Kenseth Captures Second Straight Win at Kansas

Matt Kenseth captures second win of the year (Getty)

Matt Kenseth called it a "dream come true" when he held off Kasey Kahne to win his first Sprint Cup race with Joe Gibbs Racing last month.

He enjoyed a sense of deja vu on Sunday, beating Kahne again to win again for Gibbs.

Kenseth dominated the early part of the STP 400, and then returned to the front when it counted at Kansas Speedway.

Kenseth, who started from the pole, held off Kahne late in the race on a day when JGR saw its three other drivers all wreck, including Kyle Busch.

Kenseth, who led 111 of the first 112 laps, became the third straight driver to win from the pole, following Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville and Busch at Texas.

"This is a dream come true to drive this car," Kenseth said. "This car has been incredibly fast all season. These guys are contenders. I'm glad to be wheeling this thing."

Kahne challenged Kenseth over the closing laps, pulling to his inside with two laps to go, but could not catch him on the final lap. Kenseth and Kahne also finished 1-2 last month at Las Vegas.

It was Kenseth’s second Cup victory since joining Gibbs this season. He had won 24 Cup races during his 13-year career with Roush Fenway Racing.

"I really thought he had me," Kenseth said. "My car started to get loose, and it got really loose with about five to go."

Kahne, however, was fighting the same condition on the fast but treacherous track and couldn't make a move around Kenseth.

"Matt was fast. I did everything I could," Kahne said.

Read More Here......Sporting News

Kansas STP 400 Results

Kansas Practice Notes: Plenty of Long Shots With Great Chances of Being STP 400 Winner

Martin Truex Jr looked geat in Saturday's practices

By Micah Roberts

If you had to take a double take when looking at Saturday’s practice times from Kansas Speedway, you wouldn’t be alone. It’s been quite a while since we have actually seen an Earnhardt-Ganassi car have the look of a winner based on practice times, but between Juan Pablo Montoya being fastest in the early session and Jamie McMurray having the best 10 consecutive lap average in both practices, they should both hold their own in Sunday’s STP 400.

In light of the penalties NASCAR assessed to the Penske drivers after last weeks race at Texas, the initial reaction to seeing Montoya and McMurray so mysteriously fast is that they may be attempting some creative engineering, which is totally cool. This is a tough series and more power to the teams that stretch the boundaries of the rules. With a part-time team, the threat of losing points isn't a big deal, so if the No. 12 team found something for Hornish, good for them.

McMurray hasn’t been as good at any of the previous seven tracks this season, but does find running himself consistent weekly sitting 12th in points. The speed from Montoya is probability the biggest surprise. He has yet to finish in the top-10 of any race this season, and is still sitting behind Denny Hamlin in points at 27th place.

It wasn’t just McMurray and Montoya that made a huge impression. Part-time Penske Cup driver Sam Hornish Jr. blazed a trail on Saturday with the second best 10-consecutive lap average behind McMurray. Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr all looked fast as well. It was like a bizzaro practice day where most of the top drivers from the down force tracks this season didn‘t shine as much.

Matt Kenseth won the fall race last season, while driving the No. 17 Stenhouse Jr. is using, and finished Saturday's happy hour with the fastest individual lap. Kenseth gets the top rating this week because of that lap and winning at Las Vegas, which is the most similar to Kansas’ 17-20 degrees of variable banking.

Kyle Busch has never fared well at Kansas, and didn’t practice particularly well, but he’s still been the best on these type of tracks this season. His Fontana and Texas wins give him a lot of creditability here.

Martin Truex Jr. ran well in practice and gives plenty of reasons that he might be in store for his first win since 2007 at Dover. He was unlucky last week with a second-place finish at Texas, and he finished second in both Kansas race last season.

There looks to be about 25 drivers that have a good chance of winning on Sunday which shows that some of the teams that were behind on the Gen-6 car at Las Vegas, Fontana and Texas, are catching up fast. 2003 Kansas winner Ryan Newman looks to be one of those drivers that could shock the series.

