# 2015 SpongeBob SquarePants 400

The 2015 SpongeBob SquarePants 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on May 9, 2015, ending shortly after midnight on May 10, 2015 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 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Jimmie Johnson won the race, his third of the season. Kevin Harvick finished second. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third. Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.
Joey Logano won the pole for the race. He led 29 laps on his way to a fifth-place finish. Martin Truex Jr. led 95 laps in the first of four straight races in which he led the most laps on his way to a ninth-place finish. The race had 16 lead changes among ten different drivers, as well as nine caution flag periods for 49 laps. There was one red flag period for two hours, 16 minutes and 30 seconds for heavy rain.
This was the 73rd career victory for Jimmie Johnson, third at Kansas Speedway and sixth at the track for Hendrick Motorsports. This win moved Johnson up to third in the points standings. Chevrolet left Kansas with a 44-point lead over Ford in the manufacturer standings.
The SpongeBob SquarePants 400 was carried by Fox Sports on the cable/satellite Fox Sports 1 network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

## Report
### Background

Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The Verizon IndyCar Series also raced at here until 2011. The speedway is owned and operated by the International Speedway Corporation.
Kevin Harvick entered Kansas with a 40-point lead over Martin Truex Jr. after a fourth-place finish at Talladega. Jimmie Johnson entered 52 back following a runner-up finish the week before at Talladega. Joey Logano entered 59 back. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered 75 back after winning the previous week at Talladega.

#### Entry list

The entry list for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 was released on Monday, May 4 at 2:52 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-four cars were entered for the race. Erik Jones, who drove in relief of Denny Hamlin at the 2015 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, made his official Sprint Cup Series debut in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Joey Gase returned to the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford after Bobby Labonte drove it the previous race at Talladega Superspeedway. Ty Dillon made his first Cup start since the 2015 Daytona 500 in the No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet. Brett Moffitt returned to the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford that he drove in Las Vegas and Phoenix. David Ragan moved to the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota after driving the No. 18 Toyota the last nine races.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Sponsor |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | McDonald's |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski (PC3) | Team Penske | Ford | Avaya |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | DOW Chemical |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick (PC1) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Great Clips |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | AdvoCare |
| 7 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | Accell Construction |
| 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Medallion Bank |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | GoDaddy |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | FedEx Freight |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | Squidward Tentacles |
| 14 | Tony Stewart (PC4) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops, Mobil 1 |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 5-Hour Energy |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Cheez-It, Patrick Star |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Zest |
| 18 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | M&M's Red Nose Day |
| 19 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Stanley Tools |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth (PC6) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Dollar General |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | AAA Insurance |
| 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | Dr. Pepper "I'm a Pepper" |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon (PC7) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | American Red Cross |
| 26 | Jeb Burton (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | MAXIM Fantasy Sports App |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Menards, Pittsburgh Paints |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Quicken Loans |
| 32 | Joey Gase (i) | Go FAS Racing | Ford | Tri State Tower Inc., reallycheapfloors.com |
| 33 | Ty Dillon (i) | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | Plankton |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Dockside Logistics |
| 35 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Front Row Motorsports |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | MDS Transport |
| 40 | Landon Cassill (i) | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | carsforsale.com |
| 41 | Kurt Busch (PC5) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Haas Automation |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | Target |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Farmland |
| 46 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | Allstate Peterbilt Group |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | Kroger, Scott Products, Dillon's Food Stores |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson (PC2) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Lowe's |
| 51 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | Fraternal Order of Eagles |
| 55 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine "Own it.", SpongeBob SquarePants |
| 62 | Brendan Gaughan (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | Premium Motorsports |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | Furniture Row, Visser Precision |
| 83 | Matt DiBenedetto (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | Dustless Blasting |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Nationwide Insurance |
| 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | WRL General Contractors, Thrivent Financial, Larry the Lobster |
| 98 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing |
| Official initial entry list |||||
| Official final entry list |||||
| Key | Meaning |
| (R) | Rookie |
| (i) | Ineligible for points |
| (PC#) | Past champions provisional |

