place.

DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Alpha Prime Racing

Back in action is Brad Perez, who welcomes returning sponsorship from Apex Coffee Roasters. As part of a sponsor promotion, the names of fans who purchased Apex products are on the car’s rear decklid. This will be Perez’ tenth series start and third of the season, his first since a 24th-place finish at Sears Point. It’s also his first entry since the Chicago Street Course, where he failed to qualify in Joey Gase’s #35. Perez takes the place of Stefan Parsons, who along with the Alpha Prime team showed tremendous resolve in Bristol, missing the start despite a fast engine change and passing five cars before the race was over.

WITHDREW / DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports

Speaking of Gase, he was originally entered in Saturday’s race with returning sponsorship from Branson, Missouri’s tourism department. The team has since withdrawn, perhaps due to a shake-up near the bottom of the Owner Points rankings (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #92-DGM Racing

On Tuesday came news that Mike Harmon’s team acquired the Owner Points for Richard Childress Racing’s #33, which finished 6th in the team’s only start of the year at Charlotte with Kyle Busch. Those points are enough to rank Harmon’s team ahead of both Joey Gase Motorsports’ #53 and SS-Green Light Racing’s #07, securing the #74 a spot in the race if they rank worse than 33rd in qualifying and need a provisional. The team had no driver listed on the preliminary roster, but Ryan Vargas revealed he would rejoin the team for Saturday. Newly engaged to his fiancé on the heels of a class victory in the Whelen Euro Series, Vargas steps in for Bristol DNQ Dawson Cram, who moves to the #92 at Mario Gosselin’s team, replacing 20th-place finisher Josh Bilicki.

DRIVER CHANGE: #88-JR Motorsports

Connor Zilisch looks to go 2-for-2 on wins in the XFINITY Series as he rejoins the circuit for the first time since his thrilling win at Watkins Glen. He this time runs on an oval, and does so in a brilliant new paint scheme sponsored by Kampgrounds of America (KOA) and RTIC coolers. Zilisch takes the place of team owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr., whose 7th-place finish last Friday may have been his final start in NASCAR’s top three series.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Patrick Emerling returns to the Dotter team for the first time since his 18th-place finish last month at Daytona – his second-best finish of the year behind a 17th in February’s opening race on the Daytona track. He takes the place of Greg Van Alst, who finished 29th last week in Bristol. BB Roofing is the listed sponsor.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, September 29, 2024 (3:00 P.M. ET, USA)

CUP Race 30 of 36

Round of 12: Race 1 of 3

Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet at Kansas

2023 Last-Place Finisher: Martin Truex, Jr.

ENTRY LIST

The second round of the Cup Series Playoffs begins with 38 drivers entered for 40 spots. This marks the 26th short field in 30 races this season.

DRIVER SWAP: #7-Spire Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #51-Rick Ware Racing

As announced last week, Corey LaJoie moves to the #51 at RWR while Justin Haley reunites with Spire in the #7. LaJoie carries sponsorship from Children’s Mercy Hospital while Haley retains team backer Gainbridge.

DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing

While out of his Truck Series ride at Rackley-W.A.R., Ty Dillon will compete on Sunday in Cup with FitRx as sponsor. This will mark Dillon’s 245th series start and seventh of the season, his first since a 26th-place finish for the team at Richmond. He takes the place of A.J. Allmendinger, who finished 23rd last week in Bristol.

RETURNING: #44-NY Racing Team

Completing his double-duty effort on Sunday, J.J. Yeley reunites with the NY Racing Team for his fifth start of the year and first since a season-best 23rd in the Playoff opener at Atlanta. The Urban Racing School is the listed sponsor for Yeley’s #44. This will also be the 22nd Cup start at Kansas for Yeley, a track where his best finish of 14th occurred in 2007 with JGR.

MISSING: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Not among the entrants this week is Carl Long’s MBM outfit, which saw Josh Bilicki fight his way to the finish despite failing power steering on his Ford, leaving him 34th at the checkered flag.

RETURNING: #84-Legacy Motor Club

It was a frustrating night at Kansas this past May when contact from Corey LaJoie sent Jimmie Johnson into the wall, leaving the seven-time series champion in last place. This time, as LaJoie swaps rides with Justin Haley, Johnson returns for his seventh start of the year, his first since a 33rd-place finish in the Brickyard 400.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (September 27, 1998): Kenny Wallace picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career during the NAPA AutoCare 500 at Martinsville, his #81 Square D Ford the first car to fall out during the stifling heat that afternoon. Wallace dropped out after 150 laps with overheating issues. This same race saw recent Hall of Fame inductee Ricky Rudd score the hard-fought victory – his then-record 16th straight season with at least one win, and his last for his team, Rudd Performance Motorsports.