This has the look of being a race that a long shot could cash at high odds. The best advice is to have an open mind with futures this week and take a gamble on a few.

Kansas STP 400:Final Driver Ratings

Kansas Practice Notes: Edwards Leads Pack of Fords in First Session

Bowyer pays tribute to victims of the attack on the Boston Marathon during practice  

By Micah Roberts

Carl Edwards, running at a fast lap of 192.055 mph, led thee Fords at the top of the charts during Friday's practice session at Kansas Speedway in preparation for Sunday's STP 400. Five of the top six speeds were Fords, a great sign for them considering Toyota's have dominated the first three down force track races.

Edwards fast lap would have been good enough to break the track qualifying record (191.360 mph) -- along with three others -- set last fall by Kasey Kahne. Friday's qualifying is set for 4:40 p.m. ET and will be televised by Speed. Edwards, who hails from nearby Columbia, MO, doesn't have a win at Kansas, but has averaged a 10.8 finish over his 11 career starts.

Following Edwards was teammate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (191.857 mph), Sam Hornish, Jr. (191.557), Martin Truex, Jr. (191.476) and Aric Almirola (191.293). Truex Jr. finished runner-up in both Kansas races last season.

Rounding out the top-ten quickest in the practice session were two-time Kansas winner Greg Biffle (191.056 mph), last fall's winner Matt Kenseth (190.792), Juan Pablo Montoya (190.617), Marcos Ambrose (190.308) and Ryan Newman (190.215). Newman has finished 10th in two of the three down force tracks this season and won at the third Cup race ever held at Kansas in 2003.

Joey Logano (29th fastest single lap), Brad Keselowski (30th) and Mark Martin (12th) ran the most laps (31) during the session. No driver ran 10 consecutive laps.

Race favorite Jimmie Johnson (6/1) had the 16th fastest lap. Kyle Busch (7/1), who has won at two of the down force tracks already this season, was right behind Johnson with the 17th best single lap.

The next practice sessions, which will give a better indication of how the Fords really are in race trim, will be run Saturday morning. The two 50 minute sessions will begin at 10:00 a.m. ET.

STP 400 Practice 1 Speeds


Clint Bowyer talking today about his chances on home track:

“Love it. They’re good. They better be good. I wouldn’t be here if they weren’t decent. Just looking forward to getting things back on their way. On a serious note, I was off last weekend. We were off as a race team. (Martin) Truex was fast and Mark (Martin) and I struggled pretty bad all weekend long for three days. Kind of concerns you going into a track that’s been somewhat good to you, but more importantly it’s home and it’s important to you to run well. Had a great meeting on Monday, saw some things that were making sense as to reasons why we’re off and I think we’ve got a good game plan going into this race. Just so much fun to come back here. I’m very proud of this race track. I’m proud of this area. I say this every year — I saw what this area was before and what’s become of Wyandotte County (Kansas) because of this race track is just incredible. This is a destination now and it was back in the day a place you didn’t want to be — you got off on the wrong exit. It’s a neat facility. It’s a destination and an attraction here that has brought a lot of neat things — businesses, restaurants, shopping malls, other sporting complexes, a casino. I mean, it’s all within walking distance of the race track. It’s pretty cool.”

2013 Kansas STP 400 Driver Chassis Selections

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-793 for Sunday's event at Kansas. This is a new chassis that has not been raced. In 11 Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway, Kahne has earned three pole positions, two top-five finishes, five top-10s and has led a total of 78 laps there. Kahne has qualified in the top 10 in eight of his 11 races there. Most recently, he crossed the finish line fourth at Kansas in October 2012 and scored an eighth-place result in this race one year ago.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 Stanley team has prepared chassis No. 840 for Texas. The team ran this chassis in Vegas earlier this season.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-736 debuted in 2012 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener at Chicago, where Stewart qualified 29th and rallied to lead three laps before finishing sixth. Chassis No. 14-736 made its second career start in October at Charlotte, and it had to rally again. After starting 32nd, a lap-16 run-in with Brad Keselowski necessitated numerous pit stops that dropped Stewart all the way to 36th in the 43-car field. But Stewart used Chassis No. 14-736 to claw his way back to a respectable 13th-place finish. The car made its third career start last November at Texas where it rallied yet again, overcoming its 21st-place starting spot to finish fifth. With a 2013 Chevrolet SS body honed in the wind tunnel, Chassis No. 14-736 comes to Kansas Speedway for its fourth career start.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Primary chassis No. 758 finished 35th at California after a mechanical issue ended its day early. In 2012 backup chassis (No. 724) finished fourth at Bristol in March, fifth at Dover in June and finished seventh at Bristol in August. In 2013 it has tested at Charlotte in January and served as the backup at Las Vegas, California and Texas.

