Kansas Truck qualifying canceled, Sanchez set for pole start

NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 25, 2026

Kansas rain

Rain washed out Truck Series practice and qualifying at Kansas Speedway on Friday, and NASCAR set the starting lineup by its metric system. That pushed Nick Sanchez to the pole for the race, with Jake Garcia alongside him on the front row. Gio Ruggiero will start third, Kaden Honeycutt fourth and Grant Enfinger fifth in a field that includes 36 trucks. The decision turned the focus from speed in qualifying trim to the order NASCAR’s formula produced, and it gave Sanchez a clear lead position before the green flag ever drops. For a team and driver trying to make the most of a limited schedule, starting first carries real value. It puts Sanchez at the front of the pack from the start and gives him the cleanest path into the opening laps. It also sets up a sharp first row with Garcia, who is coming off his first Truck Series victory at Bristol. With qualifying wiped out, the weekend changed quickly for every team in the garage, and the metric system became the only route to sort the lineup. That left a mix of established contenders and rising names near the front, with the race now beginning with several drivers who already know they can set the pace at Kansas.

Truck lineup

The first five positions give the race a familiar mix of headline names and drivers with something to prove. Sanchez starts from the pole while Garcia takes second, and Garcia’s Bristol win gives him one of the clearest recent results in the garage. Ruggiero starts third, Honeycutt fourth and Enfinger fifth, which puts a solid group of contenders near the front for the opening run. The rest of the field spreads out from there, and two of the more eye-catching starting spots belong to Layne Riggs and Christian Eckes. Riggs will roll off 22nd even though he leads the points, a spot that leaves him work to do early at a track where track position can matter once the race settles in. Eckes starts 25th, another deep starting position that demands patience and clean execution if he wants to climb into the mix. Sanchez’s situation adds another layer to the front of the grid. He is making limited 2026 appearances for Spire Motorsports, and this race gives him a chance to maximize one of those outings with a strong starting spot. He is also chasing his third career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, so the pole gives him a direct path toward a result that would stand out in a small schedule of starts. The top of the lineup is strong, but the midpack and back half still carry plenty of interest. Riggs and Eckes will need to move forward from positions that do not reflect their season-long standing.

Truck race

The race is scheduled for 134 laps and 201 miles, with a 1 p.m. ET start and coverage on FS1, FOX One and SiriusXM. That gives the field a clear target after a Friday reshuffle that came from the weather rather than from speed on the stopwatch. Kansas Speedway now becomes the stage for a race built around track position, clean restarts and the ability to handle traffic over the full distance. Sanchez will try to convert the pole into control of the opening laps, while Garcia looks to build on his Bristol breakthrough from the outside of the front row. The other drivers at the front will be close enough to keep pressure on the leaders if the race stays tight early. Riggs and Eckes have steeper climbs ahead of them, but both have enough distance to work through the field if the race develops over long runs. With 36 trucks and no qualifying session to separate them by raw speed, the metric system shaped a starting order that puts the spotlight on how each driver handles the first stretches of the event. This one begins with a lineup that asks different questions of every lane on the grid. The front row gets the attention, but the story stretches deeper than that. Sanchez gets the pole, Garcia gets a chance to back up his Bristol win and Riggs, despite the points lead, has to come from farther back than his standing suggests. Eckes faces the same kind of challenge. The race is set, the field is locked in and Kansas now shifts from weather delay to race day.