Brad Keselowski wins for the second time at Kentucky

Keselowski has two wins on the season and two wins at Kentucky

Brad Keselowski has said he didn't spend the offseason brooding over an anticlimactic 2013 in which he failed to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup following a championship season in 2012.

But it's obvious it still sits in his craw that he wasn't a factor the year after he won the title.

So to get his second win of 2014 and, barring a complete disaster, know he'll be in the Chase gives Keselowski satisfaction.

MORE: Kez dominates | Then loses to champagne bottle | Junior comes on strong | Kyle Busch improves | Race results | Standings | Video

And the fact that both those wins came on 1.5-mile tracks — in March at Las Vegas and then Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway — gives him hope.

Five of the 10 Chase races will be conducted on 1.5-mile tracks.

"The things it takes to go fast here aren't too far off from those other tracks," Keselowski said after the victory at Kentucky. "I think when you hit this mark in the season, some cars might show a little bit more development but not a lot.

"I think you pretty much get to where everyone has almost what they're going to have to finish off the year around this time. And when you can run well at this point in time in the year, it bodes well for the final half of the season."

Read More here.....Sporting News

Kentucky Practice Notes: Keselowski looks like driver to beat in Quaker State 400

Keselowski was fast in every facet Friday

Brad Keselowski was the only driver to top 183 mph in Friday’s final practice session at Kentucky Speedway in preparation for Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 showing that his Penske Racing racing powered Ford might have something for all the fast Hendrick engines that were feared the most coming into the week.

Three drivers from Hendrick Motorspsorts have won five of the past six races, including the past two races on 1.5-mile tracks. Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick, who uses a Hendrick engine, finished second behind them at both Kansas and Charlotte.

Of the four races run on 1.5-mile tracks so far this season, Kansas would probably be considered the most similar layout to Kentucky, but it’s unique to itself as SHR driver Kurt Busch explains.

"The track has a unique set of bumps that makes it different from a lot of the typical 1.5-mile tracks that we see," Busch said earlier this week. "It’s kind of a one-off race with its own setup issues. You can overthink Kentucky a little bit because there’s nothing similar to it.”

While there has been little doubt about horsepower edge the Hendrick engines have over all the teams, a unique track like Kentucky can be somewhat of an equalizer because of the set-up and balance of the car, something that helped Keselowski maintain an edge at Las Vegas when he won in March, followed by teammate Joey Logano at Texas in April -- the first two 1.5-mile tracks run on this season.

Can the Penske cars compare with Hendrick horsepower? Probably not, but they appear to have a few tricks up their sleeve in the set-up for the 14 degrees of banking that may allow them to roll in and out of the turns the quickest.

Keselowski was not only fastest while in qualifying trim, he was also outstanding in race trim during the first two practice sessions. In the morning session, he had the second fastest lap behind Kyle Larson (another Hendrick engine), but also had the fastest 10-consecutive lap average. The “Blue Deuce’ looks like the car to beat Saturday night, which would be his second win (2012) in four races at Kentucky.

For whatever reason, a Kentucky win has eluded Chevy in the three previous races and it’s also the lone track on the schedule that Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon has never won on. Gordon was solid in practices, finishing fourth quickest in the final session, but what really makes him stand out this week is how well he’s done on 1.5-mile tracks this season. He’s finished ninth or better on all four, which includes a win at Kansas. He’s using that same chassis this week.

Jimmie Johnson was sluggish in both practices, and Kentucky is one of four tracks he’s never won on, but you can never discount the six-time Champ. He still owns a sixth-place average which is third best at Kentucky behind Kyle Busch (5.3) and Matt Kenseth (4.7).

The driver that really stands out is rookie Kyle Larson who had the fastest lap in the first practice session and was third during ‘happy hour‘. He’s had three top-5 finishes this season and is knocking on the door loudly for his first career win. If it weren’t because of his inexperience, Larson would be rated much higher, possibly right behind Keselowski and Harvick as the drivers to beat. He’s the best of the long shot odds, along with teammate Jamie McMurray who won the All-Star and finished fifth in the Coca-Cola 600 on the last 1.5-mile race at Charlotte.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver have won two of the three Kentucky races, and while they haven't been as good as last season on 1.5-mile tracks (they won seven of 11 in 2013), all three of them were among the top-10 fastest during 'happy hour'. Kenseth, last years winner, had the second fastest lap in the final 80-minute session giving an indication that the JGR cars may have found something and are on the upswing. Kenseth had his only top-5 finish on 1.5-mile tracks in the last one at Charlotte.

Look for the Penske duo of Keselowski and Logano to give the Hendrick engines all they can handle Sunday night. In the first 90-minute practice session, 13 of the top-18 speeds all came from Chevy, including SHR driver Danica Patrick who was eighth fastest. If Kansas correlates just a little with Kentucky, that’s good news for Patrick because she had her best career finish (seventh-place) there in May and is using the same chassis this week.

Read More Here....Final Driver Ratings

  

Kyle Larson fastest in first Kentucky Speedway practice

Kyle Larson poised for first win? 

Kyle Larson laid down the fastest lap at Kentucky Speedway during Friday’s first practice session in preparation for Saturday night’s Quaker State 400. Larson’s speed at 183.540 mph was captured in the final stages of the 90-minute session and he was the only driver to top 183 mph in what could be a sign that the rookie is ready to capture the first win of his career.

Larson’s time beat out 2012 Kentucky winner Brad Keselowski’s lap of 182.143 mph, which he gained on the 13th of his session-high 50 laps run. Among the seven drivers that ran 10-consecutive laps, Keselowski had the fastest 10-lap average.

Brian Vickers had nearly the same speed as Keselowski and was third fastest with Larson’s teammate Jamie McMurray gaining the fourth fastest lap in the later stages.

The next four fastest speeds all came from the Stewart-Haas stables with Tony Stewart (181.287), Kurt Busch (181.190), Kevin Harvick (180.759) and Danica Patrick (180.415) all lining up fifth through eighth.

Joey Logano was ninth fastest and Kasey Kahne came in 10th as the last driver to top 180 mph.

Chevrolet has never won at Kentucky but they came in with seven of the 10 fastest laps, and surprisingly the only Hendrick driver of the bunch was Kahne, who is the only Hendrick driver without a win this season. Dale Earnhardt Jr had the 14th fastest lap, Jeff Gordon 15th and Jimmie Johnson 17th.

