Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Kansas Price Chopper 400 Odds & Ends

compiled by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services


History
·      Groundbreaking was held on May 25, 1999.
·      The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first events being an ARCA race and a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race on the same day – June 2.
·      The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was Sept. 30, 2001.
Notebook
·         There have been nine NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas
      since the track opened in 2001.
·         All of the races have been scheduled for 267 laps.
·         13 drivers have competed in all eight races at Kansas.
·         Jeff Gordon won the first two NASCAR Sprint Cup races.
·         Jason Leffler won the first pole in September 2001.
·         Seven different drivers have won poles, led by Jimmie Johnson with three.
·         Seven different drivers have posted victories, led by Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart (each with two).
·         There have been seven different winners.
·         Six of the nine races have been won from a top-10 starting position.
·         Two drivers have won from the pole: Joe Nemechek in 2004 and Jimmie Johnson in 2008.
·         The furthest back in the field that race winner started was 21st, by Tony Stewart in 2006.
·         Points leader Denny Hamlin made his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup start at Kansas – a 32nd-place finish in 2005.
·         Two active drivers with more than one start have averaged a top-10 finish: Greg Biffle (9.0) and Jeff Gordon (8.9).
·         Jeff Gordon leads all drivers in top fives (six) and top 10s (seven). Gordon’s only two non-top 10s were a 39th in 2006 and a 13th in 2004.
·         Seven of the eight races that ended under green had a margin of victory under one second. The 2007 race ended under caution.
NASCAR in Kansas
·         There have been nine NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Kansas, all at Kansas Speedway. The only other Kansas track to hold a NASCAR national series race was Heartland Park in Topeka, which hosted five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races from 1995-99.
·         16 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Kansas, including Jim Roper who won the very first NASCAR Sprint Cup race – Charlotte in 1949.
·         There have been two race winners in the top three NASCAR series from Kansas:
Driver
 NSCS
NNS
NCWTS
Clint Bowyer
3
8
1
Jim Roper
1
0
0
Kansas Speedway Data
Race #: 29 of 36 (10-3-10)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
·     Banking/Corners: 15 degrees
·     Banking/Frontstretch: 10.4 degrees
·     Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
·     Frontstretch: 2,685 feet
·     Backstretch: 2,207 feet


Driver Rating at Kansas
 
Jimmie Johnson            122.6 
Greg Biffle                    119.6
Jeff Gordon                  104.7
Mark Martin                   100.1
Tony Stewart                 99.0
Carl Edwards                94.2
Matt Kenseth                 93.7
Brad Keselowski            93.4
Clint Bowyer                  93.4
Casey Mears                 88.4
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2009 races (5 total) at Kansas.
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: Mark Martin (175.758 mph, 30.724 seconds)
2009 race winner: Tony Stewart, 137.144 mph, 10-4-09)
Qualifying record: Matt Kenseth (180.856 mph, 29.858 seconds, 10-8-05)
Race record: Mark Martin (137.774 mph, 10-9-05)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 40-44 laps, based on fuel mileage.

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