Matt Johnson
The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Kansas City this weekend for some great racing at the iconic Kansas Speedway. Host to some great battles and massive wrecks in recent seasons, it’s safe to say the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday should be eventful. As we do every week, our NASCAR predictions attempt to project how things might unfold at every stage.
Let’s dive into our AdventHealth 400 predictions for Sunday.
Christopher Bell Wins The Pole at Kansas
Last season marked the first time that Christopher Bell didn’t win the pole position at Kansas Speedway since 2023. He still posted the third-best qualifying time in the spring and finished the race in second. Bell and the No. 20 team just have this track down and with the way that Toyota has been running this year, there’s no reason to think that success can’t continue at arguably their top track. Toyota will dominate the front of the starting grid for the AdventHealth 400, but it will be Bell leading the field as the pole winner. It will be the fifth time he’s won the pole at Kansas in the Cup Series.
Related: NASCAR Entry List Kansas
Bubba Wallace Wins Stage 1
Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team absolutely have a chance to win at Kansas Speedway. After all, he finished fifth here in the fall last year and had a three-race run with a victory and a pair of top-10 finishes. However, points should also be made a priority for the team given what happened at Darlington and Martinsville. We think Wallace qualifies in the top-10 on Saturday and uses that positioning plus some good timing to win Stage 1. However, for the third consecutive spring race, he’ll finish outside the top-10 at Kansas.
Related: NASCAR Stage Winners, Stage Results 2026
Kyle Larson Wins Stage 2
Not only did Kyle Larson pick up his first stage win of 2026 at Bristol, he swept the stages. That’s exactly what happened during the spring race at Kansas Speedway last season, and he followed that up by placing second (Stage 1) and third (Stage 2) in the fall. Even at a time when the Chevrolet cars don’t seem right, Larson is still stringing together some great performances. He’ll be in a position for his first win of the season in the AdventHealth 400, but he’ll record a stage victory first. By the end of the day, Larson will leave Kansas among the three highest points scorers.
Related: NASCAR Weekend Schedule Kansas
Ty Gibbs Extends Top-6 Streak
There’s a real chance that the first-ever Cup Series win for Ty Gibbs turns into consecutive victories. He’s raced that well as of late, leading the Cup Series in average finishing position (4.0) in the last six races with the fifth-best average starting position (10.5). Toyota’s cars are made for Kansas, and the No. 54 team has had a great setup for every race for nearly two months now. Gibbs will make it seven consecutive top-six finishes on Sunday.
Related: NASCAR Power Rankings Before Kansas, Ty Gibbs Climbs
Chase Briscoe Wins the AdventHealth 400
The most popular picks to win Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 are Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell. We’re going in a different direction. Chase Briscoe finished fifth this past weekend at Bristol, his first top-five finish since EchoPark and his first top-10 since Las Vegas. On the surface, picking him to win at Kansas is risky. However, this is a track that the No. 19 car (Martin Truex Jr.) has historically dominated in the Next Gen era and Briscoe finished fourth in both races here last year. We’re going with a wildcard pick this week.
Read More: Best NASCAR Races 2026, Ranking Every Race