## Practice
### First practice

Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.306 and a speed of 190.772 mph (307.018 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.306 | 190.772 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.365 | 190.375 |
| 3 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.381 | 190.268 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Erik Jones, making his official Sprint Cup Series debut, was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.227 and a speed of 191.306 mph (307.877 km/h). “There’s been a lot of people that have been involved over the past few weeks to get me ready for this,” Jones told Fox Sports 1. “I think a lot of it was preparing mentally, watching videos, watching tape, talking to Kyle (Busch) and my teammates and just trying to get the best information I could out of everybody. It’s pretty cool to be fastest in practice. I know it’s only practice, but it’s still pretty cool. … There’s a lot of great race car drivers. It’s just really an honor to be fastest this practice.”
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 18 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.227 | 191.306 |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.245 | 191.184 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.312 | 190.732 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Joey Logano won the pole with a time of 28.067 and a speed of 192.397 mph (309.633 km/h). “We just kind of swung for the fence in the last round and the car drove awesome,” said Logano, who won his twelfth career pole. “It’s not very often you get a car that’s just perfect. I came off Turn 4 and I didn’t know how to go faster than that. … It was a great run, our fourth pole of the season. We just need to rack up some more wins.” “We had our best speed in our last run so that was what we were looking for,” said Kasey Kahne, who turned a lap of 191.911 mph (308.851 km/h). “We’ve been getting better every week I think and that improvement will hopefully carry here to Kansas tomorrow night. We have a fast car and I’m excited.” “I just couldn’t quite find the speed in the last round,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “So, the guys did a good job and we have a good starting spot for tomorrow night. This track has been good to me and hopefully we can do better than we’ve been doing. It’s been good.” “We just got a little better speed in our car and this racetrack has been pretty good for us,” said Greg Biffle, who became the first Roush Fenway Racing driver to make a final round of qualifying this season. “We barely made the first round and barely made the second and then I just drove it – over drove it. I just said I was going to go for it.” “It would make our life so much easier starting up front and having a good pit stall pick,” Jimmie Johnson said. “Middle of the pack……we will fire our way through there and grind it out like we always do and try and I am sure get a great finish out of it. But we know we need to get better on Fridays.” Brendan Gaughan failed to qualify for the race.

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 28.139 | 28.251 | 28.067 |
| 2 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.294 | 28.262 | 28.138 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 28.240 | 28.198 | 28.146 |
| 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 28.197 | 28.127 | 28.157 |
| 5 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.075 | 28.146 | 28.187 |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.201 | 28.234 | 28.228 |
| 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.356 | 28.291 | 28.270 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.262 | 28.296 | 28.294 |
| 9 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.149 | 28.218 | 28.387 |
| 10 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.346 | 28.264 | 28.398 |
| 11 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.304 | 28.229 | 28.436 |
| 12 | 18 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.218 | 28.248 | 28.490 |
| 13 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.269 | 28.315 | — |
| 14 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.281 | 28.318 | — |
| 15 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.359 | 28.338 | — |
| 16 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.268 | 28.345 | — |
| 17 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.176 | 28.347 | — |
| 18 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.328 | 28.350 | — |
| 19 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.296 | 28.379 | — |
| 20 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.340 | 28.387 | — |
| 21 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.345 | 28.393 | — |
| 22 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.439 | 28.414 | — |
| 23 | 55 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.445 | 28.457 | — |
| 24 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 28.449 | 28.545 | — |
| 25 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.480 | — | — |
| 26 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.506 | — | — |
| 27 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.519 | — | — |
| 28 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.547 | — | — |
| 29 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 28.584 | — | — |
| 30 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.586 | — | — |
| 31 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 28.586 | — | — |
| 32 | 33 | Ty Dillon (i) | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | 28.599 | — | — |
| 33 | 26 | Jeb Burton (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.630 | — | — |
| 34 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.762 | — | — |
| 35 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.774 | — | — |
| 36 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 28.791 | — | — |
| 37 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 28.962 | — | — |
| 38 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.971 | — | — |
| 39 | 34 | Brett Moffitt (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.976 | — | — |
| 40 | 98 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 28.994 | — | — |
| 41 | 40 | Landon Cassill (i) | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | 29.167 | — | — |
| 42 | 32 | Joey Gase (i) | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 29.181 | — | — |
| 43 | 46 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.384 | — | — |
| Failed to qualify ||||||||
| 44 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.358 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Race
### First half
#### Start