The final practice will be an 80-minute session at 1:00 pm (ET) with qualifying scheduled for 5:40 pm (ET).

Practice 1 Speeds

Final Practice Speeds

Driver Kentucky Chassis Selections: 2014 Quaker State 400

Jeff Gordon is using winning Kansas chassis this week at Kentucky

#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis: PRS-904. Last Raced: Darlington (finished 17th). Backup Chassis: PRS-840. Last Raced: Pocono backup (not raced)

#3-Austin Dillon: will pilot Chassis No. 465 in the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. This is the same Chevrolet SS that Dillon raced to a 16th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and a 21st-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-820 for Saturday night's race at Kentucky. Kahne raced this car twice last year, finishing 15th at Kansas Speedway in October and then 13th at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. He also drove this chassis at the Fontana oval in March and at Charlotte Motor Speedway's All-Star Race in May.

#10-Danica Patrick: Chassis No. 10-837: Chassis No. 10-837 debuted in May at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, where Patrick had one of the best outings of her career as she started ninth and finished a career-best seventh. Kentucky 400 Backup Racecar - Chassis No. 10-794: Chassis No. 10-794 was tested in the wind tunnel May 1, 2013, before being used by Patrick in the Coca-Cola 600 later that month at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Patrick started 24th and finished 29th after being involved in a multicar accident on lap 320 of 400. After repairs, she managed to finish the race but completed only 385 laps. The next time Patrick drove this car was in June at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, where she started 29th and finished 23rd. The last time she drove it was in September at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where she started 21st and finished 21st. It was used as a backup car in fall 2013 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Charlotte and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It was then used in 2014 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, but she wrecked the car early in the first practice and went to a backup. Since then, it has been a backup at Texas, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-735:This car debuted in the 2012 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Stewart qualified 28th and rallied to score a top-10 finish. Chassis No. 14-735 made its second career start in October 2012 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. It was impressive as Stewart used it to overcome a 33rdplace starting spot, a botched pit stop, an incident with Jeff Burton and a lap-166 spin to finish fifth. The car made its third career start in the 2012 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. There, it rallied to a top-20 finish after starting 35th and dealing with handling issues throughout the 267- lap race. Stewart's milestone 500th career Sprint Cup start also came at Homestead in Chassis No. 14-735. With 2013 Chevrolet SS bodywork covering it, Chassis No. 14-735 returned to action in May for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. It rallied again, coming from 25th in the field to lead six laps before finishing seventh. The car's fifth career start and second of 2013 was slated to come in June at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, but a crash in the opening minutes of the weekend's first practice session sidelined the car. Rebuilt, Chassis No. 14-735 returned to Michigan in August with interim driver Austin Dillon, qualifying 27th and finishing 14th. The car sat idle until this past May when Stewart drove it at Kansas. He qualified eighth and finished 20th after giving up valuable track position for a late-race fuel stop. The Kentucky 400 will mark the car's second start of 2014 and seventh overall.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Chassis No. 800 serves as the primary chassis for Bowyer at Kentucky Speedway. He raced it to a fourth-place finish at Dover earlier this month. Chassis No. 804 serves as the back-up chassis and finished 12th at Darlington and 15th at Bristol. 

#16-Greg Biffle: Primary Chassis: RK-890 Last ran All-Star - finished 19th. Backup Chassis: RK-879 Last ran Las Vegas - finished 22nd.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Chassis RK-893 is the same chassis that Stenhouse raced into the top-five in the first 20 lap segment of the Sprint Showdown. Stenhouse was forced to settle with a seventh-place finish after battling a tight Building for America's Bravest Ford in the final 20-lap shootout. Backup Chassis: RK- 888 - last raced at Bristol - finished second.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-903. Last Raced: Darlington (finished 35th). Backup Chassis: PRS-844. Last Raced: Pocono backup (not raced).

#24-Jeff Gordon: #24 crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-869 for this Saturday night's race. Gordon has raced this chassis twice to a first-place finish at Kansas in May and eighth-place result at Pocono in June.

#27-Paul Menard: will race chassis No. 454. This Chevrolet SS produced one top-five and three top-10 finishes in 2014; Las Vegas Motor Speedway (third-place finish) Texas Motor Speedway (ninth-place finish) and Charlotte Motor Speedway (eighth-place finish).

#31-Ryan Newman: will drive chassis No. 441 on Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway. Chassis No. 441 has competed in three Sprint Cup Series events so far in 2014 producing two top-10 finishes (Phoenix International Raceway - seventh and Darlington Raceway - 10th). Newman also utilized the chassis in Dover where he ran in the top 10 before a mechanical issue ended the solid effort.

#41-Kurt Busch: Chassis No. 727: Busch will pilot Chassis No. 727 in Saturday night's Kentucky 400 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. In six previous starts, four as the No. 39 for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), and most recently at the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway as the No. 41, it has two top-10s with a best finish of eighth in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte. Chassis No. 727 finished 13th as the SHR No. 39 at the 2013 Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte, 21st at Bristol in August, eighth at Charlotte in October and ninth at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth in November. Since transitioning to the No. 41 team, Chassis 727 finished 13th at Bristol in March and 18th in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte. Saturday night marks its third start for the No. 41 team.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: Chad Knaus has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 48-799, which Johnson drove at Kansas Speedway and the Fontana oval earlier this season. The backup car is Chassis No. 48-728, which was most recently raced at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.

#55-Brian Vickers: Primary: 797 finished sixth at Charlotte and seventh at California. Backup: 801 finished 13th at Las Vegas.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-877 for this weekend's Cup event at Kentucky. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a fifth-place finish at Kansas Speedway in May.

#99-Carl Edwards: o Primary chassis RK-880 was last run in 2014 at Charlotte and started in the 22nd-postiion, finishing fourth. Backup chassis RK-904 was last run this season at Darlington and rolled off in the 22nd-spot, finishing 13th.

- compiled by Jayski.com

Jimmie Johnson favored to get his first win at Kentucky

Will Hendrick power be the main storyline at Kentucky this week?

LAS VEGAS -- After a week where we saw NASCAR Sprint Cup series cars turn left and right at Sonoma Raceway, an unusual race where neither Jimmie Johnson nor Hendrick Motorsports won, we get back to our normally scheduled routine: a Saturday night special at Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400. And that means without looking at anything, if we're racing on a 1.5 mile track, Johnson has to be favored.

