As it turns out, the beginning of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway is going to look identical to the final moments of last Spring’s event at the intermediate racetrack.
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, will lead the field to green in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, his 22nd career pole at NASCAR’s top level.
The native of Elk Grove, California, posted a lap time of 29.391 seconds (183.730mph) as the last driver to hit the racetrack in single-car qualifying, snatching his first pole position of 2025.
Larson took the pole position away from RFK Racing driver Chris Buescher, who last Spring finished a record-low 0.001 seconds behind the No. 5 in the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.
STARTING LINEUP: 2025 NCS AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway
Buescher posted a lap time of 29.448 seconds (183.374mph), clocking in a half-tenth behind the polesitter, Kyle Larson. It’s the first front row start for the Texas-native since Texas in Fall 2023.’
“Pretty ironic, I guess to have us both on the front row here after our close finish a year ago, it’s cool to finally get a pole here at Kansas,” Larson said. “I feel like I’ve been just short a number of times and I hope they still give out that pedal car, because that’s what I’ve always wanted, and especially having some kids, so I hope that’s still a thing.”
Christopher Bell laid down the third-quickest time in qualifying, with Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano — the winner of the most recent NASCAR Cup Series event at Texas — rounding out the top five.
After pacing the sole practice session for NASCAR’s top-level, Ty Gibbs qualified in sixth place, with William Byron, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney completing the top-10 starters for Sunday’s AdventHealth 400.
Other notable drivers starting outside the top-10 in Sunday’s event include Denny Hamlin (14th), Chase Briscoe (19th), Alex Bowman (21st), Ross Chastain (26th), Ryan Preece (30th), Kyle Busch (35th), and Brad Keselowski (36th).
Throughout the single-vehicle qualifying session at Kansas, several drivers had some issues on their laps, including Kyle Busch, Cody Ware, and Josh Berry, who all made contact with the wall. The damage on all their cars weren’t terribly severe, and each managed to finish their laps.
Saturday’s practice from Kansas Speedway also featured a tire issue in each of the two groups, which caused a pair of cautions. While nobody damaged their vehicle significantly, several drivers were impacted, including Brad Keselowski, Shane Van Gisbergen, Chase Briscoe, Zane Smith, and Ty Gibbs, among others.
The AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway will take place on Sunday, May 11 at 3:00 PM ET with coverage on FOX Sports 1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