The race was scheduled to start at 7:46 p.m., but the threat of weather moved the start time up to 7:36. The race started at 7:39 when Joey Logano led the field to the green flag. Going into turn 3, Jimmie Johnson got loose and about took out teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was saved by the first caution of the race flew on lap eight for a two car wreck on the backstretch and turn 4. Exiting turn 2, Jeb Burton had a left-front flat and spun out on the backstretch, however at that point the race stayed green. Teammate J. J. Yeley spun and made contact with the wall in turn 4, which caused the caution.
The race restarted on lap 13. Alex Bowman dropped to the apron on the front stretch for electrical issues that dropped him to 42nd. The second caution of the race flew on lap 26. This was a scheduled competition caution. Most of the leaders took just two tires on this stop.

#### Threat of rain

The race restarted on lap 30. Kurt Busch went ahead of Logano in turn 3 and took the lead on lap 31. Teammate Kevin Harvick passed him in turn 1 to take the lead on lap 51. Martin Truex Jr. took the lead on lap 58. He hit pit road on lap 79 to pit. This handed the lead to Brad Keselowski. He just about missed pit road trying to enter and handed the lead to Matt Kenseth. He ducked onto pit road on lap 82 and handed the lead to rookie teammate Erik Jones. The lead cycled back to Martin Truex Jr. on lap 84. Michael McDowell was tagged for speeding and served a drive-through penalty.
The third caution of the race flew on lap 95 for a one car spin on the front stretch. Exiting turn 4, Jeb Burton got loose and spun down through the grass. Dale Earnhardt Jr. got back on the lead lap being the first car a lap down. Despite having just been on pit road, all of the lead lap cars pitted. Most took just two tires. Joey Logano was tagged for his crew being over the wall too soon. He was forced to restart from the tail-end of the field. Just before the race was to restart, rain started pouring and the race was red flagged on lap 99. Lightning in the area forced the spotters, camera people and fans to get to cover. The red flag lasted for two hours, 15 minutes and 30 seconds.

#### Restart

The drivers were called back to their cars at 10:30 p.m. The engines were re-fired at 10:58. The red flag was lifted and the cars rolled off pit road at 11:00. The race restarted on lap 108. The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 118 for a one car spin on the front stretch. Exiting turn 4, David Ragan got loose and spun through the grass. He came to a rest on the race logo in the middle of the front stretch. Brad Keselowski opted not to pit and took the lead.
The race restarted on lap 128. The fifth caution of the race flew on lap 131 for a multi-car wreck exiting turn 2. Matt Kenseth got sideways after suffering a flat left-front tire exiting 2 and was able to save it. Tony Stewart, trying to avoid Kenseth, got turned by Brett Moffitt into the wall.

### Second half
#### Halfway

The race restarted on lap 135. Brad Keselowski surrendered the lead on lap 164 to pit and handed it to Martin Truex Jr. He ducked onto pit road on lap 176. This handed the lead to Carl Edwards. The sixth caution of the race flew on lap 184 for a single car wreck in turn 3. Going through turn 3, Clint Bowyer came down on Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and spun out. He was tagged again by Stenhouse who was trying to avoid hitting him further and spun around even more.
The race restarted with 77 laps to go. The seventh caution of the race flew for Erik Jones hitting the wall in the tri-oval. Exiting turn 4, his car got loose. He overcorrected and turned head first into the wall. Jones took the car to the garage. “I learned a lot about racing upfront and racing these guys,” Jones said later on Fox Sports 1. “I just got loose off 4 and lost it. It’s my fault. I’m ready to do another one. I hope we get a shot at it.”