#16-Greg Biffle: and the Matt Puccia led #16 ACE [bandage] Ford Fusion team will bring Primary Chassis RK-817, which is the same car Biffle drove to a sixth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway. RK-817 made its debut in 2012 at Indy with a third-place finish. After that 817 went on to win Michigan, then a 13th-place finish at Chicago, followed by a fourth-place run at Charlotte. RK-817 was slated to run the season finale at Homestead, but an accident in practice took the winning chassis out of the race. The backup chassis RK-809 is the same car that won at Texas a year ago. Since then it's finished fourth in the Coca-Cola 600, fourth in Michigan, 16th at Dover and finished up 2012 with a 10th-place finish at Texas in November. Kansas is the track where Biffle holds his best average finish of 9.5 from an average starting position of 15.2. In his 13 career Cup Series starts at the 1.5-mile track, Biffle has two wins, seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: and the #17 Zest Racing team will be using Chassis RK-820 is the same chassis that the #17 team ran at Las Vegas finishing a respectable 18th. This chassis was also used in the Charlotte preseason test. The backup Chassis RK-811 was a chassis that the #99 ran numerous times in 2012. Stenhouse will make his first Sprint Cup career start at Kansas this weekend.

#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 403 at Kansas Speedway. This #27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet SS ran previously this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway finishing 10th. Menard has 14 starts at Kansas Speedway. His best start of second came in 2010 and best finish of third came in 2012. The Wisconsin native has completed 2,079 of 2,084 laps attempted (99.8 percent) at the 1.5-mile oval, leading 17 of them.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 378 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Auto Club 400. Harvick last ran this Jimmy John's RCR machine to an eighth-place finish during the 2012 season-finale event at Homestead. Harvick will make his 20th-career Sprint Cup Series start at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon in front of a hometown crowd. The California native went to Victory Lane in 2011 and has earned four top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Throughout the years, Harvick has completed 98.4% (4,463 of 4,534) of the laps contested, with 60 laps led.

#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 393 this weekend at Kansas Speedway. This #31 American Ethanol Chevy was utilized five times during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season at Auto Club Speedway, Darlington, Michigan, Atlanta and Kansas. Burton also piloted this machine to a 26th-place finish earlier this season at Las Vegas. Burton has 14 starts at Kansas Speedway with one top-five and two top-10 finishes. His best start of 10th and best finish of fifth both came in the 2006 event. Burton has completed 3,570 of 3,686 laps attempted (96.9 percent) at the 1.5-mile oval, leading seven of them.

#39-Ryan Newman will pilot Chassis No. 39-733 at Kansas, which made its debut at Indianapolis in July 2012, when Newman and his team overcame ill handling and used quick pit work to help engineer a run into the top-10. The crew turned the car around in just a couple of days and took the same chassis to Pocono, where it finished sixth. Two weeks later, the chassis was back on track at Michigan, where it finished eighth. The chassis earned its first top-five finish at Chicago. The chassis next raced three weeks later at Dover. Newman qualified eighth but got bitten by an untimely caution flag, which pinned him a lap down to the leaders. He finished 21st. The chassis last saw action at Kansas in October 2012, when Newman was involved in an incident that forced him to retire from the event prematurely. Since then, Chassis No. 39-733 has been outfitted with a new front clip and a Chevrolet SS body, and will see its first laps of the season this weekend at Kansas.

