The 2016 Go Bowling 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on May 7, 2016, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) asphalt speedway, it was the 11th race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, The race had 16 lead changes among different drivers and six cautions for 30 laps.
Report
Background
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. Entering the race, Kevin Harvick leads the points with 351, while Kyle Busch is 9 points back, Carl Edwards is 14 points back, Jimmie Johnson is 22 points back, and Joey Logano is 35 points back.
Entry list The entry list for the Go Bowling 400 was released on Monday, May 2 at 9:56 a.m. Eastern time. Forty cars are entered for the race. Driver Team Manufacturer1Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet2Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4Kevin HarvickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord7Regan SmithTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet10Danica PatrickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota13Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet14Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet15Clint BowyerHScott MotorsportsChevrolet16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota19Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota20Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota21Ryan Blaney (R)Wood Brothers RacingFord22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord23David RaganBK RacingToyota24Chase Elliott (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30Josh WiseThe Motorsports GroupChevrolet31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Joey Gase (i)Go FAS RacingFord34Chris Buescher (R)Front Row MotorsportsFord38Landon CassillFront Row MotorsportsFord41Kurt BuschStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet42Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord44Brian Scott (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsFord46Michael AnnettHScott MotorsportsChevrolet47A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet55Reed SorensonPremium MotorsportsChevrolet78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota83Matt DiBenedettoBK RacingToyota88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet95Michael McDowellCircle Sport – Leavine Family RacingChevrolet98Cole WhittPremium MotorsportsChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.049 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 29.049 185.093 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 29.114 185.479 3 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.186 185.020First Practice Results
Final practice Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.770 and a speed of . Jimmie Johnson suffered an engine issue similar to what happened to Kasey Kahne at Phoenix in March. The gremlins were remedied and he returned to the track.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 28.770 187.696 2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.782 187.617 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.822 187.357Final Practice Results
Qualifying
Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.284 and a speed of . Truex said afterwards that his team "had speed here this weekend for sure and feel pretty good about this car in race trim as too. We feel like we made some mistakes throughout qualifying and it took us a while to figure out this three round deal. Things have really been going well for us and clicking well. I love this race track. We’ve really been able to perform well here.”
Matt Kenseth, who qualified second, said that the "Toyota's had a lot of speed in them" and that he "couldn’t get that last lap I wanted. We got off-balance a little bit at the end. Martin was able to get it. We came up a little short.”
Kurt Busch, who qualified fourth, said he felt good about his car "because we made three spring changes going into that qualifying run. Those are things we wanted to try for the race, and we ran out of practice time to do so. It's nice that it turned out positive and the pace in qualifying is fast, yes, but the race will be at nightfall whereas we practiced in the daytime. This speed should be right in the middle of what we just ran and what changes we made. I think we're cooking up the right batch (for the race)."
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 178Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota28.45128.43328.284 220Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.41628.31528.337 311Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.64628.39928.361 441Kurt BuschStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet28.51828.42328.401 52Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord28.69228.54728.435 618Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.58128.51428.440 721Ryan Blaney (R)Wood Brothers RacingFord28.73428.48528.470 831Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.65328.54928.488 917Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord28.62628.50628.532 106Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord28.67528.54828.628 1127Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.76628.55828.706 1219Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.56928.51028.730 1324Chase Elliott (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.76428.571 1422Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord28.60328.574 1548Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.59628.614 1614Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet28.79528.634 173Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.55128.637 1842Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet28.74128.641 1943Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord28.61628.664 2016Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord28.70928.715 211Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet28.78228.739 2288Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.75728.875 2310Danica PatrickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet28.70128.906 2483Matt DiBenedettoBK RacingToyota28.77928.954 2534Chris Buescher (R)Front Row MotorsportsFord28.811 264Kevin HarvickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet28.853 275Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.854 2844Brian Scott (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsFord28.866 2947A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet28.925 3095Michael McDowellCircle Sport – Leavine Family RacingChevrolet28.927 3113Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet28.933 327Regan SmithTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet28.972 3315Clint BowyerHScott MotorsportsChevrolet28.987 3423David RaganBK RacingToyota29.112 3538Landon CassillFront Row MotorsportsFord29.199 3630Josh WiseThe Motorsports GroupChevrolet29.419 3798Cole WhittPremium MotorsportsChevrolet29.502 3832Joey Gase (i)Go FAS RacingFord29.678 3946Michael AnnettHScott MotorsportsChevrolet30.263 4055Reed SorensonPremium MotorsportsChevrolet30.426
Race
First half
Start
Under clear Kansas skies, Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag at 7:48 p.m. After 15 laps, he pulled to a three-second lead over Matt Kenseth. Debris in turn 4 brought out the first caution of the race on lap 24. Kyle Busch exited pit road with the race lead. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Regan Smith were tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field.
