Keselowski Conserves Fuel, Wins STP 400 at Kansas

Associated Press

Keselowski picks up second career Cup win at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Brad Keselowksi held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Sunday to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway.

Keselowski led the final nine laps, conserving just enough fuel to stave off Earnhardt and snap a 75-race winless streak.

Earnardt Earnhardt appeared to have just enough fuel to make a late charge on Keselowski. That push never came - though Earnhardt did move up to third in the points standings. Last week in Charlotte, Earnhardt gave up the lead on the final lap when he ran out of fuel, and ended up seventh.

Denny Hamlin was third, followed by Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards.

Polesitter Kurt Busch led for 152 laps Sunday and finished ninth. He had to stop for gas as the leader with 10 laps remaining.

STP 400 Results

Driver Quotes Following Saturday's Qualifying at Kansas

MATT KENSETH Qualified 21st: “We weren’t very good today in qualifying trim but the good news is that we are fine in race trim. The qualifying run is disappointing but I know we have a fast car for the race tomorrow so that is good.”

MARCOS AMBROSE Qualified 35th: “The heat doesn’t change our run much, we just weren’t very good. We will just take what we can from today and look forward to tomorrow’s race. This place is a great track and I really enjoy coming here. I tend to run well here but if you miss it a little bit you pay because there is not the banking to help you. We are going to have to drive through some cars to get to the front tomorrow.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER Qualified 26th: “This heat is something. It is one of those things that’s just tough not having a Saturday practice with conditions like this. You just don’t know and it is so hot out and so slick. We aren’t very good either which is part of it. We just aren’t good right now and need to keep working on it.”

Ragan liked his practice and qualifying session (Getty)

DAVID RAGAN Qualified 19th: “So far so good. I really like this place. It is neat to come out here at a different time of year with different weather and different tires and different scenarios for our UPS team here at Kansas than we are typically used to. Qualifying was okay. We went later and the track is a lot more heated than it was to begin with. I think our Ford is pretty fast for the race and this is one of our favorite tracks to come to, so maybe we can get a win Sunday.”

GREG BIFFLE Qualified 14th: “It was a pretty good run but we were just a hair too loose. We struggled with our practice plan and we tried to start it out in qualifying and it wasn’t that good so we switched to race trim and got real happy with the car. It was just a little too loose out there today. I think I have a really good car for tomorrow though.”

CARL EDWARDS Qualified 7th: “I am not going to tell you exactly what I did wrong but I know it was something. Bob and I were just talking about it and he wrote about a page of notes. It is good to be frustrated about not getting the pole there because I thought we were going to be way slow with these track temperatures but our Aflac Fusion has been really good and it is going to be a good race. If we start sixth, seventh or eighth then I think we are going to have a really good shot at this race and that would mean a lot to me.”

Kyle Busch struggled in practice, but qualified well

KYLE BUSCH Starting 3rd: “A lot better than we expected. The M&M’s Camry — the guys did a good job with it and gave me a good piece to run a good lap. That’s all we can ask for. We’ve been having sort of a struggle this weekend so far, and trying to make something out of nothing here. So far, the guys did a great job going back and working through their notes and giving me something that was good to qualify. Hopefully, this will translate into something better tomorrow.”

“It was a really good lap for us today. We were kind of thrown a little bit off balance yesterday with as much changes that we were doing and the practice schedule the way it was. We kind of got lost for a little while. But, Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and the guys did a really good job overnight looking at their notes and getting us to where we had a comfortable car there in qualifying. We laid a nice lap down even considering the draw. It seemed like it was better for the guys to go out early like that and we didn’t quite play the game as smart as we should have, but if we would’ve had the car even that much better and we would’ve had a better draw we could’ve been on the pole today. We’ll take a third for sure considering how our day was yesterday.”

BRIAN VICKERS Starting 4th: “This weekend has been good. We started off slow in practice, but we made some major adjustments going into the second practice. I’m really happy with the car. Hopefully, we’ll stay up there in the top five and have a good race.”

JOEY LOGANO Starting 5th: “Our run was pretty good. I think the track has given up grip since the beginning of qualifying here. You see a lot of cars that weren’t really fast in practice that are up there. I think the track has a little bit to do with it. Our Home Depot Camry was really fast and it’s really good. I feel like we’re really good in race trim too. They made some good changes yesterday that I feel like is going to give us a bigger window to adjust on our car during the race. I’m excited about that.”

DENNY HAMLIN Starting 15th: “Yeah. I was pretty happy with it by the end of practice yesterday. We need to fine tune it a little bit. But, not making a qualifying run makes it a little tough to predict what it’s going to do in these conditions. The track is wearing out quite a bit which should make passing a little easier. So, that part of it is encouraging.”

KASEY KAHNE Starting 17th: “We were kind of on the loose side yesterday into the corner and off the corner. Made some gains during practice. I think the track is going to slippery tomorrow. It should be an interesting race. I look forward to it.”

Kurt Busch is sitting on the pole (Getty)

KURT BUSCH Qualified 1st: “We feel like we picked up a lot of speed for qualifying with some of our adjustments. It’s nice that we can find that some days; other days it bites you. This has always been a tough mile-and-a-half track for me. It’s flat, but the track still has a lot of speed in it if you hit it just right. We just didn’t hit it right yesterday in practice. We feel like we’ve got some speed in the AAA Dodge. Tomorrow is going to be a hot, blistering day. This place, it’s really fast if you hit your setup just right. Otherwise, you’re sliding all around.”

“We were very loose with one of our (practice) setups and just on the snug side with the other one, so we’ll shoot for the middle. The race here is a tough one. If you’re stuck in the back, it’s very hard to make up track position. You just want a nice smooth day on the track and on pit road.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI Qualified 25th: “We didn’t have the lap we wanted to run. The heat was a factor, but we were expecting a better lap. We’re OK with our race setup, but obviously we’re not going to have very good track position. Strategy will be very important tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ve got the right one.”

JEFF GORDON ON KANSAS AFTER QUALIFYING 22ND: “If you are talking about saving fuel under caution, it is a whole different set of scenarios and much easier to do. You basically can just pick up a little speed and shut the engine off. If you are talking about saving fuel under green, it is near impossible. You have to slow the lap time down so much in order to save enough to go an extra lap or a half-of-a-lap that to me, it is really not doable. The only time I’ve ever really seen it done was Tony Stewart at Pocono (Raceway) and I’m still not sure how he did it. I don’t know if he was shutting the engine off on the lap and he had that big of a lead that he could give up that much time. That is what it appears. He had such a lead because of others coming in that he was able to do some extreme things. So, unless you are in that kind of scenario, to me it is only about saving fuel under caution.”

Final Kansas Driver Ratings Following Practices and Qualifying

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
STP 400
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, June 5, 2011 - 10:15 am (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds     Practice 1  Practice 2    Qualified    Fontana* 

 1. Greg Biffle 8/1                  1st               15th           14th         11th   
Two-time winner with an 8.1 average finish; best 10 consecutive lap average in practice.           
 2. Matt Kenseth 12/1            12th             19th           21st          4th    
Third best 10 consecutive lap average in practice; using winning Dover chassis.                       
 3. Jeff Gordon 12/1               5th               2nd           22nd         18th                      
Two-time winner with an 8.5 average finish; second best 10 consecutive lap practice average.
 4. Carl Edwards 9/2              2nd               8th            7th            6th                      
12.3 average finish in seven starts, runner-up in 2008. Using brand new chassis this week.
 5. Jimmie Johnson 7/1         14th              22nd         31st          2nd                        
2008 winner with a 9.3 average finish in nine starts. Using a brand new chassis this week.
 6. Kurt Busch 30/1                15th              35th          1st           17th                          
Only one top-10 finish in 10 career starts. Debuts brand new chassis this week.
 7. Kevin Harvick 10/1            26th             28th          10th          1st    
His only top-five finish came last season with third-place; using exact same car this week.                       
 8. Tony Stewart 12/1             4th               30th          13th         13th  
Two-time winner with a 12.3 average finish in 10 starts; using his Texas car this week.                       
 9. Clint Bowyer 20/1              31st             12th           27th         7th                           
Native of Emporia, Kansas; finished runner-up in 2007. Debuts brand new chassis this week.
10. Kyle Busch 8/1                 19th              7th            3rd           3rd                       
Not his best track with 23.9 average finish in seven starts. Using new chassis this week.