#43-Aric Almirola: The #43 STP team has prepared chassis No. 848 for Kansas. This will be the first time the team runs the new chassis.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive a new chassis, No. 782, at Kansas Speedway. Chassis No. 720 serves as the backup, a car that won twice in 2012.

#55-Mark Martin: will drive MWR chassis 765 at Kansas Speedway and the backup will be chassis 720.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.:crew chief Steve Letarte and the #88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-716. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a 10th-place finish in the 2012 season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 13 Cup starts at Kansas, Earnhardt has recorded one pole position, one top five-finish and six top-10s. He has completed 97.7 percent of all the laps he's attempted (3,342 laps of 3,419 total) at the 1.5-mile racetrack. The 38-year-old driver has led a total of 81 laps there.

#99-Carl Edwards the #99 Aflac team will be bringing chassis RK-808 to Kansas. This chassis last ran in Las Vegas where Edwards took the Aflac Ford to a fifth place finish. The backup chassis is RK-831. Edwards will make his 12th Cup start at Kansas Speedway this weekend. In his previous starts, Edwards has four top-five and eight top-10 finishes. His average start is 18.5 and his average finish is 10.8. His best finish (second) came in 2008. Aflac returns to the track for their second primary race of the season.

- compiled by Jayski.com

NASCAR Docks Keselowski and Logano 25 Points Each for Illegal Suspension Parts at Texas

StockCarToons from Mike Smith always topical, and funny  

NASCAR handed down major penalties Wednesday for defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski and Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano for illegal suspension parts found during prerace inspection Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR docked Keselowski and Logano 25 points each and suspended their crew chiefs, car chiefs, engineers and competition directors for six points races, plus the Sprint All-Star race.

Crew chiefs Paul Wolfe (Keselowski) and Todd Gordon (Logano) also were fined $100,000.

The loss of 25 points drops Keselowski from second in the standings to fourth, 34 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson and 31 points ahead of 11th-place Matt Kenseth.

Logano drops from ninth in the standings to 14th. Instead of being three points ahead of 11th, he is now 22 points behind 10th, the cutoff spot for an automatic bid to the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Read More Here.....Sporting News

Martin Truex Jr. Carries Momentum into Kansas This Week

Martin Truex Jr. was runner-up at Texas last week

CORNELIUS, N.C. — There are plenty of reasons No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. can’t wait for this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway.

The Michael Waltrip Racing driver recorded back-to-back second-place finishes at the Kansas track last year. Also, Truex is on a roll after leading 142 laps and nearly winning Saturday night’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr. on Kansas: “After two second-place finishes, it’s time to get one spot better. I think we can go back and win this thing especially after leading a lot of laps at Texas. I said it about Texas and I will say the same thing about Kansas, I think it will be interesting to see what happens this year with the new 2013 NAPA Toyota and a year of aging on the repave. The winters are pretty rough there just like good ol’ Clint Bowyer. We will have to see what it is like. I think it will be different for sure. But I love the track and I look forward to going there with the momentum we have from the last two races there as well as how well we performed last weekend. We learned a lot at Texas and I think it shed some light on some of the things we wanted to try this weekend. I am pretty pumped up and excited to go there.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

TRUEX AT KANSAS: In nine NSCS starts, he has earned two top-five and two top-10 finishes. His average start is 13th and average finish is 21st. He has led 205 laps in competition.

NASCAR RACE TO GREEN™: Truex and teammate Clint Bowyer will help NASCAR and Toyota plant at tree at 10 a.m. on Friday at LEGENDS Toyota Dealership across from the Speedway. Media availability will begin shortly thereafter.

TUNE IN: Truex will appear on Sunday’s edition of NASCAR Race Day on SPEED. It airs starting at 10:30 a.m.

NEW NAPA APP: Download the new NAPA Android app to use for VIN scanning, online chats, parts look-up, and a store finder. Visit: http://tinyurl.com/cdctqqp.