The LVH SuperBook did just that and posted Johnson atop the board at 4-to-1 to win despite the track being one of four on the series he has never conquered. We saw him check Michigan off the list two weeks ago -- his most elusive track, so he's probably in a mood of 'let's finish this track off' in what will be only his fourth attempt at Kentucky.

A Chevy has never won on Kentucky's 14 degrees of banking that has its own unique bumps and traits. Joe Gibbs has seen to that twice as Kyle Busch won the inaugural race in 2011 and Matt Kenseth won last June. Gibbs' Toyotas won seven of the 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks last season and Kenseth led the way with four.

The closest Kentucky average finish to Kenseth (4.7) and Busch (5.3) in the three previous races has been Johnson (6.0). Johnson's best finish was third in 2011. But we can throw all those numbers out the window. This is 2014 and there have been rapid changes to who provides elite power on these tracks, and it's definitely not Gibbs.

Here's how the 1.5-mile season has gone so far: Penske Racing's Brad Keselowski won at Las Vegas in March followed by teammate Joey Logano at Texas in April. In both events, a Hendrick car finished second, and surprisingly it wasn't Johnson. Jeff Gordon followed up his second-place at Texas with a win at Kansas in early May, which started a five-race win streak for the team, and then Jimmie Johnson got his first win of the year at Charlotte.

It's like the Hendrick program has just morphed into this unstoppable beast, just like Gibbs started off 2013. Their five-race win streak was halted last week (Gordon finished second), but now it's back to business where this team should have a huge edge.

Even though Kevin Harvick drives for Stewart-Haas, he's still kind of part of the Hendrick family as he's using a Hendrick engine. Harvick has finished second on the past two 1.5-mile tracks and is the 9-to-2 second choice to win. He's using a chassis this week that finished second in the non-points All-Star race, so technically he's been runner-up in three straight 1.5-mile track races. He was also second two weeks ago on Michigan's 2-mile layout, another track requiring lots of horsepower. Obviously, Harvick has been knocking on the door loudly since he last won at Darlington in April.

After Johnson and Harvick, the LVH has a four-way log jam for the third-choice to win with all the usual 1.5-mile suspects this season at 8-to-1: Keselowski, Logano, Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Keselowski, who won at Kentucky in 2012, hasn't seen victory lane since early March at Las Vegas where Earnhardt Jr. only finished second because he ran out of fuel while leading on the last lap.

After them, three drivers are listed at 12-to-1, including Kenseth and Busch, who rolled in as the favorites in this race last season. Kasey Kahne is in that group, too, but it's only about respect for his past skills and knowing his Hendrick engine could find victory lane for the first time this season very soon.

It'll be shocking if anyone beats any if those favorites, but if looking to score with a 20-to-1 long shot or higher, you should first look at Kyle Larson at 25-to-1. When he eventually wins this season it will be on a track like Kentucky. Then there's Tony Stewart at 20-to-1 and his teammate Kurt Busch at 25-to-1. The common thread all of those drivers have is the Hendrick engine.

Who knows, we could even see Danica Patrick roll strong like she did with a career best seventh-place at Kansas. She's got the same engine as those guys, and while a win is unlikely, the LVH will give you 300-to-1 for taking a chance that she can win.

Read More Here.......LVH odds to win

Danica Patrick bringing Kansas Chassis to Kentucky

Danica Patrick had best run of her Cup career at Kansas

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (June 25, 2014) – On Thursday, May 8 (of this year) at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) unloaded Chassis No. 10-837, a new car that had not been used previously.

On Friday, May 9, Danica Patrick, driver of the GoDaddy Chevrolet, placed 26th in the first practice and 23rd in the final practice for Saturday night’s 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway oval.

But the right adjustments from crew chief Tony Gibson and some helpful hints from teammate Kevin Harvick helped her earn the ninth spot on the starting grid in impressive fashion during Friday evening’s qualifying session.

On Saturday, May 10, Patrick raised a few eyebrows by running in the top-10 for the majority of the event, running as high as third late in the race and finishing a career-best seventh.

This Saturday night, Chassis No. 10-837 returns once again to take part in another race on a 1.5-mile oval, this time at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. And Patrick is hoping it can produce the same results it did at Kansas, if not better.

She’s had success at Kentucky before, notably a pole in the 2005 IndyCar race and four top-10 finishes in seven IndyCar starts. Her NASCAR Nationwide Series credentials aren’t been bad, either, with finishes of 12th and 14th in two starts in 2012.

Patrick is on a better pace this year than last as, through 16 races in 2013, her average Sprint Cup starting position was 32.0 while this year she averages 21.8.

It’s the same with finishes as this year she’s placed 18th or better five times while last year she ended up 18th or better five times in all 36 races.

Patrick is hoping all of that can continue in Saturday night’s Kentucky 400 and that she can continue to excel.

DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Overall thoughts on Kentucky?
“It’s one of those tracks where I have experience but, obviously, not in a lot of it in a stock car. I’ve been there a lot, but I’ve only run three stock car races there. I ran a lot of IndyCar races at Kentucky but, obviously, those aren’t really going to benefit me this weekend. The track definitely has character to it with the bumps, and we practice during the day on Friday and then race at night on Saturday, so the track conditions can change during the race. When you add all that up, it’s a challenging place.”

How challenging are the bumps we hear about?
“They are challenging for the teams. It’s a hard place to set up for and the bumps do add to that. Tony Gibson and the crew do a good job of setting up the car and I think they’ll be able to do that this week. It’s a tough place and the pavement is old but it creates some good racing. Hopefully, we can have a good night.”

You are bringing back the chassis from Kansas. Talk about that.
“It was pretty good at Kansas so, hopefully, it will be good at Kentucky. It is hard to predict as the tracks look the same but are actually quite a bit different. Kansas has been repaved and had good grip and Kentucky is old and worn out. Hopefully, we can find a good balance on the car and get it right. But I’m happy to have it.”

It’s a bit of a short week coming from Sonoma to Kentucky.
“It is, but it’s harder for the crew guys. There is a lot that goes into getting back and then getting to Kentucky on Thursday. This is a tough time of year and we need to thank them for all they do, especially the hauler drivers. Those guys are earning their money this week.”