* Results from the March 27, 2011 race at California Speedway. Although a half-mile larger than Kansas, the banking and width of the two tracks make them very similar.
                    
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports Director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com.

STP 400 Starting Lineup

Logano and Biffle Top Friday's Two Practice Sessions at Kansas

Logano fastest during happy hour

It was Joey Logano, with a lap speed of 170.175, posting the fastest speed during the final STP 400 practice session at Kansas Speedway.

Jeff Gordon was second fastest with a lap speed of 170.122 mph, and was followed by Brian Vickers (170.084) who was third fastest, Mark Martin (169.614) fourth fastest and Paul Menard (169.502) was fifth fastest.

Rounding out the top-ten fastest in “Happy Hour” were Landon Cassill (169.321) who was sixth fastest, Kyle Busch (169.252) seventh, Carl Edwards (169.205) eighth, David Stremme (168.713) ninth and David Ragan (168.503) was tenth.

The teams will return Saturday afternoon for their 12:10 PM (EDT) scheduled qualifying session to determine the lineup for Sunday’s race (which is scheduled to get underway a little after 1:00 PM – EDT).


Happy Hour practice:
#20-Logano 170.175
#24-Gordon 170.122
#83-Vickers 170.084
#5-Martin 169.614
#27-Menard 169.502
slowest: #32-Carpentier 162.148 & #7-Sauter 160.275.
notes: #22-Kurt Busch spun off turn 4 and slid into the infield grass. He didn't damage the car.

Set fast time with Q-trim on

Greg Biffle, with a lap speed of 169.189 mph, was the fastest during the first NSCS STP 400 practice session at Kansas Speedway.

Biffle’s fellow Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Carl Edwards, with a lap speed of 168.692 mph, was second fastest, followed by Kasey Kahne (168.361) who was third fastest, Tony Stewart (167.989) fourth fastest and Jeff Gordon (167.874) was fifth fastest.

Rounding out the top-ten fastest in practice were Dale Earnhardt Jr. (167.785) who was sixth fastest, Bobby Labonte (167.645) seventh, Martin Truex Jr. (167.561) eighth, Brad Keselowski (167.489) ninth and Regan Smith (167.416) was tenth.

First Friday practice:
#16-Biffle 169.189
#99-Edwards 168.692
#4-Kahne 168.361
#14-Stewart 167.989
#24-Gordon 167.874
slowest: #7-Sauter 161.662 & #32-Carpentier 161.011.


Kansas Practice Speeds



Driver Quotes Following First Practice Session

MATT KENSETH ON NO CAUTION COMING OUT LAST WEEK AT CHARLOTTE DURING THE START OF THE GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED LAST WEEKEND: “I am not in the business of calling races, so I don’t know if there should have been one of not. I expected a caution just because from where I was there was a lot of smoke. I actually slowed down. I probably could have made up five spots but I thought there was going to be a caution. I had just gotten the lucky dog and I didn’t want to run into something trying to get up there and hurt somebody. I slowed up and by the time I realized there wasn’t going to be a caution I was all the way down through one and two and probably could have made some spots up. I will have to be more aware of that next time.”

KEVIN HARVICK ON HIS TWITTER EXCHANGES WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON REGARDING THE LUCKY HORSESHOE: “I hope so. I hope we get to keep it. It is fun to be able to have performance in your race cars. I’ve said this about the No. 48 for a long time. They have had performance in their race cars and when they get in those situations where things are going their way, they are able to capitalize and finally, we’re able to capitalize when we have some breaks on pit road and we have fuel mileage, whatever the case may be. You car still has to be still running decent. When you get in those positions and you are able to capitalize on it, it makes it that much better. I hope we get to keep it until November 21st.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON ON HIS TWEETS TO HARVICK: “Yeah, we’ve had some fun with it especially on the Twitter space with the whole horseshoe thing. It was something that Kevin said at California and we had some luck come our way. It started then and I couldn’t let it not come back after his good fortune the last couple of weeks. When I was in the situation having things going my way, sometimes things just go your way and other times they don’t and you’ve got to be running well and you have to be in that top-five window to take advantage of good luck. Last week things turned out well for him and I’m on the joking side of it all. I want my horseshoe back and I know he wants to keep it until after Homestead. Through Twitter there has been a ton of other fans, drivers and even crew members lobbying for their need for the horseshoe. So it’s been a fun week messing around with all of it to say the least.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR. ON WHETHER ANYTHING FROM LAST WEEK AT CHARLOTTE TRANSFERS OVER TO KANSAS: “I really don’t know. The setups are all real similar that you run at all the mile-and-a-halves. We might tweak on them a little but here and there, but the direction and the ideas and the theories are all kind of the same. It’s been working pretty good for us. We’re still working real hard to find out where some speed is for qualifying and we made some — went a totally new direction in qualifying for Dover and Charlotte. Although we didn’t get the qualify Dover and we didn’t really qualify well at Charlotte, the difference in how the car drove and how comfortable I was with the car and being able to jump out there and run fast for one lap — I think we made some real good gains there. I think we’re going to start seeing some improvement in that department and make the races easier for us. We’ll just have to see what this place is like. It looks like there’s some more tar strips, seams and stuff and cracks that have been sealed up than what I recall last time we were here. Seems like all the track owners love putting that tar in them cracks man. It’s like all they have to do for like a year before we come back. We’ll see how that’s going to make the cars drive and hopefully we can get around here pretty good.”

GREG BIFFLE ON HIS FIRST PRACTICE SESSION: “The first part of the session we were in qualifying trim and we were very unhappy with our race car in qualifying trim. We were a lot happier with it in race trim. The track is hot and slick. It is 92 degrees outside and the track temperature is probably in the mid 140’s. This place has gotten a little bumpier every year. It has lost a little grip. Naturally that is what race tracks do. It is hot, slick and hard to get a hold of. That typically produces pretty good racing. Everyone is kind of complaining but you look at your lap time and it isn’t that bad. It feels slow inside the car though. You feel like you are going turtle pace and that gives you the sensation, especially coming off last week where it was pretty fast, that you are a lot slower.”

TONY STEWART ON HIS FIRST PRACTICE SESSION: “It’s hot and slick out there right now, but that’s the way I like it. It’s a challenge for sure to get your balance right and guys are already using the whole race track. It’s definitely going to be a hot, slick day for the race on Sunday too.
"I don’t think anybody — you can have the best car out there right now and you’re still not going to be happy with it. We’re sliding around a lot, which is good. I like that side of it. It makes you never happy with it until you think you have it fixed all the way. It’s just a constant challenge right now.”

CARL EDWARDS ON HAVING AN ADVANTAGE OVER THE REST OF THE DRIVERS: “I don’t think we have an advantage. We might have a slight advantage at these mile-and-a-half tracks. I feel like we are very competitive. The competition is really close and nobody is better than us right now. That is probably the best way to put it.”

Driver Chassis Selections For STP 400 at Kansas

Note: Not all teams list their chassis in PR release

New chassis for Carl Edwards this week at Kansas (Getty)

1. Carl Edwards: Coming off fifth top 10 in seven starts; 12.3 average finish; Seventh-best driver rating in the past six races; Second-best average finish (6.7) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 768) in the STP 400.

2. Kevin Harvick: Coming off fourth top five in 10 starts; 14.6 average finish; Ninth-best driver rating in the past six races; 12.7 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 318) that he posted three top-10s with in 2010, including Kansas in third.