CATWALK FOR A CAUSE PRESENTED BY TOYOTA: On May 15 at Michael Waltrip Racing, cheer on the kids from Levine Children’s Hospital as they strut the runway to benefit the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation’s Special Needs Fund at Levine’s! Purchase tickets now: martintruexjrfoundation.org!

- Michael Waltrip Racing

Jeff Gordon says Qualifying Well and Starting Up Front is Key to Success at Kansas

Jeff Gordon has two wins at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (April 15, 2013) - For all the success Jeff Gordon has had at Kansas Speedway, he is still missing one thing from his resume – a pole at the 1.5-mile track. This weekend’s STP 400 may be the opportune time for him to start first. To finish first.

Following this event last year, the track was repaved with October’s race being the first on the new surface. Gordon started 19th and briefly led before finishing 10th.

“There was a preferred line, but we were able to make some passes and use some pit strategy to run inside the top-five,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet. “Track position was important and it may play a role again on Sunday. We’ll do everything we can to get it.

“And keep it.”

In 14 starts at the Kansas track, Gordon’s two victories (2001 and 2002) are tied for the most while his eight top-fives are tops. But the track remains one of four where Gordon has never won a pole – Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway being the others.

“Qualifying well on Friday is obviously the best way to start with good track position,” said Gordon. “It limits the amount of traffic you’re in early and it also helps with pit stall selection since that is based on qualifying results.”

Last Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway, Gordon’s strong run ended early with a left-front hub issue. He fell from 12th to 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings, but there are positives to be taken from the weekend.

“We ran well and led laps last weekend,” said Gordon. “And the pit crew had great stops all night.

“Sure, we’re frustrated with the result. But it’s easier to take compared to running 25th like we did at Las Vegas.”

The No. 24 team has made improvements since Las Vegas, but a challenge awaits them in Kansas.

“It’s going to be tough with the new pavement and the new (Generation-6) car,” said Gordon. “We are going to be challenged. The tires are extremely durable so that makes it very ‘edgy.’ I think we have made gains, so I’m confident we can make improvements when we get there.

“But we are really going to have to be on our game.”

- Performance PR Plus

Clint Bowyer Hoping For Some Home Cooking at Kansas This Week

Bowyer runner-up in 2006 at home track

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Thursday’s grand opening of the Clint Bowyer Autoplex in his hometown of Emporia, Kan. will be a special day for the No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver in many ways.

Bowyer walks into the Autoplex as the owner of the dealership where he worked as a paint-less dent repair specialist and detailer. He’ll be joined by three-time Sprint Cup champion Darrell Waltrip, Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Mark Martin, two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip plus several hundred race fans for the celebration that begins at 11:30 a.m.

Bowyer partnered with Davis-Moore Auto Group to purchase the dealership, formerly called Emporia Motors. The Wichita Kan. company will run the day-to-day operations, while Bowyer focuses on his racing duties at Michael Waltrip Racing. Those duties continue this weekend at Kansas Speedway about 100 miles from Emporia. .

Thursday’s Schedule of Events

11:30am-1pm & 4pm-6pm: Barbeque at the 5-Hour Energy trailer, Clint Bowyer’s show car, souvenirs.

11:30am: Autoplex ribbon cutting with the Emporia Chamber of Commerce

Noon-1pm: Autographs with Bowyer and Darrell Waltrip (limited to 100 arm bands)

4pm-6pm: Autographs with Bowyer, Michael Waltrip and Mark Martin

The Clint Bowyer Autoplex, 2815 U.S. Highway 50 in Emporia, is across from the Bowyer Community Building.

CLINT BOWYER AUTOPLEX: “I couldn’t be happier to host the grand opening of the Clint Bowyer Autoplex. To have NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip, my boss Michael Waltrip and future Hall of Famer Mark Martin come to Emporia, Kan. to help me open this thing up and celebrate is something really special. I’m proud to be a business owner in my hometown and to hopefully sell a lot of new Toyotas!”