DANICA PATRICK’S KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PROFILE

Year	Date	Track	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led	Earnings
2013	6/30	Kentucky 400 (NSCS)	29	23	Running, 267/267	0	$82,060
2012	9/22	Kentucky 300 (NNS)	11	14	Running, 198/200	0	$19,868
2012	6/29	Feed the Children 300 (NNS)	11	12	Running, 198/200	0	$20,943
2011	10/2	Kentucky Indy 300 (ICS)	14	10	Running, 200/200	0	N/A
2010	9/4	Kentucky Indy 300 (ICS)	17	9	Running, 200/200	0	N/A
2009	8/1	Meijer Indy 300 (ICS)	5	8	Running, 200/200	2	N/A
2008	8/9	Meijer Indy 300 (ICS)	26	11	Running, 199/200	1	$60,000
2007	8/11	Meijer Indy 300 (ICS)	11	16	Running, 180/200	0	$38,500
2006	8/13	Meijer Indy 300 (ICS)	11	8	Running, 200/200	0	$47,400
2005	8/14	AMBER Alert Portal 300 (ICS)	1	16	Running, 184/200	0	$34,100

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing

Kurt Busch on 1.5-mile similarities: "You can overthink Kentucky a little bit....there’s nothing similar to it"

Kurt Busch is 25/1 to win on Saturday night at Kentucky

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (June 25, 2014) – As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Sparta, Kentucky for Saturday night’s Kentucky 400, Kurt Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion and driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), remembers his first start at Kentucky when the track hosted its inaugural event – a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

Kentucky Speedway hosted its first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event in June 2000. And Busch, then a rookie in the series, arrived at Kentucky Speedway determined to prove that a rookie could win just as easily as a veteran in an inaugural event. After all, no driver had previous experience at that racetrack since each was making his first trip.

Unfortunately for Busch, his theory did not play out as planned. He started 32nd and over-drove every turn before eventually wrecking his truck on lap 111 of the scheduled 150-lap event. His Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle, in his third season as a driver in the Camping World Truck Series, went on to win the inaugural event.

It took the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series until 2011 to make its first visit to the Bluegrass State. In the years between 2000 and 2011, the track was not used by NASCAR’s premier series, which meant that teams could use the track liberally for testing. Busch claims that his team at the time, Roush Racing, visited the track almost every other Tuesday to try new things for upcoming races.

By the time the Sprint Cup Series debuted at the track in 2011, Busch had enough laps and experience there through testing to give him a shot at redemption. While Busch is still looking for his first win at the track, he has been able to record two top-10s and never finished outside the top-20 in a Sprint Cup event. He has completed all 801 laps of Sprint Cup competition since 2011, and has an average start of 15th and average finish of 11th. He also has led 41 laps.

This weekend, Busch is looking to add to his current streak of three consecutive top-15 finishes and four straight top-20s. But would most love to score his second win of the season in Saturday night’s Kentucky 400.

Busch knows the No. 41 team’s win at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in March virtually guarantees a spot in the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Adding a second win would cement the team’s place in NASCAR’s 10-race playoff. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson is the only driver with three wins, while SHR teammate Kevin Harvick, Team Penske driver Joey Logano, Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards each have two wins this season. Busch is one of five single-race winners as the series heads to race 17 of 36.

KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What is the first thing that comes to mind when people talk about racing at Kentucky?
“Kentucky is a tough 1.5-mile circuit that’s relatively new to the Sprint Cup schedule. The track has a unique set of bumps that makes it different from a lot of the typical 1.5-mile tracks that we see. It’s kind of a one-off race with its own setup issues. You can overthink Kentucky a little bit because there’s nothing similar to it.”

What was the first thing you thought when you came to Kentucky for the first time?
“I went there for the first time when I was racing trucks. It was an inaugural race for the trucks. I thought that, since it was the first time anyone went there, that rookies had just as good of a shot to win as veterans. I over-drove that race every ounce I could and ended up wrecking with about 15 laps to go while running in the lead pack. I hit pretty hard. I think that was one of the hardest hits I’ve taken. Kentucky stood up and bit me the first time I was there. And, up until recently, we never ran a Cup race there, so we used it as a test facility. So, my time when I was at Roush, I think we were there every other Tuesday making laps. So, I have plenty of laps at Kentucky, but not in race configuration.”

How much does all that early testing help you now when the Sprint Cup Series visits Kentucky?
“It’s a track that you have to work on the bumps – flat out. And then the race ends at night. It starts at dusk and ends at night, so the pace keeps getting faster and faster as the race goes on. I haven’t been able to find that winning balance, yet, but I’ve had some good runs with a couple of top-10s. To be able to break through for the wins, I’ll have to get the front of the car to absorb the bumps and be able to keep my foot on the floor.”

-True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing

Kentucky Preview: 2014 Quaker State 400

Johnson to pick back up where he left off before road course 

Saturday Night’s Sprint Cup race takes us to Kentucky Speedway for the fifth race this season on a 1.5-mile track. This will be the fourth race run on the mildly banked (14 degrees) speedway whose past winners have been Kyle Busch (2011), Brad Keselowski (2012) and Matt Kenseth (2013). Kenseth has the best average finish (4.7) among all drivers, and dominated on 1.5-mile tracks last season, but his only Top-5 finish on them this season was third at Charlotte last month.

Are Kenseth and the Joe Gibbs drivers getting better, or does it even matter because of how far ahead of the game the Hendrick Chevy engines appear to be in regards to horsepower. Gibbs has won two of the three Kentucky races, but they never had a horsepower deficit in those years like is the case now. 

Penske Racing’s Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski won on the first two 1.5 tracks this season at Las Vegas and Texas, and then Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson took the last two at Kansas and Charlotte. Kevin Harvick, who drives for Stewart-Haas but uses a Hendrick engine, has finished second in the last two at Kansas and Charlotte.

Those are going to be the drivers you want to key on this week, and you can throw another Hendrick driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. into the mix as well. And you know sooner or later Kasey Kahne, who finished second at Kentucky in 2012, is going to put all his Hendrick power to good use with a win eventually.

Much like last season, we have a clear view who the best cars are on these type of tracks. Kenseth had already won at Las Vegas and Kansas last season before winning at Kentucky. Kevin Harvick won at Charlotte and would also take the checkers later in the season in the fall Kansas race. Kyle Busch had won at Texas and later won at Atlanta's 1.5-mile layout.

You get the idea.

Chances are we've already seen Saturday night's winner between the first four races on the 1.5-mile tracks, and the most likeliest of candidates appear to be Jimmie Johnson, who has won three of the past five races overall on the season. Kentucky is one of four tracks he's never won on, but in three starts he's never finished outside the top-10, with an average finish of 6.0 which is third best behind Kyle Busch (5.3) and Kenseth.