3. Jimmie Johnson: Won the 2008 race; 9.3 average finish in nine starts; Has finished ninth or better in last four races; Second in laps led with 304; Second-best driver rating in the past six races; 17.3 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 669) in the STP 400.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Recorded four top-10s with Dale Earnhardt, Inc; 23.7 average finish in three starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Fourth-best average finish (8.0) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 657) that he finished 14th with at Darlington Raceway in May.

5. Kyle Busch: Recorded one top 10 with Hendrick Motorsports in 2006; 20.3 average finish in three starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; 28.7 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 308) in the STP 400.

6. Kurt Busch: Recorded two top-10s with Roush Racing; 18.0 average finish in five starts with Penske Racing; 10th-best driver rating in the past six races; Third-best average finish (7.7) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 754) in the STP 400.

Kenseth using winning Dover chassis

7. Matt Kenseth: Coming off fourth top 10 in seventh; 20.6 average finish in 10 starts; Third in laps led with 210; Fifth-best driver rating in the past six races; Fifth-best average finish (8.7) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 763) that he won with at Dover International Speedway last month.

8. Clint Bowyer: 11.8 average finish in five starts; Finished second in 2007; Eighth-best driver rating in the past six races; Tied for the ninth-best average finish (10.7) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 360) in the STP 400.

9. Tony Stewart: Two-time winner; 2.5 average finish in last two starts; Fourth-best driver rating in the past six races; Eighth-best average finish (10.3) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 583) that he finished 12th with at Texas Motor Speedway in March.

10. Ryan Newman: Won the 2003 race with Penske Racing; 15.5 average finish in two starts with Stewart-Haas Racing; 16.7 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 531) that he finished fifth with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

11. Greg Biffle: Two-time winner; Leads all drivers with a 8.1 average finish; Leads all rivers with 323 laps led; Has finished third or better in last four races; Best driver rating in the past six races; 15.0 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 734) that he led 46 laps with in last month's All-Star Race.

12. Denny Hamlin: Fifth-place finish in 2009 is only top 10 in six starts; 17.8 average finish; Tied for the Ninth-best average finish (10.7) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season.

13. AJ Allmendinger: Coming off second top 10 in three starts; 12.0 average finish; 14.3 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 736) that he last finished seventh with at Richmond International Raceway in April.

Martin and Earnhardt Jr both using Darlington car (Getty)

14. Mark Martin: Won the 2005 race with Roush Racing; 11.0 average finish in two starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Fifth in laps led with 152; Sixth-best driver rating in the past six races; 29.3 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 656) that he finished 19th with at Darlington Raceway in May.

15. Juan Pablo Montoya: Fourth-place finish in 2009 is only top 10 in four starts; 20.2 average finish; Sixth-best average finish (9.3) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 1105) that he most recently finished 23rd with at Darlington Raceway.

16. Jeff Gordon: Two-time winner; Has finished in the top five in his last four starts; Fourth in laps led with 204; Third-best driver rating in the past six races; 26.3 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season;

17. Marcos Ambrose: 28.0 average finish in three starts; Leads all drivers with a 5.3 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will pilot chassis No. 703 for the first time this season.

18. David Ragan: 18.8 average finish in four starts; Seventh-best average finish (10.3) in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 730) that he finished 22nd with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

19. Kasey Kahne: Won the pole and led 27 laps last year up until a crash took him out of contention; 19.6 average finish in seven starts; Will make first track start with Team Red Bull; 19.0 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season;

20. Paul Menard: Coming off first top 10 (eighth) in four starts; 23.0 average finish; 15.3 average finish in the three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 351) that he finished fifth with at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

- compiled by Jeff Wackerlin, MotorRacingNetwork.com

STP 400 Kansas Preview: Expect Roush Drivers to All Be Strong

By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

This has to be the coolest looking race logo, ever!

Kansas Speedway gets the first of it’s two races this week, the first time Kansas has had two races a season since the track opened in 2001. California’s inability to attract NASCAR fans among the millions of things to do in Southern California became an opportunity for Kansas as the parent company, International Speedway Corporation, swapped dates.

It was hoped at this time last season that Las Vegas would be in the mix for an additional date, but in order for that to happen, their parent company, Speedway Motorsports Inc., would have had to trade one of their existing dates for it to happen. While Vegas lost out on Atlanta’s date, it’s still nice to see Kentucky get a race with a fresh atmosphere, even though it is a very similar layout to existing tracks. Their inaugural Cup event will take place July 9.

This weeks Kansas race is kind of a big deal because it’s the last race of the season that Fox will broadcast. Next week TNT will begin it’s coverage before giving way to ESPN in August. Some people disagree, but I find the NASCAR coverage on Fox to be the all-time best. The team of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds is unmatched and they can make any non-NASCAR supporter a fan just because they are so thorough in their explanations to what’s going on in the race.

It’s an education process for everyone on each of their telecasts, no matter how smart of a smart race fan, while offering entertainment. With Waltrip, you get the good ole’ boy flavor that is comedic at times, but very insightful from a drivers point of view. McReynolds gives more knowledge about how race cars work than anyone with such deep explanations, but still easy for the layperson to understand. And then you have Mike Joy who wraps the entire package together gift wrapped for the NASCAR public. Joy has almost as much knowledge about the sport as McReynolds and Waltrip combined, but lets them do their thing while offering occasional quips of his vast knowledge.

The best thing that comes across the television set is that they’re actually fun together. They really seem to like each other and broadcast the race much in the same way buddies would talk at bar over a few beers while watching the race. Enjoy this last race and soak up all you can, because the TNT broadcast is choppy and, at times, hard to listen to.

Kansas runs a lot like Fontana and Chicagoland (Getty)

The configuration of Kansas Speedway is a lot like what the old configuration was at Las Vegas. It’s a mile-and-half track with 15 degrees of banking in the turns. If we were going to make a comparison with any track that has run already, Fontana might be the closest even though it’s a 2-mile track. With this race, we will be able to use a lot of what we witness to help handicap Chicagoland in late September.

The best performer at Kansas over the years has been Greg Biffle who owns an 8.1 average finish in his nine starts. In his last seven starts, he’s finished third or better in six of them including two wins. He won this race last season as well as 2007. This week he’ll be bringing his car from the All-Star race that won segment and should be considered the favorite to win along with his Roush-Fenway teammates.

Carl Edwards is hoping for a little home cooking this week to get his first Kansas win. The track is only 130 miles from Edwards hometown of Columbia, Mo., but his best finish remains his 2008 runner-up performance. He’ll be bringing a new car to the track for the second consecutive week. Last week at Charlotte was kind of a disappointment in a new car, but a top-five should surely be in order this week.

Matt Kenseth will be using his winning Dover chassis this week and comes off a very impressive run at Charlotte where he led the most laps. This team is dialed right now and bringing great cars to the track every week. A 1-2-3 finish by the top Roush drivers wouldn’t come as a surprise.

Jeff Gordon won the first two Kansas races in 2001 and 2002 and is currently on a streak of four straight top-five finishes at the track. He hasn’t been overly impressive on the 1.5-mile tracks, or at California, but his past history makes him someone to pay serious attention to this week, meaning he’s not a good candidate to bet against in driver matchups.

Lots of Kansas success for Stewart

Tony Stewart has won at Kansas twice (2006 & 2009) and is an interesting choice this week because he’s bringing a car with a pretty solid history. His 12th-place finish at Texas this season was the car’s only finish outside the top-10 in five career starts. Had it not been for 39th and 40th-place finishes in 2007 and 2008, Stewart would have better average finish stats than Biffle. But as it sits right now, he’s still pretty good with a 12.3 average that includes three fourth-places finishes in addition to the wins.

Edwards isn’t the only driver having somewhat of a hometown reunion this week. Jamie McMurray comes from Joplin, Mo., while Clint Bowyer hails from Emporia, Kan.. Both would love to win equally as bad, but Bowyer actually has the ability to do it this week.