KANSAS: “It means the world to me to race at Kansas Speedway. It’s always a big weekend for me to come home and race in front of family and friends. I’m proud to be from Kansas and any chance I get to come back and spend time there I take it. My parents still live in Emporia. I just bought the Clint Bowyer Autoplex in Emporia. We have the Bowyer Community Building. I love coming back and visiting friends, hunting and just spending time where I grew up. To win at Kansas – man, there’d be one heck of a party! We’d invite the whole grandstand down!”

NOTES OF INTEREST

Kansas: Sunday’s race marks Bowyer’s 10th NSCS start at Kansas. In nine previous starts, Bowyer has a top-five (2nd in 2007) and four top-10 finishes. He started third at Kansas last fall. Bowyer has an average starting position of 15th and finish of 14th. He has led 48 laps – 45 laps in his first start at Kansas in 2006 and five last fall. 

Chassis Chatter: Primary chassis No. 758 finished 35th at California after a mechanical issue ended its day early. In 2012 backup chassis (No. 724) finished fourth at Bristol in March, fifth at Dover in June and finished seventh at Bristol in August. In 2013 it has tested at Charlotte in January and served as the backup at Las Vegas, California and Texas.

- Michael Waltrip Racing

Matt Kenseth Says Kansas Racing Will be Similar to Las Vegas

Matt Kenseth/No. 20 Home Depot Husky Toyota Preview
STP 400 at Kansas Speedway
No. 20 Husky Toyota News and Notes:

JOE GIBBS RACING AT KANSAS: Joe Gibbs Racing has 38 Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway earning a pair of wins, six top-five, and nine top-ten finishes. The organization also has led for a total of 109 laps and has an average start of 15.2 and an average finish of 18.2 at the 1.5-mile intermediate track.

HEY BATTER BATTER: The race is on as drivers from NASCAR (including Matt Kenseth) and NHRA will take the field in a charity softball game at CMC-Northeast Stadium, home of the Kannapolis Intimidators on Wednesday, April 17th. An hour-long pre-game autograph session begins at 5:00 p.m. with the first pitch at 7:00 p.m.

NEW LOOK ONLINE: Matt Kenseth’s 2013 season has been one full of exciting change – new team, new manufacturer, new sponsors and new crew chief. Earlier this month, the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion also received a new website with the launch of the freshly designed MattKenseth.com by RACERSITES.

KENSETH BY THE NUMBERS: Following Kansas Speedway’s 2012 track surface repave, Kenseth is the firstSprint Cup Series driver who has earned a win at the 1.5-mile freshly repaved track with his October 2012 victory. In 14 Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas, Kenseth has completed 3,472 of 3,686 laps (94.2 percent) and has led for a total of 316 laps. Kenseth has earned one win, five top-five, and eight top-ten finishes at Kansas including one pole award.

HERE’S YOUR SIGNATURE: On Friday, April 19th, Kenseth will participate in the NASCAR autograph session at Kansas Speedway slated to begin at 5:30pm CT. Fans can win wristbands by visiting The SprintExperience on Friday where Miss Sprint Cup and her team will be giving them away as game prizes throughout the day.

RACE INFO: The STP 400 at Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile) begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 21st. Therace will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

TEAM QUOTES:

Matt Kenseth: “Heading into Kansas, I’ve felt confident every week because Jason (Ratcliff) and the guys have built me some really fast cars already this season and I think we’ve been competitive every week. I really like racing at Kansas and I thought we ran well all weekend there with the new pavement last October with our win. I think that the racing this weekend will be similar to Vegas because the groove at Kansas will widen out a bit after the surface has been able to age over the winter and hopefully that will move the groove around so that we have a little more room to pass.”

Jason Ratcliff: “Matt (Kenseth) is the only Sprint Cup driver to have won on the new track configuration at Kansas so I’m really looking forward to this weekend. Who else would you like to have in your car than the guy who visited Victory Lane already? The No. 20 team had what I thought was going to be a really good race at Kansas last year because we were really fast during the test on the new pavement. We just didn’t run as well during the race as I was hoping we would, so I feel like we have some work to do going into this weekend. Knowing that Matt won there in the fall, I hope that he can help us with where we may have missed the boat in last year’s race.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing

Kansas STP 400 Preview: Can Truex Jr. Get First Win Since 2007?

