HFT Weekend Preview: Kansas Speedway.

HFT Kansas Paint Scheme Preview:
Saturday O’Reilly Series Action:

• Date: Saturday, April 18, at 7 p.m. ET
• Track: Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS
• Race Distance: 200 laps / 300 miles
• Broadcast: CW | MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio 

Sunday Cup Series Action:

• Date: Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. ET
• Track: Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS
• Race Distance: 267 laps / 400.5 miles
• Broadcast: FOX | MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  

On-Track Activity:

• Friday:

• 7 p.m. ET – O’Reilly Practice
  CW App | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• 8:05 p.m. ET – O’Reilly Qualifying
  CW App | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Saturday:

• 4 p.m. ET – Cup Practice
  Prime | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• 5:10 p.m. ET – Cup Qualifying
  Prime | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• 7 p.m. ET – O’Reilly Race
  CW | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Sunday:

• 2 p.m. ET – Cup Race
  FOX | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Race Weekend Quick Hits:

• Kansas Speedway hosts its first of two race dates in 2026 as the NASCAR Cup/O’Reilly Series heads to the 1.5-mile track.
• Sheldon Creed (340) moved to second in the O’Reilly Series points standings behind only Justin Allgaier (470) and holds the second highest average finish (7.3) in the O’Reilly Series this season.
• Creed recorded his career best sixth straight top-10 finish last weekend at Bristol, and fourth top-five result of the season which is tied for the second most in the O'Reilly Series.
• Creed’s only career NASCAR Cup Series start came at Kansas in September 2023, where he finished 29th while driving the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports.

• Sam Mayer holds the highest average starting position (6.0) through the first nine races in the O’Reilly Series and has started 12th or better in every race this season.
• Cole Custer is set to make his second NASCAR O’Reilly Series start of the season at Kansas with Sysco on the hood after finishing 18th earlier this year at Las Vegas.
• Custer has made six career O’Reilly starts at Kansas and is coming off a second-place finish in September 2024 after leading 48 laps.

Cup Driver Lineup:

• No. 41 Driver: Cole Custer

Hometown: Ladera Ranch, CA
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: HaasTooling.com

Custer’s Kansas Cup Series History:

• Starts: 9
• Wins: —
• Top-10s: 1
• Poles: —
  

Key Numbers:

• Custer makes his 10th Cup start at Kansas this weekend, where he has a 19.6 average finish. His lone top-10 result came in July 2020 when he finished seventh.
• His best start was 10th in May 2021 and he boasts a 22.1 average starting position. 

O’Reilly Auto Parts Driver Lineup:

No. 00 Driver: Sheldon Creed

Hometown: Alpine, CA
Crew Chief: Jonathan Toney
Partner: Road Ranger

Creed’s Kansas O’Reilly Series History:

• Starts: 4
• Wins: —
• Top-10s: 3
• Poles: —
  

Key Numbers:

• Creed is set to make his fourth O’Reilly Series start at Kansas on Saturday, where he has posted three straight top-five finishes. He has placed fifth in each of his last two visits to the 1.5-mile track and finished third in 2023.
• He has started inside the top 10 in two starts – P3 in 2022 and P10 last season - and carries an 11.0 average starting position into the weekend.

No. 41 Driver: Sam Mayer
Hometown: Franklin, WI
Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
Partner: Audibel

Mayer’s Kansas O’Reilly Series History:

• Starts: 5
• Wins: —
• Top-10s: 2
• Poles: —
  

Key Numbers:

• Mayer is in line for his sixth O’Reilly Series start at Kansas this weekend, coming off a 16th-place finish in last season’s race. His two top-10 finishes in the O’Reilly Series came in 2021 (8th) and 2022 (9th).
• His best start was third last fall, and he holds an average starting position of 8.2 with three starts inside the top 10. 

HFT Bristol Recap: Sheldon Creed earned his sixth straight top-10 with a sixth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway, moving up to second in the championship standings, while Sam Mayer collected five stage points before a late incident led to a 20th-place result. On Sunday, Cole Custer showed solid effort in NASCAR Cup Series action, bringing home a 28th-place finish.