The race restarted on lap 28. Jamie McMurray was black-flagged on lap 30 after NASCAR deemed his crew made "unapproved adjustments" to the body of the car during his pit stop. Matt McCall, McMurray's crew chief, said he thought NASCAR "called us back in for body modification or something. The Jackman hit the door when he went for the tire, so I don’t know. It’s interesting to me how they enforce stuff.” By lap 40, Busch held a one-second lead over Kurt Busch. The second caution of the race flew on lap 56 for Matt DiBenedetto brushing the wall exiting turn 4. Truex exited pit road with the race lead.
Second quarter The race restarted on lap 61. Carl Edwards attempted to pit because of a flat tire on lap 82, but was carrying too much speed, overshot the entrance and had to limp back around. The third caution of the race flew on lap 103 for a single-car wreck in turn 2. Rounding the turn, Paul Menard got loose and rear-ended the wall. He would go on to finish 40th. Denny Hamlin was tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field.
The race restarted on lap 109. A number of cars began hitting pit road on lap 155. Truex pitted on lap 158 and handed the lead to Joey Logano. He pitted the next lap and handed the lead to Clint Bowyer. He pitted the next lap and handed the lead to Danica Patrick. Truex, on fresher tires, ran down and passed Patrick in turn 3 to retake the lead on lap 163.
Second half
Halfway Debris on the backstretch brought out the fourth caution of the race with 99 laps to go. Hamlin was tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field.
The race restarted with 94 laps to go. A number of drivers began pitting with 57 laps to go. Truex hit pit road with 54 laps to go and handed the lead to Matt Kenseth. Truex came back down pit road because of a loose right-front wheel. The wheel was on crooked because of a jammed bracket behind the wheel. After the race, Truex said he "couldn’t believe it. I went around Turns 1 and 2 and I was like ‘Wheel loose.’ I kept telling myself that maybe it's not me, maybe it's just shaking because it has tape on it or something stupid. It was loose and I knew it right away. Frustrating, but that's how it goes.” Kenseth pitted with 53 laps to go and handed the lead to Logano. He pitted with 52 laps to go and handed the lead to Brad Keselowski. He pitted with 50 laps to go and handed the lead to Tony Stewart. Kyle Busch passed entering turn 3 to retake the lead with 36 laps to go.
Fourth quarter The fifth caution of the race flew with 34 laps to go after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rode the wall through turns 3 and 4. Jimmie Johnson was tagged for speeding on pit road and restart the race from the tail-end of the field.
The race restarted with 28 laps to go. The sixth caution of the race flew with 27 to go for a multi-car wreck in turn 3. Threading the needle between Keselowski and Kyle Larson, Hamlin got loose and spun out. Logano, with nowhere to go, t-boned the No. 11 car. Hamlin said afterwards that he "and the No. 2 got loose at the same time, I don’t think there was any contact, but the No. 42 was real close to me on the outside. I was driving in really deep there to try and clear him. Didn’t get him cleared and I knew if I didn’t get him clear then I would’ve put myself in a bad spot. I was just going for it. We’ve got a win and it’s win or nothing with this type of format, so why not go in there and take a chance? Unfortunately, it didn’t work.” Logano said it looked from his point that "the 2 got loose and then the 11 got loose. I was hoping the 11 would come down the hill and when you’re in the smoke you can’t see anything. I hit the wall, so I knew where that was and I just kept riding and riding and hoping the 11 would come down the hill because I couldn’t see and he stayed up there and I got him right in the door. It’s unfortunate...It’s just racing. Things happen sometimes.”
The race restarted with 19 laps to go. Busch held off a late charge by Harvick to score the victory.
Post-race
Driver comments Busch said afterwards that winning at Kansas was "pretty big – man, there’s been a lot of rough days here at Kansas, that’s for sure. A lot of good ones too, but I just can’t say enough about this team and everyone on this M&M’s Camry. This thing was awesome tonight. At the beginning and middle part of the race we weren’t great, but Adam Stevens (crew chief) and the guys, they just kept working on it.”