Martin Truex Jr's was second at both Kansas races in 2012 

You have to feel for Martin Truex Jr. because he just can’t seem to get a break. He’s got a great Michael Waltrip Racing car that produces top-flight Toyota horse power on the 1.5-mile tracks, but he’s had quite a few bad beats over the last two seasons that have stopped him from winning his first race since Dover in 2007.

Saturday night at Texas was another in a long line of bad beats for Truex Jr. With no more pit stops remaining and only 20 laps to go -- while running away from second-place Kyle Busch, Truex‘s old friend “Debris“ made an appearance on the track again and the caution flag flew. His 1.5 second lead was washed away and he was forced into the pits to get fresh tires like everyone else, but Busch‘s crew got the No. 18 car out first.

Busch, one of the best in the business on restarts, out-drag raced Truex Jr. for the lead and stayed there for the final 15 laps. Truex Jr. was so close, but so far away. Another sure win got away from the No. 56.

It was at Kansas, site of this week’s race, last year when some unexpected gremlins slowed Truex’s car -- while leading -- with 20 laps to go. Denny Hamlin made the pass, and then his car mysteriously came back to life. He almost chased down Hamlin for the win, but would have to settle for another runner-up position, 0.7 seconds behind from victory. He had led 173 of the 267 laps on the day.

Read More Here......Top-5 Finish Prediction

LVH Super Book Posts Jimmie Johnson as 6-to-1 Favorite to Win 2013 Kansas STP 400

Kansas Speedway runs most similar to Las Vegas 

LAS VEGAS - Jimmie Johnson may not have a top-five finish on any of the three down force track runs this season, but the LVH SuperBook still has him as the 6-to-1 favorite to win Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.

What Johnson does have going for him this week is history, as his has been the best on the 1.5-mile track since it opened in 2001. He has a track-best eighth-place average finish, and his two wins (2008, 2011) are tied with three other drivers for the most.

The next driver listed on the odds board is Kyle Busch at 7-to-1. Although Busch doesn’t have Johnson’s history at Kansas, he has been the best on the tracks most similar to this one this season. He’s never had a top five at Kansas in his 11 starts, but he finished in the top five at Las Vegas, Fontana and Texas, including winning at two of them.

Because of the new Gen-6 car, we don't put as much emphasis on history and focus more of what has happened in 2013. That suggests Busch should probably be the favorite. The Toyotas, especially from the Joe Gibbs stable, have dominated on these type of tracks this season, and no Ford or Chevy drivers have shown they are near the same plateau Toyota has consistently displayed.

Read More Here......LVH Odds to win STP 400

Kansas Track Facts: 2013 STP 400

Home cooking? Clint Bowyer hails from Emporia, Kansas

At Kansas Speedway:

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 on Sept. 30, 2001 – won by Jeff Gordon.

·         During the 2012 season, between the April and October events the 1.5-mile track underwent a repave adding variable banking in the corners.

Notebook

·         There have been 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, one NSCS event from 2001 - 2010 and two races per year since 2011.

·         108 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas; 79 in more than one.

·         Nine drivers have made all 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway – Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.

·         Jason Leffler won the inaugural Coors Light Pole Award at Kansas Speedway in 2001 with a speed of 176.499 mph.

·         10 drivers have Coors Light poles at Kansas, led by Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne with three each.

·         Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to win consecutive Coors Light poles at Kansas Speedway (2007 and 2008).

·         Youngest Kansas pole winner: Jason Leffler (09/30/2001 – 26 years, 0 months, 14 days).

·         Oldest Kansas pole winner: Mark Martin (10/04/2009 – 50 years, 8 months, 25 days).

·         10 different drivers have won at Kansas Speedway, led by Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson with two each.

·         Roush Fenway Racing and Hendrick Motorsports are tied for the most wins at Kansas in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with four each; followed by Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing with two each.

