Kansas Speedway gains third NASCAR trucks race of season. That’s never happened before
.JPG "Matt Crafton waved the checkered flag after winning a NASCAR Truck Series auto race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, July 25, 2020.")
The folks at Kansas Speedway received some good news with the announcement Thursday that they’re poised to become the first track to host three NASCAR trucks series races in a single season.
It’ll happen in October. After playing host last month to two Gander RV & Outdoors Trucks Series races, Kansas Speedway picked up a number three for 2020 when NASCAR unveiled its series schedules for the remainder of the season.
Because of the cancellation of a race week at Eldora, Ohio, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the trucks race from that track was moved to Friday, Oct. 16 at Kansas Speedway, where it will kick off a three-day run of four races here.
Also on the Kansas Speedway schedule that weekend: a Friday ARCA race, a Saturday Xfinity race and Sunday NASCAR Cup race. The Cup, Xfinity and ARCA races had been scheduled for Kansas previously, but the trucks race is a new addition.
NASCAR held five races in three days at Kansas Speedway July 23-25. Trucks driver Austin Hill won the Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 July 24, and the next day Matt Crafton won the e.p.t. 200.
Denny Hamlin won the Super Star Batteries 400 July 23 and Brandon Jones won the Xfinity Kansas Lottery 250 July 25. Bret Holmes won the ARCA Menards Dawn 150 on July 24.
While it’s the first time three trucks series races will take place at one track in a single season in NASCAR’s “modern era,” which is generally recognized as beginning in 1972, other NASCAR series have previously raced three times at the same venue in a single season.
The Cup series raced three times at Riverside, Calif., in 1981, and the Xfinity Series has done so 21 times at an assortment of tracks since 1982. In fact, the Xfinity Series raced six times at Hickory, N.C., in 1982.
All that said, no single NASCAR series has raced three times in a season at one track since 1990 at Martinsville Speedway.
The news for Kansas came as NASCAR unveiled its fall playoff schedule for the Cups, Xfinity and trucks series. The Cup Series schedule stayed as it was originally scheduled — 10 races culminating in a final-four championship at Phoenix Nov. 8.
The Cup playoffs begin Sept. 6 at Darlington. Decisions about whether or not fans will be allowed at remaining events in 2020, including the races at Kansas Speedway in October, will be made on a “market-by-market basis, in accordance with local and state guidelines,” NASCAR said in a news release.
Fans were not allowed at the Kansas races last month.
“The one fortunate part of this latter part of the season and the playoffs is we were able to keep the original tracks and dates intact when it came to the Cup Series,” NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller said.
“But definitely they have had to be flexible with integrating some of the other series into those events so that they had a good championship schedule as well.”
NASCAR CUP PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Round of 16
Sunday, Sept. 6 - Darlington Raceway - 501 mi
Saturday, Sept. 12 - Richmond Raceway - 300 mi
Saturday, Sept. 19 - Bristol Motor Speedway - 267 mi
Sunday, Sept. 27 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway - 400 mi
Sunday, Oct. 4 - Talladega Superspeedway - 500 mi
Sunday, Oct. 11 - Charlotte Motor Speedway (Road Course) - 249 mi
Round of 8
Sunday, Oct. 18 - Kansas Speedway - 400 mi
Sunday, Oct. 25 - Texas Motor Speedway - 501 mi
Sunday, Nov. 1 - Martinsville Speedway - 263 mi
Round of 4: Championship
Sunday, Nov. 8 - Phoenix Raceway - 312 mi
XFINITY PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Round of 12
Sunday, Sept. 26 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway - 300 mi
Saturday, Oct. 3 - Talladega Superspeedway - 300 mi
Saturday, Oct. 10 - Charlotte Motor Speedway (Roval) - 155 mi
Round of 8
Sunday, Oct. 18 - Kansas Speedway - 400 mi
Saturday, Oct. 24 - Texas Motor Speedway - 300 mi
Saturday, Oct. 31 - Martinsville Speedway - 131 mi
Round of 4: Championship
Saturday, Nov. 7 - Phoenix Raceway - 200 mi
GANDER TRUCKS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Round of 10
Thursday, Sept. 17 - Bristol Motor Speedway - 107 mi
Friday, Sept. 25 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway - 201 mi
Saturday, Oct. 3 - Talladega Superspeedway - 250 mi
Round of 8
Friday, Oct. 16 - Kansas Speedway - 200 mi
Sunday, Oct. 25 - Texas Motor Speedway - 220 mi
Friday, Oct. 30 - Martinsville Speedway - 105 mi
Championship
Friday, Nov. 6 - Phoenix Raceway - 150 mi