Information By: HEATHER GRIFFIN / RICK WARE RACING – KANSAS CITY, KS
RICK WARE RACING
AdventHealth 400
Date: May 5, 2024
Event: AdventHealth 400 (Round 12 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps)
Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 267-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Chris Buescher of RFK Racing (Ford)
RWR Race Finish:
● Justin Haley (Started 35th, Finished 18th/ Running, completed 268 of 268 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 37th, Finished 35th/ Running, completed 266 of 268 laps)
RWR Points:
● Justin Haley (32nd with 134 points)
● Note: Herbst is a full-time driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and is not eligible for points in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Haley Notes:
● Haley earned his third top-20 of the season and his third top-20 in his seventh start at Kansas.
● Haley equaled his previous best finish at Kansas – 18th, first earned May 2023.
● Haley’s 18th-place finish was a team-best for RWR at Kansas. The previous best-result was J.J. Yeley’s 22nd-place finish in July 2020.
Herbst Notes:
● This was Herbst’s sixth Cup Series start, his first at Kansas and his first at an intermediate track.
Race Notes:
● Kyle Larson won the AdventHealth 400 to score his 25th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his second at Kansas. His margin of victory over second-place Chris Buescher was .001 of a second, the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 43 laps.
● Thirty-one of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Kansas with a 29-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.
Sound Bites:
“It was a really good day for the No. 51 team. Our Ford Mustang Dark Horse was really good on the long run. If we didn’t have that caution at the end, I think we could’ve ended up with a few more spots, but it was still a great finish. We’re gaining each race and it’s been a lot of fun to see the improvement coming out of RWR.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Children’s Mercy Kansas City Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“I can’t think everyone at Monster Energy and RWR enough for the opportunity to race today. Cup Series racing is tough, but I feel like I learned a lot that I can take back and work on for the next one.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 15 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.