We saw Johnson cross Michigan off his 'things to do list' a few weeks ago at a track that had eluded him longer than any other. With someone that has accomplished just about everything possible in NASCAR, winning at every track is one of those goals he has to place before himself to keep him pumped up and motivated. Sure, it's probably not too hard to jump into a car every week when you know you have the best stuff, but to keep things fresh, you play the game within the game.

For Johnson, only four tracks remained to be crossed off and it's likely only three will remain after Saturday's night race.

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


Emotional Gaughan earns Nationwide win
I rarely talk about the Nationwide series, but there’s a special circumstance this week because of having just experienced my most exciting race of the NASCAR season, and the funny thing was, I didn’t even have a wager on it.

The reason for the excitement was because Brendan Gaughan, from Las Vegas, won his first Nationwide series race and ninth overall within the three major NASCAR series he’s driven in over his 18 year career. After getting himself in all kinds of trouble throughout Saturday’s race at Road America’s 4.04-mile road course in Wisconsin, Gaughan managed to run his No. 62 South Point Camaro fastest in the rain (Nationwide runs road course races in the rain), and between great pit strategy and skilled driving, he was able to drive himself to victory.

I was happy not only as a Las Vegan, but also because I know what an emotional year it’s been for the Gaughan family after Brendan’s grandfather, Las Vegas pioneer Jackie Gaughan, passed away in March. When leading with four laps to go, all I could think about was how much a win would mean not only for Brendan, but also for the entire Gaughan family.

It’s a rough stretch for a while when someone in the family passes on. I was in a daze for a year when my mother passed, but then there’s a point where you get some kind of sign that things are going to be okay. When Brendan won, it was easy to see through his emotions how he was feeling. While doing his victory interview on television, he walked over to his car and pointed to the spot above the door where his name is supposed to be and it had the name John “Jackie” Gaughan written instead.

It was a great moment that had several layers of goodness to it. The LVH SuperBook books Nationwide races all season and opened Gaughan at 40/1 odds to win at closed him at 25/1, but didn’t have many takers.

It was Gaughan’s first NASCAR win since a Truck series win at Texas in 2003, a race I remember all too well because my sportsbook got hammered on him at 10/1 odds, which in retrospect was obviously a bad price.

Kyle Busch doing the triple at Kentucky Speedway this weekend

Kyle Busch won at Kentucky in 2011; he's 12/1 to win Saturday

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (June 24, 2014) – While Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 is only the fourth-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in the history of Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kyle Busch and his crew chief Dave Rogers have a winning pedigree at the 1.5-mile oval that dates back much further than 2011’s inaugural Sprint Cup race near the “Horse Racing Capital of America.”

Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has quite the record at the racing facility that sits some 65 miles up the road from Louisville’s Churchill Downs, a legendary racing facility where horsepower of a different kind is showcased.

Busch has notched victories at Kentucky Speedway in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions – Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck. Add his 2003 ARCA series win at Kentucky and Busch has been victorious in four racing divisions and has made quite a Kentucky home of his own in Kentucky’s second-most-famous victory lane.

In the inaugural Sprint Cup event at Kentucky in 2011, Busch proved his worth when he led six times for a race-high 125 laps to be the historic first winner in NASCAR’s top series in the state.

But Busch’s winning history at Kentucky started way back at the ripe age of 18, when he dominated the 2003 ARCA race there while competing for Hendrick Motorsports. He led a race-high 91 laps en route to the victory.

He returned to the Bluegrass State the following year and found victory lane again, this time in his Nationwide Series debut at the 1.5-mile oval. In all, Busch has one win, four top-fives, and has led 385 laps in six Nationwide Series starts there. He also won the 2011 Truck Series race to give him four top-10 finishes and 219 laps led in four Truck Series starts at the speedway.

In addition to Busch’s stellar career statistics at Kentucky, his crew chief Dave Rogers sports a record that is equally as impressive as his current driver. While Rogers’ bio lists his hometown as Marshfield, Vermont, the 40-year-old crew chief absolutely owned Kentucky Speedway in 2008 and 2009 while calling the shots for JGR’s No. 20 Nationwide Series team and former JGR driver Joey Logano. In their two Nationwide Series starts together at Kentucky, Logano and Rogers won both races from the pole and led a total of 96 laps. The 2008 victory was not only the first of many for the tandem of Rogers and Logano, it was also Logano’s first career Nationwide Series win in just his third start in the series, and just one month after the young driver celebrated his 18th birthday.

So as the Sprint Cup Series makes just its fourth appearance near the longtime home of horse racing in America, Busch, Rogers and the M&M’s team looks to be in prime position to use their winning pedigree in hopes of adding to his already stellar record in a multitude of stock-car divisions at the 1.5-mile racetrack.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

What do you enjoy about running races in all three NASCAR divisions, like at Kentucky this weekend?
“It’s a lot of on-track time. On Thursday, we practice all day, and then there’s the Truck Series race that night. It’s a busy schedule and you are running back and forth between garages and it’s typically hot there in Kentucky. The biggest thing you get to work on, and enjoy, is essentially the on-track time and getting to figure out the bumps there, and you get extra track time to figure out if you need to get through them better or if you need to get your guys to give you a better setup to get through the bumps. I have three divisions’ worth of chances, and three crew chiefs who have different mindsets that, by the time I get to Saturday, I have a feel for what I need to win the Cup race with our M&M’s Camry.”

How does it feel to know you’ll always be the Inaugural Sprint Cup winner at Kentucky for the rest of your career?
“I think it’s cool. You look at some of the new venues we’ve been to over the years and Jeff Gordon got to win a number of inaugural races, like the Brickyard, Fontana, and Kansas. He was always the guy who was known to figure out places the fastest, but we were able to be the ones to do that at Kentucky. There aren’t many opportunities these days to go to a new venue, so for us being able to win the first race there was extra special.”

Does your success at Kentucky factor into running all three races?
“No, it doesn’t really factor in – we’re just here for all three and I’ve got sponsors for all three so I’m going to run all three. I like running there at Kentucky. Why I run well there, I don’t know. It’s an interesting racetrack and it’s certainly challenging and tough and it brings out the better drivers. Like I said before, you have to have a good-handling racecar around there on the bumps, but you can de-tune the speed of your racecar to get over the bumps better and slow your car down, which is not very good. You have to find the happy medium of that and I think Dave Rogers (crew chief) does a really good job of being able to help me with that, as well as just being able to keep the speed in the car.”

Is Kentucky a special place for you?
“I love Kentucky. It was special there in 2011 when we were able to win the first Cup race there. I look forward to going back there every year. It’s a pretty challenging racetrack. It’s a place that lends itself to different kinds of setups because it’s so rough. Fast lap times at Kentucky come from momentum. The place is so round that there’s not a ton of banking compared to some other 1.5-milers. It’s all about how round the corners are and just being able to maintain corner speed and stay on the gas.”

What are the bumps like on the racetrack?
“The place certainly has a lot of character. It really depends on what your setup is in your race vehicle. You can help the bumps out, but you can also slow your car down by doing the same thing. You really have a fine balance there that you have to work on in making sure that you can get over the bumps well enough, but yet keep your car fast. It’s a trade back and forth there a little bit.”

How do you prepare for a triple weekend?
“It essentially starts throughout the whole week – you have to stay hydrated. You’re not just going to all of a sudden pick up your hydration on Thursday or Friday – your first practice day or what-not. That’s the biggest thing is just trying to keep the amount of fluid in you so when you do sweat you’re not just drained. That’s sort of the biggest thing that I fight is just being able to make sure that I’m well enough hydrated there. Years ago, when I was a young’un, when I was first running in the Nationwide Series for my first race – 300 miles, I was worn out. This hurts. Then I started running the 500-mile Cup races and I was worn out. Then you start running the doubles and you’re worn out, and then you start running the triples and you’re worn out. The more and more you start doing that stuff, your body becomes used to it and now you’re not worn out anymore. I could run a 500-mile Cup race by itself, like last weekend at Sonoma, and feel fine and ready to go. Or I could run a triple at Bristol or somewhere and then I get out and I’m fine. Your body gets used to it and it just goes from there. From doing it for this long for so many years, it’s just repetitive and you’re used to it.”

 

   KYLE BUSCH’S KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY PERFORMANCE PROFILE

Year	Date	Event	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led	Earnings
2013	6/30	Quaker State 400 (NSCS)	4	5	Running, 267/267	0	$139,743
	6/29	Feed the Children 300 (NNS)	5	5	Running, 170/170	74	$27,500
	6/28	UNOH 225 (NCWTS)	6	3	Running, 150/150	42	$25,795
2012	6/30	Quaker State 400 (NSCS)	2	10	Running, 267/278	118	$132,368
2011	7/10	†Quaker State 400 (NSCS)	1	1	Running, 267/267	125	$213,316
	7/9	Feed the Children 300 (NNS)	41	3	Running, 200/200	0	$37,375
	7/8	×UNOH 225 (NCWTS)	8	1	Running, 152/152	61	$51,125
2010	9/3	Built Ford Tough 225 (NCWTS)	4	7	Running, 150/150	73	$12,050
2009	6/13	Meijer 300 (NNS)	2	2	Running, 200/200	162	$99,405
2008	6/14	Meijer 300 (NNS)	7	30	Accident, 163/200	85	$21,035
	7/19	Built Ford Tough 225 (NCWTS)	2	6	Running, 150/150	43	$17,010
2006	6/17	Meijer 300 (NNS)	9	13	Running, 200/200	61	$21,550
2004	6/19	Meijer 300 (NNS)	2	1	Running, 200/200	3	$99,405
2003	5/10	The Channel 5 205 (ARCA)	4	1	Running, 137/137	91	N/A

× Race length extended due to green-white-checkered finish.

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.- True Speed Communication for Kyle Busch Motorsports/Joe Gibbs Racing

LVH Updated 2014 World Cup odds to win (updated July 4 after Neymar Injury)

2014 WORLD CUP
VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT BRAZIL
JUNE 12 - JULY 13, 2014

ODDS TO WIN:
BRAZIL 2/1
GERMANY 2/1
ARGENTINA 4/1
NETHERLANDS 4/1
BELGIUM 12/1
COSTA RICA 40/1



LVH SUPER BOOK SOCCER ODDS TO WIN (June 24)

2014 WORLD CUP
VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT BRAZIL
JUNE 12 - JULY 13, 2014

ODDS TO WIN:
BRAZIL 11/4
ARGENTINA 4/1
GERMANY 7/2
NETHERLANDS 6/1
FRANCE 8/1
PORTUGAL 150/1
URUGUAY 25/1
CHILE 25/1         Video: The Linemakers talk USA-Germany World Cup match
USA 50/1
MEXICO 25/1
RUSSIA 250/1
GHANA 250/1
ECUADOR 250/1
COLOMBIA 20/1
NIGERIA 250/1
SOUTH KOREA 2000/1
SWITZERLAND 150/1
GREECE 80/1
ALGERIA 250/1
BELGIUM 20/1
COSTA RICA 40/1
IRAN 2000/1
HONDURAS 2500/1

LVH 2014 Grand Prix of Houston odds to win

GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON--RACE 1
RELIANT PARK
SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014

WILL POWER 7-2
SCOTT DIXON 7
RYAN HUNTER-REAY 7
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA 10
HELIO CASTRONEVES 7
SIMON PAGENAUD 7
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE 12
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS 15
JOSEF NEWGARDEN 25
TAKUMA SATO 25
JUSTIN WILSON 25
MIKE CONWAY 12
CARLOS MUNOZ 25
CHARLIE KIMBALL 30
RYAN BRISCOE 30
MARCO ANDRETTI 30
TONY KANAAN 30
GRAHAM RAHAL 30
JACK HAWKSWORTH 25
FIELD 40

Austin Dillon on liking Kentucky: "I just have a line there that I like to run"

Rookie prices this week at Kentucky: Austin Dillon 100/1, Kyle Larson 25/1

Austin Dillon
No. 3 Cheerios Protein Chevrolet SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

This Week’s Cheerios Protein Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway … Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 465 in the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. This is the same Chevrolet SS that Dillon raced to a 16th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and a 21st-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

Dillon at Kentucky Speedway …. Dillon has made one previous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Kentucky Speedway, driving the No. 51 Chevrolet to a 24th-place finish in 2013.

Winner, Winner … Kentucky Speedway is the site of Dillon’s career-first win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In fact, the 2013 Nationwide Series Champion earned back-to-back Nationwide Series wins at the 1.5-mile track in 2012, sweeping both races and earning the pole award for both the June and September events. In four Nationwide Series starts at Kentucky Speedway, Dillon has not started worst than second or finished worst than sixth. The Welcome, N.C., driver also has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the 1.5-mile track, acquiring two pole awards, one top-five and two top-10 finishes among 46 laps led. In his lone ARCA Racing Series start at the track, he finished 15th after starting 34th in 2009.

#CheerThe3 … Fans can interact and receive unique content about Austin Dillon and the No. 3 race team throughout the 2014 season by visiting the “Cheer the 3″ social media communities on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/Cheerthe3) and Twitter at @Cheerthe3.

Get to the Points … Dillon ranks 18th in the championship point standings entering this weekend’s race event at Kentucky Speedway.

#ALLin Challenge … Dillon is asking fans whether they are #ALLin for a new and exciting challenge every Wednesday on his Twitter account, @austindillon3. From capturing an “awkward hug” via video to submitting your best “poker face” photo to helping crew chief Gil Martin’s son Ford find a date for his upcoming prom, each challenge is unique and the winner, as voted on by Austin, wins race tickets or unique memorabilia. Follow @austindillon3 on Twitter everyWednesday for the #ALLin♠ Challenge.

Meet Dillon … Dillon is scheduled to participate in this week’s Tweetup at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday at 3:45 p.m., which will take place on the edge of the track’s Turn 4 Quaker State Tower Grandstand, easily accessible to fans via tram. Fans who attend will have a chance to meet Dillon and win prizes, courtesy of Kentucky Speedway and Cheerios.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:

What are your thoughts on racing at Kentucky Speedway?
“The schedule goes from Sonoma Raceway to Kentucky Speedway, so it’s pretty much going from my newest track to my favorite track. I’m looking forward to Kentucky Speedway. I wish we could have had a test in there, just because I feel like it’s one of those places where we can go out there and have a shot to win. We’ll do our best this year to get after it in that race, I think we will have a solid run there.”

Why does Kentucky Speedway appeal to you so much? What do you love about it?
“I don’t know. I just have a line there that I like to run and I kind of just know what I want going into the weekend, and that’s what you’re looking for everywhere. If you can create that feeling for every track, that concept that you have, and you can stick with it. That’s what I’ve been working on really hard, so when we go back to these places for the second and third times, is to have a concept I can stick with and really focus on going into the race.”

- Richard Childress Racing

Newman on Kentucky Saturday night: “I love racing under the lights just about anywhere"

Ryan Newman is 50/1 to win on Saturday at Kentucky 

Ryan Newman
No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet SS at Kentucky Speedway … Ryan Newman will drive chassis No. 441 on Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway. Chassis No. 441 has competed in three Sprint Cup Series events so far in 2014 producing two top-10 finishes (Phoenix International Raceway – seventh and Darlington Raceway – 10th). Newman also utilized the chassis in Dover where he ran in the top 10 before a mechanical issue ended the solid effort.

Newman in the Bluegrass State … In three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at the 1.5-mile track, Newman owns one top-five and one top-10 finish. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 10th and average finish of 17th.

Featured Caterpillar Dealer …Whayne Supply Company is one of the oldest and largest Caterpillar dealers in the U.S., based in Louisville, Kentucky. Whayne Supply Company has 16 locations across Kentucky and Southern Indiana serving the construction, mining, highway, ag and power industries.

About Caterpillar … For nearly 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates through its three product segments – Resource Industries, Construction Industries and Power Systems – and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment.More information is available at: www.caterpillar.com.

Point of Interest … Newman ranks eighth in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, just 39 markers out of fifth. He trails the current leader by 107 points entering the 17th event on the schedule, the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway.

Where’s Ryan? … On Saturday, Newman is scheduled to participate in a question and answer session at the Sprint Experience at 3:50 p.m. ET located in the Kentucky Speedway midway.

Race Rewind … Last season, Newman was on mark for a top-10 finish but a late-race caution lined him up in the wrong spot ,despite a discussion with NASCAR. The driver did his best to regain lost spots, but was relegated to a 14th-place finish.

Team Test … This week, the No. 31 team participated in a test at Nashville Speedway on Tuesday.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:

What are your thoughts on racing under the lights at Kentucky?
“I love racing under the lights just about anywhere. I think it’s cool in Kentucky. I like that it has character and it has bumps. It is one of our one offs, so-to-speak. I think it falls at the most pivotal time in our season as far as racing to the Chase. Where you finish can make a big difference. I know the No. 31 Chevrolet was fast there last season, so I hope we can take what was done last season and improve upon it to be even better.”

What produces fast laps at Kentucky?
“Kentucky Speedway is one big circle. The trickiest part at Kentucky is Turn 3. Everything else has a pretty good radius to it. It’s a big straightaway from Turn 3 all the way back to Turn 1.”

- Richard Childress Racing

Kevin Harvick bringing second-place All-Star chassis to Kentucky

Kevin Harvick is the second choice at 5/1 to win Saturday at Kentucky

Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS travel to Kentucky Speedway this weekend to compete in the Quaker State 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS).

Chassis Info…The No. 4 team will utilize Chassis No. 850 in Saturday’s race. Harvick raced this car to a second-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

Kentucky Stats… Harvick has three prior NSCS starts at Kentucky Speedway. He has earned one top-10 finish and has an average start of 15.0 and average finish of 12.3.

Loop Data… Harvick owns a number of impressive marks in NASCAR’s Loop Data scoring system at Kentucky Speedway heading into this weekend’s event, including: fourth in quality passes (110 passes); fourth in green flag passes (225 passes); fifth in average running position (12.161); fifth in laps in the top 15 (628 laps); sixth in fastest drivers late in a run (170.830 mph); sixth in speed in traffic (170.189 mph); sixth in fastest on restarts (161.553 mph); seventh in closers (2.3 positions gained); eighth in green flag passes speed (170.830 mph); and ninth in fastest drivers early in a run (171.845 mph).

A Look Back… During last year’s Quaker State 400, Harvick started 22nd and finished 10th.

Double Duty… In addition to driving the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet on Saturday night, Harvick will compete in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race in the No. 5 Kroger/P&G Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. ESPN will provide live TV coverage of the event starting at 7 p.m. ET while PRN radio affiliates and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio will air the radio broadcast.

Salute… Now through August 15, beer drinkers can enter a code contained inside specially marked packages of Budweiser on Budweiser.com/donate to trigger a $1 donation to Folds of Honor, accounting for up to $1 million combined with wholesaler contributions for a more than $3 million total donation to Folds of Honor in 2014. Through scholarships and other assistance, Folds of Honor gives back to the families of soldiers killed or disabled in service to our country. Since first partnering with Folds of Honor Foundation in 2010, Budweiser and its wholesalers have raised nearly $10 million for military families, accounting for thousands of scholarships across the country.

Budweiser #SpeedTweets… Budweiser is tapping into race fans increasing affinity for social media by using Twitter to engage in a new and unprecedented way. The brewer’s latest effort, #SpeedTweets, is a Twitter-based weekly competition that will award 19 fans a trip to Charlotte, N.C., to race go-karts with Harvick. The contest runs the first 19 weeks of the 2014 NSCS schedule, with Budweiser’s official racing Twitter account, @BudweiserRacing, posting challenges throughout each race weekend. Participants (21 and older only) are required to register at Budweiser.com/SpeedTweets must follow @BudweiserRacing, and must reply to @BudweiserRacing with the hashtag #SpeedTweets in order for their answers to be considered. For information on contest rules and regulations, please visit http://speedtweets.com/legal.html.

Harvick on Racing at Kentucky Speedway

What makes Kentucky Speedway unique compared to other 1.5-mile tracks? “It’s the newest, oldest track we go to. Kentucky Speedway is very rough. The corners are longer so they’re not as sharp, but the roughness of the racing surface is really what makes it unique in my mind. There is still a lot of grip, but the track has become rough over the years.”

What is it about Turn 3 at Kentucky Speedway that makes it so difficult for drivers? “Turn 3 is just really flat getting into the corner. You have more banking as you exit the corner, so you kind of drive into the banking and it progressively gets a little bit more as you come off of the corner. It’s really flat right there, and you are carrying a lot of speed. You just wind up being loose into the corner for the most part. As you go through the weekend that will be the toughest spot to navigate for sure.”

- Elevation Group of Companies for Budweiser Racing

Kansas Speedway Track Facts: 2014 Quaker State 400

Matt Kenseth won on 4 of the 11 1.5-mile races last season; he has one top-5 finish in 4 attempts this season Kentucky Speedway Data Season Race #: 16 of 36 (06-28-14) Track Size: 1.5-miles Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 14 degrees Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 14 degrees Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees Banking/Backstretch: 8 degrees Frontstretch Length: 1,662 feet Backstretch Length: 1,600 feet Race Length: 200 laps / 300 miles Top 10 Driver Ratings at Kentucky Jimmie Johnson........................ 125.9 Kyle Busch............................... 125.2 Matt Kenseth............................. 109.3 Brad Keselowski....................... 104.8 Kasey Kahne.............................. 98.2 Denny Hamlin............................. 98.1 Carl Edwards.............................. 94.5 Jeff Gordon................................ 91.8 Martin Truex Jr............................ 90.7 Kurt Busch.................................. 90.6 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2013 races (three total) among active drivers at Kentucky Speedway. Qualifying/Race Data 2013 Coors Light Pole winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet 183.636 mph, 29.406 secs. 06-29-13 2013 race winner: Matt Kenseth, Toyota 131.948 mph, (03:02:07), 06-30-13 Track qualifying record: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet 183.636 mph, 29.406 secs. 06-29-13 Track race record: Brad Keselowski., Dodge 145.607 mph, (02:45:02), 06-30-12

At Kentucky Speedway:

History

·         In 1998, the track broke ground in Sparta, Kentucky, and opened as a 1.5-mile speedway in 2000.

·         The original owners, Jerry Carroll and four other investors owned the track until 2008, when current owners, Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased the facility.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was held in 2011 – won by Kyle Busch.

Notebook

·         There have been three NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kentucky Speedway since the first race in 2011 – one race per season.

·         53 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway; 42 in more than one.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying at Kentucky was cancelled due to weather. The starting line-up was set per the Rule Book.

·         Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the only two drivers that have won Coors Light poles at Kentucky.

·         Youngest Kentucky pole winner: Jimmie Johnson (06/30/2012 – 36 years, nine months, 13 days).

·         Oldest Kentucky pole winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (06/30/2013 – 38 years, eight months, 20 days).

·         Three different NSCS drivers have won at Kentucky Speedway: Kyle Busch (07/09/2011), Brad Keselowski(06/30/2012) and Matt Kenseth (6/30/2013). 

·         Youngest Kentucky winner: Kyle Busch (07/09/2011 – 26 years, two months, seven days).

·         Oldest Kentucky winner: Matt Kenseth (06/30/2013 – 41 years, three months, 20 days).

·         Joe Gibbs Racing leads the series in wins at Kentucky with two (2011, 2013); followed by Penske Racing(2012) with one.

·          Two different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Kentucky: Toyota (2011, 2013) and Dodge (2012).

·         Kyle Busch won the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky from the first starting position. Due to the qualifying session being cancelled for the 2011 race it was not from the Coors Light pole.

·         One of the three (33.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kentucky have been won from the front row.

·         Two of the NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kentucky have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Kentucky was 16th, by Matt Kenseth last season. 

·         Three different drivers have posted NSCS runner-up finishes at Kentucky: David Reutimann (2011), Kasey Kahne (2012) and Jamie McMurray (2013).

·         Kyle Busch leads the series in top-five finishes at Kentucky with two.   

·         Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth lead the series in top-10 finishes at Kentucky with three each.

·         Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Kentucky with a 2.333.

·         Matt Kenseth leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Kentucky with a 4.667. Kyle Busch (5.333), Jimmie Johnson (6.000), Jeff Gordon (7.667), and Kasey Kahne (8.667)are the other active drivers with an average finish in the top 10.

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway was the July 9, 2011 race won by Kyle Busch over David Reutimann with a MOV of 0.179 second.

·         None of the three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kentucky Speedway have resulted with a green-white-checkered finish.

·         None of the three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kentucky Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions.    

·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway once; the 2011 race.  

·         Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Kentucky with 243 laps led in three starts. Jimmie Johnson has led the second-most with 203.  

·         Danica Patrick is the only female driver to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway.

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Danica Patrick	29	23	6/30/2013

NASCAR in Kentucky

·         There have been four NASCAR Sprint Cup races among two tracks in Kentucky.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Kentucky Speedway	Sparta	3
Corbin Speedway	Corbin	1

·         42 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Kentucky; three have posted wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Jeremy Mayfield	5	0	0
Michael Waltrip	4	11	1
Tommy Thompson	1	0	0
Jeff Green	0	16	0
David Green	0	9	0