Bowyer’s best at the track was runner-up in 2007. It’s the best finish any RCR driver has had in 30 team starts. He’s led a total of 43 laps over his career with an average finish of 11.8. He’ll be driving a brand new car this week.

His teammate, Kevin Harvick, swooped up another late win last week at Charlotte giving him a series leading three wins on the season. Despite only one top-five in 10 Kansas starts, he has to be looked at as a contender because of his car. In three races last season, the car finished eighth or better in all of them, including third at Kansas.

Jimmie Johnson owns a 2008 win at Kansas and has a 9.3 average finish in nine starts at the track, but he doesn’t seem like the Johnson from years past coming into Kansas. His efforts on all the 1.5-mile tracks and Fontana have been very ordinary, and in his case for the standard he’s set, not good. The team will try to find something new this week by bringing a brand new chassis.

The wildcards of the race could be Denny Hamlin and David Ragan. Hamlin is showing signs of turning things around slowly while Ragan is climbing up the charts.

The top driver that we might expect a poor performance from is Kyle Busch. For some reason, Kansas and Kyle don’t get along. In seven starts, Busch doesn’t have a top-five and his average finish is 23.9. He did have a third-place effort at Fontana which should give his team some hope. They will be using a new car this week.

Top 5 Finish prediction:
1) #16 Greg Biffle (12/1)
2) #99 Carl Edwards (6/1)
3) #17 Matt Kenseth (12/1)
4) #33 Clint Bowyer (20/1)
5) #14 Tony Stewart (12/1)

Driver Notes & Quotes For The 2011 STP 400 at Kansas Speedway

Greg Biffle has a track best 8.5 average finish with two wins (Getty)

GREG BIFFLE ON KANSAS: “Kansas is a unique track that I have always enjoyed racing at. I think I enjoy it because I’ve run well there. We were able to win there last year and finished third there the two years two years before that. We got our only win of the 2007 season at Kansas too, so we know we can get to victory lane in Kansas if we don’t have anything go wrong. We’re working really hard on all fronts to do everything we can to get the 3M Ford into the winner’s circle.”

BIFFLE CREW CHIEF GREG ERWIN ON KANSAS: “Kansas is a fast track that allows for a lot of good racing and we’ve had a lot of success there. My first win with this team was at Kansas in 2007 and we were able to get to victory lane there again last year. It would be great to repeat that success there this weekend. Kansas is easy on tire wear so that allows for flexibility in pit strategy as far as taking two tires or fuel only. Hopefully that will play into our hands and we’ll have a solid run this weekend. We’re taking the car that we ran well with a couple of weeks ago in the All-Star race and we feel like we should run well with it this weekend.”

DAVID REUTIMANN ON HOW COMFORTABLE HE IS ON 1.5-MILE TRACKS HEADING INTO KANSAS: “I think our mile and a half program is really strong. It’s been strong for the last year or so. I feel like we’ve got a pretty good understanding of what the cars need for those types of race tracks. Looking forward to going to Kansas or any mile and a half race track for that matter.”

Reutimann on how similar Kansas is to Chicagoland, where he won last year? “They say in theory — they look the same and there’s a lot of things that resemble. They act different, they drive like completely different race tracks other than the fact that they are mile and a half. You can take setups that are somewhat similar, but it’s unrealistic to think that you can unload with the same stuff that you ran well with at one track and it transfer over. There are some things that transfer over, but you just have to fine tune each setup to each individual race track.”

DAVID RAGAN ON RACING AT KANSAS: “It will be interesting to go out to Kansas this time of year since we typically go in the fall when it’s a little cooler. We’ve got some good notes from Charlotte and Texas that we can use this weekend at Kansas to be competitive. I think we can continue our 1.5-mile success and have another strong run with our UPS Ford.”

Ragan Crew chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Kansas Speedway: “Kansas is a lot like Texas, so we’ll run similar stuff since Texas was a good track for us. Coming off a Showdown win and a second-place finish at a 1.5-mile track we feel like we have some momentum going into this weekend. We are looking to improve our points position with a good strong run at Kansas.”

Ragan Chassis Choice: Primary: RK-730 Last ran Vegas – finished 22nd; Backup: RK-695 Last ran Phoenix in 2010 as the No. 99 – finished first.

Harvick using 2010 3rd-place Kansas car

KEVIN HARVICK ON RACING AT KANSAS EARLIER THAN EVER BEFORE: “No, you don’t have to throw out all the notes because Kansas is in June. You will have somewhere to start. It really depends on what tire they bring as to what direction to go with your car. So you adjust to that and the tires are constant evolution. Goodyear is trying to make things better and trying to make more technology and do things so you have to keep up with that side of it. The cars evolve constantly from an aerodynamic standpoint. The weather will probably be warmer so things will definitely change a little bit but it won’t be an overhaul.

"You never really know (about two race dates at a track) until you get to a particular area. Sometimes you look at two races – the old saying, don’t make two mediocre races out of one good, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I think California is a good example of that. With the people that they have around them that support the crowds, they’re probably a one-race track. Kansas has always been sold out and had a great atmosphere and had a great attendance. If both races are still sold out then it’s a success. If it’s not then you need to go to Iowa.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON ON RACING AT KANSAS IN JUNE: “So much has changed with us we’re going back (to Kansas) with an empty notebook. New cars, new concepts; I’m excited. I think the track is a great race track to compete on. What has happened in that area and surrounding the track is just amazing. I’m excited to go back. We’re there for two dates and hopefully the grandstands are full for both dates and I know that we’ll put on a good show. My Kansas win, that’s a great win. The track in my opinion has aged really well and I guess there is some concern that it may have aged too much in a short period of time but the bumps, the asphalt fading and losing grip as it has really promotes multiple lanes of racing and that’s what we’re looking for as drivers so when I think of Kansas, I’m excited about my win and I want to win again, but I’m think of a racer’s race track.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR. ON KANSAS: “Kansas is a tough track. It is getting slick down in three and four and off of turn two. It is starting to get pretty slick over there. Just trying to get good forward bite out of the corner without getting the car too tight in the middle, that’s the key. The only thing that is different about the (1.5-mile) tracks themselves is just the condition of the asphalt; the condition of the track surface. Some tracks, depending on the region they are in, get slicker than others.”

Denny Hamlin's best Kansas finish was fifth in 2009 (Getty)

DENNY HAMLIN ON KANSAS: “Kansas was the place really where I got my first mile-and-a-half victory in the Nationwide Series. It’s a very flat track. We’ve not always hit the perfect setup there in the Cup car before. It’s a track that I’m glad we were going to twice, especially knowing that it’s a Chase race. That’s a place where we need to improve. We’re going to use this time around to hopefully build a setup in which we can be competitive when we go back for the Chase.”

TONY STEWART ON RACING AT KANSAS: “It’s just been one of those places that from the first time we’ve run at Kansas on, it’s been a track that we’ve been very comfortable with. We always seem to know at the end of happy hour where the balance is that we need to be really good during the race. It’s just a big momentum track, and it’s really important just like it was at Charlotte this past weekend to get in the corner well and to be able to not necessarily have to get on the gas right away but just to be able to maintain that corner speed. It seems like if you can make your car pass through the center of the corner that you’re going to have a really fast race car the whole day.”

STEWART CHASSIS CHOICE - No. 14-583: This car debuted last March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where it qualified ninth and led twice for seven laps before finishing seventh. Prior to Las Vegas, it spent time in the wind tunnel. It returned to the track for a NASCAR-sanctioned test at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway March 23-24 before coming back to Charlotte for the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, where it started 11th and finished a solid fifth.

It revisited the wind tunnel in preparation for its third career start in July at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. The time in the tunnel paid off, as it qualified a strong third and finished ninth. It served as a backup at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., before returning for the 2010 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In that race, Stewart used Chassis No. 14-583 to rally from his 31st-place starting spot and overcome two instances where he was a lap down to finish eighth. During the offseason, the car was fitted with a new body and tested extensively in the wind tunnel.

The Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth marked Chassis No. 14-583’s fifth career start and first of 2011. It proved to be an interesting one, as Stewart rallied from his 26th-place starting spot, a pit road collision on lap 11 and a late-race pit road speeding infraction to still lead twice for a total of 12 laps before finishing 12th – its only finish outside the top-10. Chassis No.14-583 returns to action this weekend at Kansas for its second start of 2011 and first at Kansas.

RYAN NEWMAN ON KANSAS: “For me, I’m like anybody else; I guess I could say in that we don’t know exactly how it is going to be (to have two race dates at Kansas). For me, I think about the race track and if the race track is going to be super slick because it is a hot, sunny day and it is way hotter than it was in the fall. Those types of things; that is what I think about. To me, in the end, it is just another race, but I want to go there knowing what I need to do to my race car to make it fast, to make it capable of winning. Kansas is totally different (than Charlotte). It is a totally different type of race track. Much less vertical load there. Track position is even more important there. The seams with the asphalt are sensitive there. There are different things that for sure standout at Kansas City than at Charlotte. It used to be a place like Kansas was kind of similar to Las Vegas or Chicago. Between our tire situation that we have now in reference to how many different tires we run throughout the year, there is much less similarities between tracks because of the tire differences.”

JOEY LOGANO ON KANSAS: “Kansas is an interesting race track. It’s one of those places, kind of like California, where the seams in the track seem to affect the car a lot through the turns. I’ve been really good there in a Nationwide car the previous two times. The Cup car — we haven’t been up to where we would want to be yet. We’re trying to find a little bit more speed there. We’ll see what happens. It’s a good race track and I enjoy it. You move around and can go about anywhere you want so that’s cool.”

“We’re going to run a special decal this weekend for The Home Depot store that was hit hard in Joplin, Mo., by the tornado. I can’t begin to understand what the store associates and the people of that community must be going through. We are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.”

LOGANO CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 20 Home Depot Team is taking chassis #290 to Kansas Speedway this weekend. This will be the first race of the season for this chassis, however Logano piloted chassis #290 once last year in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The back-up chassis is #275 that Logano most recently drove in the Martinsville race following a practice crash that damaged his primary car. He went on to finish the race in the 13th position.

Mark Martin happy to be racing near home (Getty)

MARK MARTIN ON KANSAS: “Kansas is a great race track, a really great race track. I’ve raced a lot in Springfield, MO and even up at I-70 and stuff like that. You get a lot of homefolk kind of fans there and it’s fun and exciting. Being that it comes at a different time of year, it’s kind of a blur. Most of the competitors right now are sort of in a blur of just trying to meet their schedules and they’re looking at their calendar and seeing where they’re at now and where they’re going next.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA ON KANSAS: “We learned a lot about our cars after the Charlotte race last weekend so I’m hoping Kansas will be a good track for us. We’re bringing a chassis we’ve run before with some changes. Brian and the guys back at the shop have been working really hard to figure out where we need to improve and I think we’re heading in the right direction. It’s a process and not something that happens overnight but I feel like we could have a top-five car for Kansas.”

MONTOYA CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew Chief Brian Pattie and the No. 42 Target team are bringing chassis #1105 to Kansas Speedway this weekend. This chassis has been used twice in 2011 at Texas and Darlington with finishes of 13th and 23rd respectively.

JEFF GORDON ON KANSAS: “Weather conditions always play a role, but I think tires play a bigger role. I think the tire Goodyear brings is probably going to mean more than the time of year. This is a flatter race track, so grip is a premium. The tires wear quite a bit here, so tire management seems to be pretty important. And that falls back on the car, the team and your communication with them to get the car to work the way you want it to as the tires begin to wear. Qualifying well each week doesn’t mean you will run well during the race, but it sure does help. Last week at Charlotte for instance, our car wasn’t bad – it was just tough when you were racing back in heavy traffic. Once we got out front in clean air, it was a totally different story. For whatever reason, this track suits my driving style. Even in June, it’s still a mile-and-a-half and it’s still an important race track. And it’s still a track we want to win at.”

McMurray will be using a new car this week (Getty)

JAMIE MCMURRAY ON RACING CLOSE TO HOME: “Kansas is a place that I always look forward to going to because it is close to where I grew up. This trip however will be different than most, as I am going to make a stop in my hometown of Joplin, Mo. to visit after the devastating tornado that ripped through the town last week. I want to reach out to the people that were affected by this tragedy and hopefully bring awareness to the relief efforts that will be ongoing. We ran the Convoy of Hope name on our Bass Pro Shops car last weekend to honor the people of Joplin and we had a strong run going until we lost a motor. Our team had us in position to lead a few laps and we really felt like we made some improvement last week on our cars. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and put our McDonald’s Chevrolet in position to run up front again.”

McMURRAY CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion and the No. 1 McDonald’s team will bring chassis #1106 to Kansas Speedway this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.

REGAN SMITH ON KANSAS: “Coming into the season we felt the mile-and-a-half tracks would be our strong suit. However, we didn’t take advantage of those tracks early on in Las Vegas and Texas. But last week we brought home an eighth-place finish in Charlotte. With Kansas being another 1.5 miler, I feel optimistic that our Furniture Row Chevrolet can produce another solid finish as we try to work down to a top-20 standing in Sprint Cup points so we can become eligible for a Chase wild card selection. I haven’t had a lot of Cup experience at Kansas — this will be my third start. But I like the mile-and-a-half tracks so I am hoping the Kansas track will also like us as did Charlotte. The first third of the season was pretty good for Furniture Row Racing –.we got our first win and scored three top 10s. We also have been a strong qualifying team. So far, so good — but plenty of room for improvement.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI COMPARING KANSAS TO OTHER TRACKS: “Kansas is quite a bit different than some of the more traditional mile-and-a-half tracks, like Charlotte and Texas. It’s really similar to Auto Club Speedway in California. There are obvious differences in size as California is a two-mile track. The straightaway speed is not quite the same, but the corners are really similar. You can also run all over the track at Kansas, from the high lane to the low lane. It’s a great racetrack. I’m excited about going there twice a year because it is another one of those areas of the country where they support racing.”

KESELOWSKI CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-747 during Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway. Brad Keselowski drove this chassis to an 18th-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.

Kenseth will be using winning Dover car this week (Getty)

MATT KENSETH ON RACING AT KANSAS: “Kansas and Chicago are a lot alike when you look ahead to some of the 1.5-mile tracks we have coming up on the schedule. At Kansas lately the pavement has gotten really worn out, which is a good thing, so you need to have a good balance there on new tires and still be good at the end of the run. I think that’s the biggest challenge at Kansas is to get the car to drive good throughout the whole run. I can’t think of anything that really sets Kansas apart from the other 1.5-mile tracks other than the pavement and the way you kind of have to attack the track.”

KENSETH CREW CHIEF JIMMY FENNIG ON KANSAS: “This weekend at Kansas we’re bringing our winning car from Dover. I expect this weekend to be fairly similar to when we raced there last Fall except that it will be quite a bit warmer temperature-wise but we’ll see how the cars handle in practices. Last year we ran really well and stayed in the top five for most of the race, but the car got a little loose, so we’re planning to adjust off of the set-up we used last fall to start off with. Kansas is a place that’s tough to pass with this car because you find the car tends to be very aero-tight, so qualifying will be a main focus of ours on Friday. We’ll do a few runs in race trim and then switch over to work on qualifying set-ups.”

- From lots of team press releases

Edwards Searching For Some Home Cooking and First Kansas Win

Edwards using another  new chassis at Kansas

Carl Edwards
Team: No. 99 Aflac’s Now Hiring Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Bob Osborne
Chassis: RK-768 New chassis

Carl Edwards on racing at Kansas Speedway: “I’d like to race at Kansas every week. It’s a lot of fun for me because so many people from Columbia, Mo., go to that race so I’m glad they have two races now. One of my biggest wins in my career, hands down, was the truck win at Kansas in 2004. That was a spectacular win and it meant a lot to me. It would be amazing to win the Cup race there this weekend and the way this team has been running I think we have the best chance we’ve ever had.”

