The 2013 STP 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on April 21, 2013, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5–mile (2.4 km) tri-oval, it was the eighth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, his second win of the 2013 season and second straight at Kansas Speedway, while Kasey Kahne finished second. Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five

This was the third straight Sprint Cup race of 2013 where the winner won from the pole and led the most laps, following wins by Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville and Kyle Busch at Texas. This was the first such streak in over 28 years (the last time there were three straight races won from the pole was in 1985; with Bill Elliott at Michigan, Dale Earnhardt at Bristol, and Elliott at Darlington).

Report Background

Kansas Speedway is a four-turn tri-oval track that is long. The track's turns are banked from seventeen to twenty degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is nine to eleven degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, is at only five degrees. The racetrack has a seating capacity for more than 72,000 spectators. Denny Hamlin was the defending race winner after winning the event in 2012.

Before the race, Jimmie Johnson was leading the Drivers' Championship with 269 points, while Kyle Busch stood in second with 251 points. Greg Biffle followed in the third position, four points ahead of Brad Keselowski and five ahead of Carl Edwards in fourth and fifth. Dale Earnhardt Jr., with 234, was two points ahead of Kasey Kahne and twenty-six ahead of Clint Bowyer, as Paul Menard was two points ahead of Matt Kenseth and fourteen ahead of Kevin Harvick in tenth and eleventh. Jamie McMurray completed the first twelve positions with 190 points.

Entry list (R) - Denotes rookie driver.

(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. DriverTeamManufacturer1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingFord5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord10Danica Patrick (R)Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet11Brian Vickers (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota12Sam Hornish Jr. (i)Penske RacingFord13Casey MearsGermain RacingFord14Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord17Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R)Roush Fenway RacingFord18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota19Mike Bliss (i)Humphrey Smith RacingToyota20Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22Joey LoganoPenske RacingFord24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30David StremmeSwan RacingToyota31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Timmy Hill (R)FAS Lane RacingFord33Landon CassillCircle SportChevrolet34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord35Josh Wise (i)Front Row MotorsportsFord36J. J. YeleyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord39Ryan NewmanStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet51Regan Smith (i)Phoenix RacingChevrolet55Mark MartinMichael Waltrip RacingToyota56Martin Truex Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota78Kurt BuschFurniture Row RacingChevrolet81Elliott Sadler (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota83David ReutimannBK RacingToyota87Joe Nemechek (i)NEMCO-Jay Robinson RacingToyota88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet93Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota98Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFordOfficial entry list

Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions are scheduled to be held before the race. The first session, held on April 19, 2013, was 90 minutes long. The second and third were held on April 20, and were 55 and 50 minutes long, respectively. During the first practice session, Edwards was quickest with a time of 28.117 seconds, ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr. in second and third. Martin Truex Jr. followed in the fourth position, ahead of Aric Almirola in fifth.

During qualifying, forty-four cars were entered, meaning only one car was not able to start because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Kenseth clinched his ninth career pole position, with a record-setting time of 28.145 seconds. After his qualifying run, Kenseth commented, "We didn't think we had a chance. It's unexpected, and it's one of the fastest tracks of the year. Felt great to go out late and jump over the other guys." He was joined on the front row of the grid by Edwards. Stenhouse Jr. qualified third, Hornish Jr. took fourth, and Kyle Busch started fifth. Almirola, Truex Jr., Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, and Bowyer completed the first ten positions on the grid. The driver who failed to qualify for the race was Joe Nemechek.

In the Saturday morning session, Juan Pablo Montoya was quickest, ahead of Stenhouse Jr. and Almirola in second and third. Biffle and Edwards followed in the fourth and fifth positions. Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Menard, and Newman rounded out the first ten positions. In the final practice session for the race, Kenseth was quickest with a time of 28.615 seconds. Almirola followed in second, ahead of Montoya and Kurt Busch in third and fourth. Kahne, who was twelfth quickest in second practice, managed fifth.

Race Start The race started at 1:16 p.m. EDT with Matt Kenseth leading the field to the green flag, The first caution came out on lap 6 when Kyle Busch spun out in the back straightaway, the race restarted on lap 9, The second caution came out on lap 39 when Dave Blaney blew an engine and collided into Danica Patrick, the race restarted on lap 43, A couple of laps later, the third caution then came out for debris on lap 75, the race restarted on lap 78, The fourth caution then came out on lap 87 when Elliott Sadler spun out, the race restarted on lap 91, with Matt Kenseth the race leader.

Second half The fifth caution came out on lap 106 for a two-car wreck involving Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. The race restarted on lap 115 with Martin Truex Jr. the race leader, the sixth caution then came out on lap 174 when Brian Vickers spun out, the race restarted with 89 laps to go, The seventh caution came out for a multi-car wreck involving Marcos Ambrose, Casey Mears and Josh Wise, the race restarted with 81 laps to go, A couple of laps later, Debris on the back straightaway brought out the eighth caution of the day, with 50 laps to go, the race restarted with 43 laps to go with Matt Kenseth the race leader, Matt Kenseth won his race in Kansas.

Results Qualifying Grid Driver Team Manufacturer 1 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.145 191.864 2 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.162 191.748 3 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.164 191.734 4 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Ford 28.213 191.401 5 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.294 190.853 6 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.305 190.779 7 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.324 190.651 8 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.379 190.282 9 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.388 190.221 10 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.401 190.134 11 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.411 190.067 12 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.454 189.780 13 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 28.491 189.534 14 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.538 189.221 15 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.542 189.195 16 11 Brian Vickers Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.544 189.182 17 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.548 189.155 18 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.568 189.023 19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.608 188.758 20 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.620 188.679 21 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.656 188.442 22 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 28.675 188.317 23 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.676 188.311 24 81 Elliott Sadler Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.724 187.996 25 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.758 187.774 26 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.809 187.441 27 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.820 187.370 28 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.834 187.279 29 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 28.835 187.272 30 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 28.889 186.922 31 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 28.891 186.909 32 93Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 28.919 186.728 33 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 28.930 186.657 34 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 28.945 186.561 35 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Chevrolet 28.950 186.528 36 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.967 186.419 37 32 Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 29.081 185.688 38 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 29.087 185.650 39 33 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 29.146 185.274 40 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29.160 185.185 41 51 Regan Smith Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 29.218 184.818 42 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 29.378 183.811 43 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Failed to Qualify 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 29.046 185.912Source:

1. Jeff Gordon collided into the SAFER barrier and failed to complete his qualifying lap.

Race results