#### Fourth quarter

The race restarted with 67 laps to go. Denny Hamlin suffered damage on the restart and pitted to repair it. He crashed in turn 1 and brought out the eighth caution with 60 laps to go. “I think we blew a left-front tire,” Hamlin told FOX Sports 1. He was unhappy with how long it took for NASCAR to throw a caution. “I blew it off of Turn 4, spun out, hit the wall at the start-finish line. I keep spinning, keep hitting the wall and I can’t figure out why everyone is still coming at 200 (mph). I look and the green light is on. They didn’t throw a caution until seven seconds after I wrecked. Luckily no one hit us in the door.” Kyle Larson exited pit road with the lead.
The race restarted with 55 laps to go. Kevin Harvick took back the lead with 54 laps to go. The ninth caution of the race flew with twelve laps to go when Stenhouse Jr. slammed the wall in turn 2. Jimmie Johnson opted not to pit when Harvick did under caution and assumed the lead. Paul Menard was tagged for an uncontrolled tire and forced to drop to the tail-end of the field for the restart.

##### Final laps

After waiving the restart with seven to go, the race restarted with six laps to go. Jimmie Johnson held off a hard charging Kevin Harvick for his 73rd career victory.

### Post-race
#### Driver comments

“It was a long hard night of racing and fighting for track position,” Johnson said. “Once we got up front, we were able to hang on for the final eight or nine laps, whatever it was.” Martin Truex Jr. finished ninth after leading a race high 95 laps. “Yeah, definitely not the finish we wanted, obviously, but proud of the guys for the weekend we had, just had good speed all weekend, brought a brand new car here and just proud of that,” Truex Jr. said. “It's kind of disappointing, but at the same time proud of the way we ran, and I think it's something we can build off of. We should have either stayed out or took new tires. We probably did the worst thing you could have done there with just staying out and getting gas only, because we ended up being the last guy with no tires. Everybody else behind us had two and they ate us up on the restart. If we'd have taken two, we probably would have come out sixth, been in a pretty good position.”

### Race results

| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 19 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 47 |
| 2 | 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 43 |
| 3 | 17 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 41 |
| 4 | 11 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 40 |
| 5 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 40 |
| 6 | 18 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 39 |
| 7 | 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 38 |
| 8 | 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 37 |
| 9 | 4 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 37 |
| 10 | 15 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 34 |
| 11 | 14 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 33 |
| 12 | 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 32 |
| 13 | 9 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 31 |
| 14 | 29 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 30 |
| 15 | 10 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 30 |
| 16 | 26 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 267 | 28 |
| 17 | 2 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 27 |
| 18 | 22 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 26 |
| 19 | 24 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 25 |
| 20 | 5 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 266 | 25 |
| 21 | 21 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 266 | 23 |
| 22 | 28 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 22 |
| 23 | 43 | 46 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 21 |
| 24 | 20 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 266 | 20 |
| 25 | 35 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 266 | 19 |
| 26 | 32 | 33 | Ty Dillon (i) | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 |
| 27 | 27 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 17 |
| 28 | 40 | 98 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 16 |
| 29 | 41 | 40 | Landon Cassill (i) | Hillman-Circle Sport LLC | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 |
| 30 | 25 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 14 |
| 31 | 30 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 265 | 13 |
| 32 | 38 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 263 | 12 |
| 33 | 23 | 55 | David Ragan | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 263 | 11 |
| 34 | 39 | 34 | Brett Moffitt (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 263 | 10 |
| 35 | 34 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 263 | 9 |
| 36 | 31 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 262 | 8 |
| 37 | 37 | 23 | J. J. Yeley (i) | BK Racing | Toyota | 262 | 0 |
| 38 | 42 | 32 | Joey Gase (i) | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 262 | 0 |
| 39 | 16 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 5 |
| 40 | 12 | 18 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 258 | 0 |
| 41 | 13 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 242 | 3 |
| 42 | 33 | 26 | Jeb Burton (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 205 | 2 |
| 43 | 36 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 153 | 1 |
| Official SpongeBob SquarePants 400 results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* 16 lead changes among 10 different drivers
* 9 cautions for 49 laps; 1 red flag for 2 hours, 15 minutes and 30 seconds
* Time of race: 3 hours, 11 minutes, 50 seconds
* Average speed: 125.265 mph (201.594 km/h)
* Jimmie Johnson took home $243,726 in winnings
Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1-29 | Joey Logano |
| 30-49 | Kurt Busch |
| 50-56 | Kevin Harvick |
| 57-78 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 79-80 | Brad Keselowski |
| 81 | Matt Kenseth |
| 82 | Erik Jones (i) |
| 83-121 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 122–162 | Brad Keselowski |
| 163–175 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 176–187 | Carl Edwards |
| 188–199 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 200 | Kyle Larson |
| 201–209 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 210–211 | Kyle Larson |
| 212–257 | Kevin Harvick |
| 258–267 | Jimmie Johnson |
Total laps led :
| Leader | Laps |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 95 |
| Kevin Harvick | 53 |
| Brad Keselowski | 29 |
| Kurt Busch | 20 |
| Carl Edwards | 12 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 10 |
| Kyle Larson | 3 |
| Matt Kenseth | 1 |
| Erik Jones (i) | 1 |

