Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, the AdventHealth 400, was poised to be the first race of the season without a warning incident. Then with 2 laps remaining, Cody Ware lost control and brought out the first natural caution of the day, sending us to overtime.
Let's take a look at our winners and losers from today's NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway.
Winner: Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson has now not won a NASCAR Cup Series race in 11 months, without a trip to 33-race victory lane. It's certainly disappointing for him, but he won Stage 2 on Sunday, giving him three stage wins in the last three races, and he has earned 39 stage points with third-place (Bristol) and second (Kansas) finishes during this two-race span. The last-lap loss to Tyler Reddick may not have lessened the sting, but the No. 5 team has scored more than 100 points in its last two races and Larson is preparing himself well for The Chase.
Loser: Kyle Busch
When Kyle Busch took some fire Saturday in response to comments made by Denny Hamlin, there were plenty of KFB chants and some on-track chaos was expected. Of course, the point of Busch threatening to make Hamlin's life "hell" on the track was that the No. 8 car's only chance would be if he went down a lap-plus. What happened at AdventHealth 400? With 25 laps to go in Stage 1, Hamlin easily passed the No. 8 car. Bush was not the problem; He was an afterthought for the driver of the No. 11 car. Lots of talk, no results. This seems quite appropriate from Bush. Heck, he finished the race today in 35th place, well behind his teammate Austin Dillon (16th).
RELATED: Kyle Busch hits back at Denny Hamlin after recent comments
Winner: 23XI Racing
Tyler Reddick is definitely a winner as he is on his way to victory at Kansas Speedway. Michael Jordan joins them for the fifth time in nine races. 23XI Racing has overtaken Team Penske as NASCAR's third-best team at least this season. Reddick won the AdventHealth 400, Wallace finished fifth, and teammates Riley Herbst and Corey Heim also finished 14th and 15th respectively. When Reddick is keeping himself in Dale Earnhardt's company, winning five of the first nine races, and two 23XI drivers sitting in the top eight in points, it's hard not to call the team a big winner in 2026.
RELATED: Insider reveals potential cost of signing Tyler Reddick to new contract
Loser: Trackhouse Racing
Through nine races this season, Daniel Suarez has a pair of top-10 finishes and seven top-20s. Meanwhile, at Trackhouse Racing, the trio of Shane Van Gisbergen, Connor Zylisch and Ross Chastain have combined for three top-10 finishes and 13 top-20 finishes between them. Chastain is definitely a top-10 driver in terms of talent, Zilich was a generational prospect a year ago and even SVG has proven himself in the Cup Series. Trackhouse is ruining them all. Things didn't get any better in the NASCAR races today, with all three drivers finishing outside the top 20.
RELATED: NASCAR Drivers Who Have Performed Poorly This Season
Winner: Denny Hamlin
It wasn't a perfect day for Denny Hamlin at Kansas, but he came somewhat close. Hamlin won Stage 1 and then finished second to Kyle Larson in Stage 2. He also could have won the AdventHealth 400 if not for the classic Cody Ware caution, with 2 laps left and the No. 11 being seconds away from the final lap, where he could have won it even under the caution. Hamlin said before the season that to have any shot at winning the championship you had to finish in the top three in points at the end of the regular season. Through nine races, he has a 33-point lead in fourth place, and he is looking to win more races this season.
RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series all-time wins leaders
Loser: Team Penske
The good news is that Team Penske made a much-needed change with Ryan Blaney's pit crew this weekend. Unfortunately, the No. 12 car also received a pit road penalty for too many on the wall after Stage 1 as the team needed work on the front splitter. As far as what happened with Joey Logano, his car was tight all weekend and the No. 22 team was forced to drop to the back of the field for a steering rack replacement on Sunday. It did not work out, Logano was 24th in Stage 1 and 2 laps down at the conclusion of Stage 2. Penske is really proving this season that the gap between them and 23XI Racing is as close, if not even closer, than the gap between Penske and the clearly top teams (Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports).
RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series Stage Winners 2026
Winner: Alex Bowman
After qualifying 33rd at Kansas on Saturday, it certainly felt like everything was going to go wrong for Alex Bowman this season, which will continue in the AdventHealth 400 this afternoon. Credit to Bowman and the No. 48 team; He gradually worked his way up the field to finish 17th in Stage 1 and Stage 2 and maintained a top 20 finish throughout the race. This kind of performance doesn't open the door for Bowman to potentially make The Chase, but this performance shows he is still a very capable driver.
Connected: The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series standings now after Kansas Speedway
Loser: Carson Hocevar's Pit Crew
The No. 77 car definitely had the speed to have a good day at Kansas Speedway and Carson Hocevar's driving style seems perfect for this track. Unfortunately for Hocevar, his pit crew cost him dearly today. The No. 77 team had several instances where it lost positions on pit road because the No. 77 team was slow in its movements. Given the tight conditions of the battle for the final places in The Chase, a race like this could make the difference in whether Hocevar is successful or not. Hocevar finished the day in 13th place, with the likes of Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher ahead of him. We will see if these cases come up in September.
Winner: Corey Haim
Get ready to see Corey Haim in the coming weeks. This was his first Cup Series race in 2026 since the Daytona 500, but he is competing in seven races with 23XI Racing from now through July 27 at the Brickyard 400. Sunday's AdventHealth 400 showed why and proved he's already in this series full-time. He qualified 24th on Saturday, but battled hard to finish 10th in Stage 1 and has kept himself in the top 15 for most of NASCAR's racing today. Coming to the Heim Time Cup Series.
RELATED: Insider Explains Why Corey Heim Isn't Full-Time With 23XI Racing Yet
