On the weekend of April 17-19, 2026. I went to my fourth ever NASCAR race that I experienced in- person. The first race I went to was at Nashville Superspeedway in 2023. Then Michigan Int. Speedway in 2024 and 2025. Now at Kansas Speedway in 2026. I go to a NASCAR race every year with my dad, brother, and my grandpa. This year, we had a whole new experience.
Friday, April 17. We went a ten hour drive down to the track. Leaving at 6AM and arriving around 4PM. Crossing through Minn., Iowa, MO, then Kansas. What makes this experience different from the rest, was that this year, we were going to be camping in the turn four infield. To get to the infield, we had to take a tunnel under turn three, and it felt like I just entered a different world. Once we got set up, I rushed up to the top of my camper to get a photo of the grandstands before a big storm hit. The rest of the evening was storming, with a tornado about 10-20 miles south of where we were. There was supposed to be ARCA and O’Reilly’s practice and qualifying, but got cancelled due to the storm.
(Boyd Gustafson)
Saturday, April 18. In order to get to the grandstands, we had to walk all the way across the infield to go to a pedestrian tunnel that goes under turn one, which was a little over a half mile. We then went over to the merchandise haulers to get our favorite driver merch. I didn’t get anything. At 11AM was the ARCA race. We were sitting in the top row on the far right part under the grandstand building. The race was won by NASCAR Truck Series regular #17 Gio Ruggiero. After the race, we made our way back down to our camper. But we got stopped by a huge crowd of people trying to get a photo with ARCA driver and youtuber Cleetus McFarland, with his camera man Squirrel McNutt. We only had to wait for about five minutes to get our photo.
Following the ARCA race was Cup practice and qualifying, which we watched from the turn four fence. At 6PM was the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, which we watched from our original seats. On lap two, after contact with NASCAR Cup Series regular William Byron, NASCAR O’Reilly driver Carson Kvapil would flip his Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet over on the backstretch. He walked away from his own power. At the end, O’Reilly’s driver, #54 Taylor Gray would win. Earning his first win of the 2026 season, second of his career. Ending Saturday’s races.
Sunday, April 19. NASCAR Cup Series race day. This day was one of the best experiences I have ever had. At 10:15AM, we were able to walk on the track, look at all of the cars on pit road, and stand next to the stage where all of the drivers would come out. This was also the time that I would start to get an extreme sunburn. There were well over 200 people that were walking on the track. Not including the 100+ in the garage area. I was able to get a spot right next to where the drivers would walk off the stage. Watching all of the drivers walk right by me was surreal.
We then had to walk back up to the grandstands to watch the race. We sat in the last row, but this time on the left side. When the green flag drops, with how the next gen cars are built, it produces a deep sound that shakes the ground as they drive by. The race went caution free until two laps to go, when Cup driver Cody Ware spun in turn four. The race would then be decided by a two-lap GWC (Green, White, Checkered). On a last lap pass, #45 Tyler Reddick came out on top, winning his fifth win of his historic 2026 season. I was rooting for a Chevrolet to win, and the highest running chevy driver, Kyle Larson, who fell one position short of the win. I was not happy to see another Toyota win, but I had to accept it. We then walked back to our camper to get ready to head home.
I would encourage everyone to go to at least one NASCAR race. Whether you hate or love the sport, it is a memorable experience that everyone should see in their lifetime.