Crew chief Bob Osborne on racing at Kansas Speedway: “We are taking another new car to Kansas this weekend, and I think everyone on this team knows how important this race is to Carl. This is his home track and a win at Kansas would be huge for him. We didn’t get the finish we wanted at Charlotte in the 600 last week, but we still gained in the point standings which was good.”

Fast Facts

* Carl Edwards enters Kansas leading the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings by 36 points over Kevin Harvick. In 12 starts this season, Edwards has accumulated one win, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
* FOR THE RECORD…Edwards will make his eighth Cup start at Kansas Speedway this weekend. In his previous starts, Edwards has two top-five and five top-10 finishes. His average start is 22.4 and his average finish is 12.3. His best finish (second) came in 2008.
* IN THE LOOP… According to NASCAR’s Loop Statistics compiled over the last seven races at Kansas, Edwards has turned 80 of the track’s fastest laps which is fifth highest, spent 1033 laps (66.9%) in the top 15 (seventh highest) and led a total of 42 laps (10th highest). Edwards’ driver rating (94.8) is seventh best among active drivers.
* HOME TRACK… Edwards is a native of, and currently resides in Columbia, Mo. Only 130 miles away, he considers Kansas Speedway his home track in the Sprint Cup Series.
* ON THE TRACK…The Aflac team will be bringing chassis RK-768 to Kansas. This is a brand new chassis with the Aflac’s Now Hiring paint scheme.
* DOUBLE DUTY…Edwards will pull double duty this weekend between the Sprint Cup race in Kansas on Sunday and the Nationwide race in Chicago on Saturday night.
* REWIND, KANSAS, October 2010… Edwards came from the 31st starting position all the way up to lead two laps, and ultimately finish sixth at his hometown track.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

Johnson Hoping to Return to Past 1.5-Mile Track Dominace at Kansas This Week

JIMMIE JOHNSON 2011
STARTS: 12 WINS: 1 TOP 5: 4 TOP 10: 7
CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: 3rd POINTS BEHIND 1st: 37
2010 FINISH AT KANSAS: 2nd

Johnson is bringing a brand new chassis this week to Kansas (Getty)

RACE NOTES
Kansas Speedway
• Johnson has made nine Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, where he has one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 98.8% (2317 of 2346) of competition laps at the 1.5-mile track and has led 304.
• He has an average start and finish of 7.3 and 9.3.

Chassis
• Johnson will pilot brand new chassis No. 669 in Sunday’s 267-lap race.
• Johnson finished 16th in backup chassis No. 623 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.


JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES

AS A FORMER KANSAS WINNER, YOUR THOUGHTS ON TWO RACES IN KANSAS AND DO YOU HAVE TO THROW THE NOTES OUT THE WINDOW FROM THE FALL?
“So much has changed with us we’re going back with an empty notebook. New cars, new concepts. I’m excited. I think the track is a great race track to compete on. What has happened in that area and surrounding the track is just amazing. Excited to go back. We’re there for two dates and hopefully the grandstands are full for both dates and I know that we’ll put on a good show.

“My win, that’s a great win. The track in my opinion has aged really well and I guess there is some concern that it may have aged too much in a short period of time but the bumps, the asphalt fading and losing grip as it has really promotes multiple lanes of racing and that’s what we’re looking for as drivers so when I think of Kansas, I’m excited about my win and I want to win again, but I’m think of a racer’s race track.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins
• Johnson has 54 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Talladega Superspeedway on April 17, 2011.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently 10th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Lee Petty.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (82).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but four (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

Career Poles
• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
• He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.

Career Starts
• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
• In 339 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 138 top-five and 210 top-10 finishes.
• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
• Johnson has led a total of 11,469 laps (of 98,288) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 131,178 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 263 times.

Career Recognition
• Johnson was named by Forbes as the Most Influential Athlete in 2011.
• In 2009, Johnson became the first race car driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in its 78-year history.
• Voted Driver of the Year four times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), Johnson joins Jeff Gordon as four-time winners of the prestigious award.
• Johnson has won an ESPY for Best Driver three times, in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

- GMR Live Marketing for Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release

Kyle Busch May Be Happy With Just a Top-10 Finish at Kansas Considering His Past

Kyle Busch hasn't had the best of luck at Kansas (Getty)

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (June 1, 2011) – Kansas is about to get a whole lot better for Kyle Busch. At least that’s the line of thinking as the driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) makes his first spring visit to Kansas Speedway in Kansas City for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 400.

For the first decade of its existence, Kansas had been just a single stop each fall for the Sprint Cup Series competitors. Beginning in 2004 – coincidentally when Busch first joined NASCAR’s top series full-time – it took on the added importance of being one of the 10 events in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

While the fall event remains, the addition of a second Kansas date on the Sprint Cup schedule this season has been welcome news for Busch, especially one that is far removed from the highly intense pressures of the Chase. After all, it has been one of his most challenging venues over the past seven seasons, and the addition of a second date only helps accelerate the growing database of knowledge it will take for he and his M&M’s teammates to find the kind of success they’re accustomed to at the 1.5-mile oval just a stone’s throw west of the Missouri-Kansas state line.

With an average finish of just 23.4 in his previous seven visits to Kansas in a Sprint Cup car, Busch knows there is nowhere to go but up. And visiting the track located smack in the middle of the Heartland of America while in the midst of one of his best starts to a Sprint Cup season can only help turn things around.

As is the case at most racetracks on the Nationwide Series schedule, Busch has tasted success at Kansas in NASCAR’s second tier of competition, scoring a victory (2007), a runner-up finish (2009) and a pair of third-place runs (2006, 2010). The best he has to show for his seven visits on the Sprint Cup side, unfortunately, is a seventh-place finish in 2006.

All of that can’t help but change, however, as the talented 25-year-old from Las Vegas, whose 21 career Sprint Cup wins have him tied with the likes of Benny Parsons, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton in the NASCAR record books, looks to finally take charge of a racetrack that has given him fits over the years with the addition of a second date on the schedule.

KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:

Kansas Speedway has only played host to Sprint Cup racing since 2001, and you’ve only run seven races there, but now will be going there twice a year. What are your thoughts heading into Kansas this weekend? “I think we need to be better than I have run there before. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and all the guys in the shop have worked really hard to be as prepared as possible for Kansas. We weren’t very good at Chicago last year and the guys went to work to bring a better car to Kansas last fall since it’s a very similar layout to Chicago. The banking is just a little bit different but, other than that, it’s really similar. We really improved but, obviously, we had some issues there and ended up with a torn-up racecar and didn’t get to show what we had when it came down to the end. I’ve had some success with JGR and Hendrick in the Nationwide Series there, and I’m hoping, with a little more experience and knowledge, I can do that in the Cup car at Kansas, as well. This weekend would be a great time to get it figured out and, hopefully, have a good solid top-five day with our M&M’s Camry.”

No top-five finishes in seven Kansas starts for Busch

Were there any challenges to having only one Sprint Cup race each year at Kansas Speedway, and will it change things a bit for you as far as getting more knowledge and track time, there, with two races? “We go to Indy once a year, we go to Chicago once a year, a lot of different racetracks once a year. It’s a little bit different of a challenge because you’ve got to remember that far back. I think the more Dave (Rogers) and the guys go there, we will keep learning, and it will only help us with our notebook of information. Dave is really good at learning from past races. He’s constantly thinking about ways to improve things, especially at places where we’ve struggled. I’ve really never had much luck at Kansas in the Cup car, so I’m hoping we can turn that around this weekend. I’ve run well there, at times, but seem to be snake-bitten a bit with mechanical issues or getting caught up in an accident. We’re hoping we can turn that around this weekend and get some more time there so I can learn as a driver and the team can learn more about set-ups there.”