#### Race awards

* Coors Light Pole Award: Joey Logano (28.067, 192.397 mph (309.633 km/h))
* 3M Lap Leader: Martin Truex Jr. (95 laps)
* American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kevin Harvick (30.322, 178.091 mph (286.610 km/h))
* Duralast Brakes "Bake In The Race" Award: Joey Logano
* Freescale "Wide Open": Dale Earnhardt Jr.
* Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Jeff Gordon (8 positions)
* MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, #4
* Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Martin Truex Jr. (131.1 driver rating)
* Moog Steering and Suspension Problem Solver of The Race: Jimmie Johnson (crew chief Chad Knaus (0.650))
* NASCAR Sprint Cup Leader Bonus: No winner: rolls over to $80,000 at next event
* Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson (Lap 203, 28.857, 187.129 mph (301.155 km/h))
* Sunoco Rookie of The Race: Matt DiBenedetto

## Media
### Television

Fox Sports covered their fifth race at Kansas Speedway. Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Chris Neville and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side. Due to a Major League Baseball game running long on Fox Sports 1, the first 22 minutes of the broadcast was shown on Fox News Channel. The race switched back over to Fox Sports 1 as intended when the ballgame was over.
Fox Sports 1 :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Larry McReynolds Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Jamie Little Chris Neville Matt Yocum |

### Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field was racing through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2. Kurt Becker called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field was racing through turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post worked pit road for MRN.
MRN :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker | Alex Hayden Winston Kelley Steve Post |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Kevin Harvick | 437 |
| | 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 391 (-46) |
| | 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 389 (-48) |
| | 4 | Joey Logano | 375 (-62) |
| | 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 360 (-77) |
| | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 343 (-94) |
| 1 | 7 | Matt Kenseth | 331 (-106) |
| 1 | 8 | Jamie McMurray | 328 (-109) |
| 4 | 9 | Jeff Gordon | 317 (-120) |
| 1 | 10 | Kasey Kahne | 313 (-124) |
| 1 | 11 | Aric Almirola | 312 (-125) |
| 1 | 12 | Paul Menard | 306 (-131) |
| 1 | 13 | Ryan Newman | 305 (-132) |
| 1 | 14 | Kurt Busch | 292 (-145) |
| 5 | 15 | Denny Hamlin | 284 (-153) |
| 1 | 16 | Clint Bowyer | 272 (-165) |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 500 |
| 2 | Ford | 456 (-44) |
| 3 | Toyota | 423 (-77) |