·         Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Kansas with seven victories; followed by Ford with four wins.

·         Two of the 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway have been won from the pole; Joe Nemechek(2004) and Jimmie Johnson (2008).  

·         Three starting positions have produced multiple wins at Kansas Speedway: the pole, fifth and 19th each have two wins.  

·         Three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway have been won from the front row: two from the pole and one from second-place.

·         Eight of the 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         Two of the 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Kansas Speedway was 25th, by Brad Keselowski in the spring of 2011.

·         Youngest Kansas winner: Ryan Newman (10/05/2003 – 25 years, 9 months, 27 days).

·         Oldest Kansas winner: Mark Martin (10/09/2005 – 46 years, 9 months, 0 days).

·         Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman are tied for thelead in runner-up finishes at Kansas Speedway with two each.   

·         Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at Kansas Speedway with eight; followed by Greg Biffle with seven.

·         Jimmie Johnson leads the series in top-10 finishes at Kansas Speedway with 11; followed by Jeff Gordon (10).

·         Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Kansas Speedway with a 10.615.

·         Two active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup average finish better than 10.0 at Kansas: Jimmie Johnson (8.0) and Brad Keselowski (9.8).

·         There has been one NSCS race resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Kansas Speedway: fall of 2011 (267 scheduled laps/272 actual laps).

·         Only one of the 14 races at Kansas Speedway has been shortened due to weather conditions: fall of 2007 (267 scheduled laps/210 actual laps).

·         Qualifying has never been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kansas Speedway.

·         Jason Leffler (09/30/2001) is the only driver to post his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Kansas Speedway.

·         2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Austin Dillon (10/09/2011) and Denny Hamlin(10/09/2005) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Kansas Speedway.

·         Jeff Gordon is the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to have posted consecutive wins at Kansas Speedway (2001 and 2002 – the first two NSCS events at Kansas).  

·         Nine of the 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Kansas Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jeff Gordon won at Kansas in his first appearance.   

·         Matt Kenseth competed at Kansas Speedway 13 times before winning last fall; the longest span of any of the 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Kansas.

·         Matt Kenseth is the only driver to have made 10 or more attempts before his first win at Kansas Speedway.

·         Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte lead the series with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 14.

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kansas Speedway was the (10/10/2004) race won by Joe Nemechek with a MOV of 0.081 second.

·         Danica Patrick is the only female driver to have competed at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series(10/21/2012) – starting 40th and finishing 32nd.

·         Jimmie Johnson leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Kansas Speedway with 547 laps led in 13 starts.

 

Kansas Speedway Data

Season Race #: 8 of 36 (04-21-13)

Track Size: 1.5-miles

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 17-20 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 17-20 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 10 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees

Frontstretch Length: 2,685 feet

Backstretch Length: 2,207 feet

Race Length: 267 laps / 400 miles

 

Top 12 Driver Rating at Kansas

Jimmie Johnson........................ 119.5

Greg Biffle................................ 113.0

Matt Kenseth........................... 106.4

Jeff Gordon.............................. 101.5

Tony Stewart........................... 100.8

Carl Edwards............................ 95.1

Mark Martin.............................. 91.3

Kevin Harvick............................ 90.6

Martin Truex Jr.......................... 90.5

Brad Keselowski....................... 90.1

Kasey Kahne............................ 89.8

Denny Hamlin........................... 89.8

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (10 total) among active drivers at Kansas Speedway

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2012 pole winner: AJ Allmendinger, Dodge, 175.993 mph, 30.683 secs. 04-20-12

 

2012 race winner: Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 144.122 mph, (02:46:44), 04-22-12

 

Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 191.360 mph, 28.219 secs. 10-21-12

 

Track race record: Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 144.122 mph, (02:46:44), 04-22-12

NASCAR in Kansas

·         There have been 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Kansas.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Kansas Speedway	Kansas City	14

·         16 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Kansas.

·         Two drivers from Kansas have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; both have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Clint Bowyer	8	8	3
Jim Roper	1	0	0