The Kansas race often has come down to fuel mileage – including two of the last three years. What have you learned about saving fuel? Is it a matter of saving it, or just being in a position where you can gamble at the end of the race? “It’s probably just a matter of either being in a position to gamble, more times than not. When you’re trying to conserve fuel, it’s pretty much all on luck. You try to roll out of the gas early and be smooth getting back to it. You’ll probably save a drop here or there, but nothing that’s going to make a big difference. I think four times in my career I’ve tried, but I didn’t make it on three of them. It depends on the scenario. If you’re short by three laps with 60 laps to go and you go green the rest of the way, if you start saving, you will go for it. But if you’re short five laps, if there is no other way but to stop, you might as well come in early and then go for it.”

Is it a struggle for you not to pass during the race if you are saving fuel and your car for the end of the race? “Yeah, you want to race those guys who are around you all of the time. You want to go, ‘Uh, there’s a car in front of me. I want to pass that guy.’ That’s what’s in your blood to do. Sometimes you’ve just got to back off a little bit and kind of let the race play out. You’ve got to get to the end of the final pit stop. Once you get to the final pit stop, then the race is on. That’s kind of the way it works out. This place can suck you in and it can suck you in pretty easily – into the wall, I mean.”

What was your plan when you sat down with Dave Rogers prior to the start of the 2011 season, and how would you evaluate it as we will be halfway to the cutoff for the Chase after Sunday’s race? “We thought there were some ideas we could get better at – some things I didn’t do very well in the past, and some things the crew didn’t do very well in the past. And, we’re just trying to modify ourselves to be where we’re championship contenders every race. You want to be race winners. But, you can be a race winner and then, the next week you can be a 30th-place guy, where a championship race team wouldn’t quite be like that. It’s all about consistency and just making sure everybody is on top of his game, answering questions that need answers and not leaving any unanswered questions, and making sure your job is to button everything up and pay attention to detail. We haven’t been perfect, but I think we’ve had a shot to win almost every race this season. But we’ve also been smart and taken what the car has given us and not hurt ourselves by taking really bad finishes by going too far on car set-up or, for me, making a big mistake. I think we’ve done well, thus far, but we need to keep learning, keep improving and be on top of our game during those final 10 races.”

BUSCH CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis No. 308 - This is a brand new chassis that is slated to see action for the first time in Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.

- True Speed Communication for Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release

RCR Drivers Seeking First Team Win in 31st Kansas Start

An RCR driver has never won at Kansas (Getty)

Richard Childress Racing
Race: STP 400
June 5, 2011
Location: Kansas Speedway

One Trophy Missing from the Shelf … Surprisingly enough, in 30 NSCS starts at Kansas Speedway, RCR has only three top-five and eight top-10 finishes. RCR’s best finish at Kansas was Clint Bowyer’s runner-up finish in 2007. All told, RCR has a 24.6 starting average and a 16.5 average finish at the metropolitan Kansas City race course. The only other tracks on the current schedule where RCR hasn’t earned Sprint Cup Series wins are Homestead-Miami Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The Collective RCR … Over the season’s first 12 races, RCR’s four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entries have notched three wins, nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. The No. 31 team kicked off the 2011 season with a non-points win in the second Duel 150 qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 29 team visited Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway in March and backed that up with a win the following weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Most recently, Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 team visited Winner Circle at Charlotte Motor Speedway, claiming the checkers in one of NASCAR’s marquee events – the Coca-Cola 600. RCR-prepared Chevrolets have also completed 15,580out of 16,324 total laps (95.4 percent) with drivers Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Harvick and Paul Menard, who have led a combined 443 laps. At least one RCR driver has led laps in each of the season’s first 12 events.

Get to the Points … Following the Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte, Harvick advanced three spots, to second, in the point standings where he sits 36 markers in arrears to the top spot while Bowyer remains in eighth, 27 points in arrears to cracking the top five. Menard moved to 20th in the standings, 47 points outside the top 10 while Burton gained one spot, to 22nd, sitting 24 markers in arrears to Menard’s tally.

RCR on Social Media … To keep up-to-date with the latest news and information and to view exclusive content, visit RCR’s Twitter page (@RCRracing), the RCR Sprint Cup Series team Twitter pages (@RCR27PMenard, @RCR29KHarvick, @RCR31JeffBurton and RCR33CBowyer) and RCR’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/RichardChildressRacing).

Clint Bowyer has lots of incentive to win at his home track (Getty)

Clint Bowyer
No. 33 American Ethanol Chevrolet
Race Notes and Quotes

This Week’s American Ethanol Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot chassis No. 360 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This is a brand new Chevrolet Impala that will be put through its first paces in this weekend’s 400-mile contest.

Career Kansas Stats … The STP 400 marks Bowyer’s 194th career NSCS start.
* In five NSCS starts at Kansas, Bowyer owns one top-five and two top-10 finishes, posting his best finish of second in 2007.
* He has completed 99.9 percent of the laps (1,277 of 1,278) contested at Kansas during his career.
* The Emporia, Kan., native has led 43 laps at the 1.5-mile facility.
* Bowyer owns an average starting position of 15th and an average finishing position of 11.8.

Home Sweet Home … Bowyer, a native of Emporia, Kan., grew up just over 100 miles southwest of Kansas Speedway. He graduated from Emporia High School and attended Flint Hills Technical College. He began his career racing motorcycles in his native Kansas when he was five years old and made the transition to four wheels in 1996, racing Street Stocks at Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta, Kan. Over the next seven seasons, he went on to win dirt modified championships at Thunderhill Speedway (2000), Lakeside Speedway (2001 & 2002) and Heartland Park Topeka (2001). Bowyer also won an asphalt late model championship at the famed I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo. and the 2002 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Midwest Championship.

Getting Loopy … Bowyer holds some impressive Loop Data Statistics through the first 12 points-paying races of the 2011 season. He is currently ranked third among all drivers in the category of average running position, with an 11.835 average. He has an average driver rating of 95 (a formula combining wins, finishes, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes), ranking him fourth among all drivers. In addition, he leads all drivers in quality passes (passing a car in the top 15 while running under green) with 975 quality passes so far this season.

Double Duty … For the second consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Bowyer will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc. as he returns to a hometown crowd to compete in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 on Saturday, June 4. Bowyer has yet to make a NCWTS start at his home track, but has had solid runs at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval in NASCAR’s other two premier series. Flag-to-flag coverage of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 will be televised live on SPEED beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 1:45 p.m. EDT.

Points Racing … With his 15th-place result last weekend in Charlotte, Bowyer maintained eighth-place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings. He now sits 80 markers out of first.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:

Bowyer using a brand new car this week at Kansas (Getty)

What are your thoughts about running two races at Kansas Speedway?
“I’m really excited about it. I’m just proud to be from Kansas. It is amazing to see what the track has brought to that area. It’s really cool. Every year that we go back, they always have something new. That’s what makes me proud about that area and what they’ve been able to accomplish there. Kansas is becoming one of those tracks that everyone likes going to just because of the area and how much there is to do there.”

I know you’re going to win there. Do you think it’s going to be like a Trevor Bayne-Daytona 500 moment?
“I don’t even know. That’s a pretty big moment to top, but it would be big. We’ve gotten close, including that deal with Biffle in 2007. We ran well the first couple races there, but we’ve struggled here as of late. It’s an important track for me and it would be a helluva party, I can promise you that (laughs).”


You saw that track (Kansas Speedway) being built. Tell that story. “Yeah, right there at the intersection of I-70 and I-435, it’s just amazing. That’s the route you took to get to the dirt track at Lakeside. To drive by there and see the growth was really cool. It was nothing but an old, bad part of town and now it’s one of the best and new places to go in the whole city.”

Did you ever dream of wanting to race there?
“Oh yeah. Once it was built, I drove by it every week and would set goals just to be able to drive there in anything. I never dreamed I would be able to drive an ARCA car there, let alone start a race in a Sprint Cup Series car.”

