Kansas City, Kan. ? On a muggy Saturday afternoon, two children dragged their parents through the garage area at Kansas Speedway, intent on catching up to a hero they had seen only on television.

They weren’t after Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson, though. They were after a giant, yellow Nickelodeon character — better known as SpongeBob SquarePants — whose name was attached to the Sprint Cup race featuring Gordon, Johnson and the sport’s biggest stars that night.

It was exactly what the children’s TV network wanted out of its partnership with NASCAR — and just what NASCAR wanted out of the SpongeBob SquarePants 400.

“You know, you’re always looking for a younger demographic,” Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer said, “and what better way to attract that younger demographic? I can’t imagine any younger kid not wanting to come to the SpongeBob SquarePants race.”

NASCAR has been trying to reach younger demographics for years, particularly as stars such as Gordon close in on retirement. The fan base that brought about the racing boom of the 1990s and early 2000s has started to age, and filling that void has become a priority.

That’s why a few years ago NASCAR announced an industry action plan designed to attract younger and more diverse fans. It began with a rebuffed website and mobile apps, inviting more mainstream celebrities to races, and providing concerts and other ancillary entertainment.

That was just the start of the outreach, though.

NASCAR has also opened its garages to children accompanied by parents on race days, allowing them to get closer to the cars and drivers. It lowered age limits on some regional competitions, giving up-and-coming drivers a chance to compete earlier. And it embraced social media, fantasy racing and online simulators such as iRacing that are popular with younger demographics.

The push toward a younger demographic in some ways mirrors the push that NASCAR made toward women in the 1980s and ’90s, which ultimately succeeded in growing the brand.

“This is really cool to engage the youth and bring in a new fan to NASCAR, and that is an important aspect for all of us, for all our partners moving forward in the sport,” said Michael McDowell, whose No. 95 car had Larry the Lobster from the SpongeBob show painted on his car.

A recent Turnkey Sports poll found that only about 10 percent of NASCAR fans these days are in the coveted 18-to-24 marketing demographic. While that may be a sobering number, polls also have found that 37 percent of NASCAR fans have children under age 18.

In other words, there are plenty of potential fans just waiting to get hooked.

“The SpongeBob SquarePants 400 gives Nickelodeon the opportunity to expand its relationship with NASCAR, while working with a best-in-class track to give fans a unique, engaging and high-quality race experience that the whole family can enjoy,” said Pam Kaufman, the chief marketing officer for Nickelodeon Group who has spearheaded the affiliation with NASCAR.

“Nickelodeon has embarked on some great initiatives with NASCAR over the last 10 years,” Kaufman said, “sponsoring and participating in marquee racing events that have resonated with motorsports fans across the country.”

This may be an opportune time to attract younger fans, too.

There is a new set of drivers poised to take over the leadership of the sport. Eighteen-year-old Erik Jones made his first Sprint Cup start on Saturday night, and Ty Dillon, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are at an age that resonates with a younger fan base.

Then there are the current Sprint Cup stars with children of their own. Images of Greg Biffle toting daughter Emma around the garage area, or Matt Kenseth celebrating with daughters Kaylin and Grace in victory lane, get beamed by television into living rooms every race weekend.

“My daughter is 31/2 and she loves watching SpongeBob, and she asked before I left if I could bring him back with me,” Biffle said. “It’s kind of funny how the kids go in cycles. There are a lot of young kids and a lot of new dads in the garage right.”

The sponsorship brought out the child in those dads, too. Many were caught taking selfies with the SpongeBob character traipsing through the garage area Saturday night.

“My 6-year old son thinks I am the coolest dad ever because I got to drive the Ninja Turtle car and now I get to drive the Larry Lobster car,” McDowell said, wearing a big grin. “I am definitely winning cool points with my kids.”

Kansas City, Kan. (ap) — Jimmie Johnson pulled into victory lane after his late-race gamble paid off to win the rain-delayed Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway, then pulled out his cellphone and tried to dial his wife in the first few minutes of Mother’s Day.

“Then I caught her on FaceTime,” Johnson said, “and she was NOT so happy to be on FaceTime with all those people around. I think the signal went out — or she hung up on me.”

There’s a good chance Chandra will forgive him.

Johnson, so dominant on mile-and-a-half tracks, held off Kevin Harvick as the clock struck midnight heading into Sunday. They were chased across the line by Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon after a dramatic final few laps.

Most of the leaders had been conserving fuel after pitting with 58 to go, right on the upper end of the pit window, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got into the wall with 12 laps left. Johnson was among those who pressed their luck by staying on the track, while Harvick went in for right-side tires and fuel, and Martin Truex Jr. got a splash of gas.

“It just dawned on me: We’ve won two races, we’re locked in the Chase, points don’t matter. We’re going for the win,” Johnson said. “It was just sort of a gut feeling, split-second.”

Johnson built a lead on the restart with six laps left, but Harvick sped around Earnhardt on his fresh tires down the front stretch, setting his sights on the lead.

“They had the most raw speed,” said Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus.

Harvick bobbled just slightly at one point on the back stretch, though, giving Johnson a little more space. The six-time series champion maintained it the rest of the way to win for the third time this season and his third race at Kansas Speedway.

“The 48 and 88 didn’t have the speed, and they gambled and had enough cars in between us that we didn’t have enough laps to get around them,” Harvick said. “It’s hard to know what’s right and what’s wrong. You know half of them are going to come in and half are going to stay out.”

Harvick still extended his points lead over Truex heading into next week’s All-Star race at Charlotte. Johnson is third in the standings as he chases another title.

“In some ways we fought really hard to get to victory lane, but it’s also fun to win gambling,” Johnson said. “We haven’t really gambled to win one.”

Truex led a race-high 95 laps, but his pit decision proved costly. Without fresh tires, one of the strongest cars in the field faded on the final restart and finished ninth.

“Really hate when it comes down to fuel mileage. It seems like I’m always at the wrong end of that deal,” he said. “It would have been fun to see whether we had anything for him.”

Joey Logano stormed to a top-five finish despite two pit-road penalties.

The first came just before a band of rain passed through, dousing the track and forcing a delay of 2 hours, 16 minutes. The other came when Logano entered pit road with it closed, dropping him from sixth to the back of the line with 83 laps left.

Matt Kenseth was next in sixth, followed by Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch. Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10 with interim crew chief Todd Parrott calling the shots.

Richard Childress Racing learned this week that its final appeal of penalties for altering tires during a race at California had been upheld, and that Newman would be without usual chief Luke Lambert and two other crew members for a six-race period beginning with Kansas.

One of the bright spots all night was the heady driving of 18-year-old Erik Jones, who made his first Sprint Cup start in the No. 18 while Kyle Busch continues his recovery from a broken leg.

Jones spent most of the night near the front, even passing his idol Gordon with a daring move in front of the grandstand. But a bobble of his own doing with 72 laps left sent him sliding head-first into the wall, and Jones wound up finishing the race 25 laps down.

“I learned a lot, racing up front, racing with these guys,” said Jones, who was running in the top 5 when he wrecked. “Just got loose and lost it. All my fault. Guess I have to go back and figure it out. But I’m ready to do another one. I hope I get another shot at it.”