With college football in full swing, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is getting in on the fun at Kansas with some NCAA rivalry action. In the Kansas Lottery 300, the Kansas State Wildcats and the University of Kansas will both be represented on the track with their own paint schemes.
The Jayhawks will be riding along with JD Motorsports on the No. 6 car of Brennan Poole. An NIL deal, this is the first NIL car in NASCAR. 11 Jayhawks are featured on the car and it is a collaboration with BeOne Sports and the Mass St. Collective.
Here is what the car looks like.
Meanwhile, Kansas State Wildcats fans will want to cheer for Jeremy Clements in the No. 51 car. While this is just a standard partnership with the university, it still provides us with a great rivalry matchup on the track.
If you’re wondering how Jeremy Clements landed such a great sponsorship, it comes down to having great partners. Jim Bob Morris of El Bandido Tequila is a partner with Clements’ team and a KSU alum. He pulled some strings and got this deal together.
The purple looks so good, and the Wildcat on the hood is just about as perfect as it gets.
While we won’t see these two teams play on the gridiron until later this season, we will get to see NASCAR participate in the battle for Kansas. Wildcats, Jayhawks, 300 miles of high speed and racing – one of these cars will come out on top in this one-on-one matchup.
Kansas Sunflower Showdown comes to NASCAR
While the Sunflower Showdown generally takes place across a variety of varsity sports at KU and KSU, NASCAR is bringing it to the track. All the way back in 1898 was the first ever sporting contest between the two schools. In a baseball game, the two began their rivalry that extends to today.
When it comes to the Sunflower Showdown, the Jayhawks lead in football, men’s basketball, baseball*, as well as women’s soccer and tennis. As for the Wildcats, Kansas State holds the lead in baseball*, women’s basketball, volleyball, and rowing. The two schools dispute the win totals in baseball, both claiming the most wins in the series.
So, what should we expect from the Kansas cars in NASCAR? Poole and Clements have battled it out over the season, and this could be a fun side-race to watch unfold. So far this season, Clements has earned himself a 19th-place position in the standings. Meanwhile, Poole is down in 24th overall.
Poole boasts a top-5 finish from Talladega while Clements has yet to crack the top-10 in a race this season. With some rough finishes lately for the 51 car, Poole has actually outperformed him in their last four races against each other.
NASCAR is in Kansas and we’ve got a very special Sunflower Showdown to watch on Saturday.
More must-reads: