NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Bowyer Rides Chase Momentum into Home Track
What would a victory at Kansas Speedway mean to Clint Bowyer, who grew up in Emporia, Kan., less than 100 miles from the track? In his own words: “To be able to win there some day … if we could possibly pull this off again in Kansas, it would be … more special than winning the Daytona 500.”
This could be the week that happens as Bowyer heads to the resurfaced and reconfigured 1.5-mile layout with an unprecedented head of steam. Bowyer comes off his victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway – a win that boosted him to fourth in Chase standings just 28 points behind leader Brad Keselowski. The Kansan already has posted career-best season numbers: three wins and eight top-five and 19 top-10 finishes. Although Bowyer finished 36th at Kansas Speedway in April, he was seventh in last fall’s Chase race and owns a second-place finish (2007).
Chase Leaders Swept Last Three Kansas Races
What do Kansas Speedway, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have in common? The three leading contenders for this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup championship are the most recent winners at the Kansas City-area facility. Hamlin won in April – the last race conducted before the track was repaved and reconfigured. Johnson won last fall’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ event and Keselowski captured the spring race in 2011. Keselowski’s Kansas victory was his first as a driver for Penske Racing.
Johnson has Kansas Speedway’s best average finish (7.9) among active drivers.
Keselowski’s lead over Johnson is just seven points at the halfway point of the Chase. Hamlin is 15 points back in third followed by Bowyer and Kasey Kahne. Thirty-five points cover the top five.
The Kansas winner has captured the championship just once during the Chase era – Johnson in 2008. Reigning champion Tony Stewart was 15th in last year’s race and ranked seventh, 19 points behind Chase leader Carl Edwards.
Tests at ‘New’ Kansas Speedway Precede Hollywood Casino 400
NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors will see a “new” Kansas Speedway when they arrive Wednesday for two days of testing that precede this weekend’s Hollywood Casino 400. The 1.5-mile track has been completely repaved. The turns now feature variable banking – 17 degrees to 20 degrees – that replaces the 15 degrees (apron to wall) of the former layout. Computer modeling conducted based on the geometry of the track after the reconfiguration was completed has all three racing lines within 0.1 seconds of each other. The highest line – 20 degrees – is the fastest way around the track.
The track purchased a tire dragging machine – known as the Tire Dragon - identical to the one used at Phoenix International Raceway last year that has been operating since mid-September to put rubber into the track. The speedway, in partnership with Goodyear and the Richard Petty Driving Experience, is using retired NASCAR Sprint Cup cars with drivers Randy LaJoie, David Green, Brian Keselowski, Steve Grissom, Justin Labonte and Brad Noffsinger to run higher lines on the track to encourage multiple grooves with additional rubber.
Chaser Qualifiers Dominated Spring Race in Kansas
Finishing positions one through eight were occupied by Chase qualifiers when the series visited Kansas Speedway in May. The top five was comprised of Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle. Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne finished sixth through eighth with Chase points leader Brad Keselowski 11th.
Edwards Relishes Role as Chase ‘Spoiler’ at Home Track
Carl Edwards, like Clint Bowyer, considers Kansas Speedway a home track. The Columbia, Mo., competitor also has yet to win here – his best a second-place finish in 2008. Having failed to qualify for the Chase, Edwards could be this week’s most likely “spoiler.” Edwards has posted six consecutive top-10 finishes (of eight) at the track and has led seven of the last 10 races. Roush Fenway Racing put all three of its Fords in the top 10 of May’s Kansas race.
Patrick Returns to Spring Cup Series for Kansas Double
Danica Patrick will make her eighth of 10 scheduled starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday at Kansas Speedway. She will be doing double duty also competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series where she moved to 10th in the standings after an 11th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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