Do you carry a lot of speed going down into the corners like you do at other 1.5-mile race tracks?
“Yeah, it’s fast and fairly slick. It’s a difficult place to get around. It doesn’t really race like your typical 1.5-mile race tracks. I think that’s just because of the grip level. It’s hard to hook the bottom. It’s hard to get up top and find grip and get that momentum around the race track. It makes for a fun race. It really does.”


Does Chicagoland Speedway carry similar characteristics?
“Yeah, but it’s even a little bit more slick than that. Trying to hook the bottom in turns three and four is very difficult. We were getting to the point last year where I could roll through turns one and two up high, but hooking that bottom when you’re out front in clean air is so important. You have to be able to sail around that bottom.”

Harvick is using a strong car from the 2010 season this week at Kansas

Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet Impala
Race Notes and Quotes


This Week’s Budweiser Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway … Kevin Harvick will race chassis No. 318 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. The team utilized this race car three times in 2010, earning finishes of third (Kansas, October 3), eighth (Charlotte, October 16) and sixth (Texas, November 7).

Kansas Notes … In 10 starts at Kansas Speedway, Harvick has earned one top five and four top-10 finishes. He’s led 83 laps, has an average starting position of 24.3 and an average finishing position of 14.6. Harvick has also completed 95.8 percent (2,503 of 2,613) of the laps run at Kansas.

Last Time Around … Harvick and RCR’s No. 29 team scored their best-ever finish at Kansas Speedway in 2010. Harvick started the race from 24th position, led 16 laps and finished third.

In the Loop … Harvick owns several notable loop data statistics at Kansas as he enters this weekend’s race: fourth in green-flag passes (399), seventh in fastest laps run (59), eighth in average running position, eighth in driver fastest early in a run and ninth in driver rating (87.1).

Double Up … In addition to his Sprint Cup Series schedule in the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet this weekend, Harvick will fly to Joliet, Ill., on Saturday to compete in the Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. ESPN will air Saturday’s STP 300 live starting with the pre-race show at 7:30 p.m. EDT. MRN Radio will provide the live radio broadcast.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

Talk about Kansas as far as them having two races and what do you expect from Kansas? “You never really know until you get to a particular area. Sometimes you look at two races – the old saying don’t make two mediocres out of one good, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I think California is a good example of that. With the people that they have around them that support the crowds, they’re probably a one-race track. Kansas has always been sold out and had a great atmosphere and had a great attendance. If both races are still sold out then it’s a success. If it’s not then you need to go to Iowa.”


The first Kansas race is going to be in June. Do you have to throw out all the notes and start over? “No, you don’t have to throw out all the notes. You will have somewhere to start. It really depends on what tire they bring as to what direction to go with your car. So you adjust to that and the tires are constant evolution. Goodyear trying to make things better and trying to make more technology and do things so you have to keep up with that side of it. The cars evolve constantly from an aerodynamic standpoint. The weather will probably be warmer so things will definitely change a little bit but it won’t be an overhaul.”

Burton has shown signs of breaking through the last few races (Getty)

Jeff Burton
No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala
Race Notes and Quotes

This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 355 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for the 2011 season, this No. 31 racer was put through its first competitive paces at Darlington Raceway a few weeks ago. Burton was well on his way to posting his first top-10 effort this season but the engine on the Caterpillar Chevrolet expired with just under 20 laps remaining, resulting in a disappointing 33rd-place finish.

Kansas Details … In 10 starts at Kansas Speedway, Burton boasts one top-five, two top-10 and five top-15 finishes with his best finish of fifth coming in October 2006. He has a 27th-place starting average coupled with an 18.5 finishing average and has completed 97.8 percent of laps contested.

Last Time Around … In last season’s 400 miler, Burton started 23rd and, on the strength of a fast No. 31 Chevrolet, he advanced to fifth by lap 108. However, the turning point in the race came 80 laps later when a loose-handling condition transpired and set the tone for the remainder of the event, resulting in an 18th-place finish.

Former Winner … The South Boston, Va., native visited Kansas Speedway’s Victory Lane in 2002 when he took the checkers first in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race after starting second and leading 48 laps en route to victory.

Eye on the Prize … Despite sitting 22nd in the Sprint Cup Series point standings, Burton and the Todd Berrier-led team are not out of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup hunt. With 14 races remaining before the 12-member Chase class is set, Burton can still make a championship run by gaining 71 points and cracking the top 10 or visiting Victory Lane at least one time, depending on other driver victories and where they are stationed in the points rundown.

Welcome Home … Two members from the Cat Racing team hail from the Sunflower State. Aaron Schields, rear-tire carrier on the Caterpillar Chevrolet, calls Goodland home while Chris Tidwell, mechanic on the No. 31 entry, is from Emporia.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

What are your thoughts about running two races at Kansas Speedway?
“I think it’s a track that has deserved the right to have two races. It’s a track that is highly supported by the fans. A lot of people come out and are enthusiastic about being there. If we’re going to run somewhere twice, that’s where we need to be. We need to be in places where people want to go to a race twice. I think it’s a good thing we’re there twice.”

This is another track where your finishes haven’t shown how well you’ve run there.
“No, not really. We’ve struggled a little there. It hasn’t been our best race track. I can’t really think of a time that we had a car to win at Kansas. I struggle at Kansas. We need to look real hard and see what we need me, as a driver, and us, as a team, to be better there because it hasn’t been a good track for us.”

Talk about Kansas as a race track.
“Typically, tracks get better as they get older. I think Kansas is a good example of that. You see a lot of different options and drivers running different grooves. I think that’s a good thing.”

Talk about the amount of speed you carry into the corners at Kansas.
“Kansas isn’t a fast-feeling type of race track. Texas and Charlotte feel quite a bit faster than Kansas. Kansas is more of a rhythm-hailing race track, whereas the other ones are too, but they have more grip.”

Menrad is using fifth-place Texas chassis

Paul Menard
No. 27 Zecol/Menards Chevrolet Impala
Race Notes and Quotes


This Week’s Zecol/Menards Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway … Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 351 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet Impala was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on track at Texas Motor Speedway where Menard brought home a fifth-place result after starting from the 19th position.

By the Numbers at Kansas … In his four career NSCS starts at Kansas, Menard has finished each of his contested races and completed 99.7 percent of his laps (1,008 of 1,011), leading for 11 circuits. He has an average starting position of 12.8 and an average finishing position of 23rd. The last time around (October 2010), Menard made his best start of second and logged his best finish of eighth. He also has three top 10s in five NASCAR Nationwide Series starts, claiming the pole position in his first NNS visit to the 1.5-mile oval (October 2004) and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start in July 2003.

A Loopy Year in Review … After 12 races, Menard maintains an average running position of 16.7 and is ranked third in Quality Passes. He has also completed 93.2 percent of his laps (3,803 of 4,091).

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:

What are your thoughts about running two races at Kansas Speedway?
“I like Kansas (Speedway). It’s a beautiful track. It’s very ‘Midwestern’ with great race fans. I’m really glad they gave us another race date there.”

Does it feel a little bit like home when you go there?
“A lot like home. I’ll have some people shoot down I-35 from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin to come watch the race.”

You finished eighth last year and led 11 laps. What do you remember about that race?
“We were fast all day long. We led a little bit. Then I think we had a bad pit stop on the last stop which put us back a couple spots. It was one of those races that you wish you could have a ‘do-over.’ I think we could have come away with a top five pretty easily.”

Talk about how racy Kansas has become since the new asphalt.
“Well, the track is very wide now. Even in practice, you’ll see people running up by the fence. That’s always a good sign for the race.”

In terms of speed in turn one, is it different than any other 1.5-mile racetracks?
“No, but the turn one entry seems to be a little bit wider like you’re turning before you actually start slowing down compared to Texas (Motor Speedway) or Charlotte (Motor Speedway). Obviously, they’re shaped differently. But, there’s a really wide entry into turn one, you don’t feel the speed like you do at a track like Texas.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Releases