SPRINT CUP SERIES TO KANSAS

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

Logano Advances To Eliminator 8 Round With Win At Charlotte

Joey Logano led 227-of-334 laps on his way to Victory Lane in Sunday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to become the first driver to advance to the Eliminator 8 Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The No. 22 Ford driver becomes a member of the Eliminator 8 by winning the Contender Round opener for the second straight season. Last year, he won the first Contender Round race at Kansas Speedway – the site of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. In 12 starts at Kansas, Logano owns one win, four top fives and four top 10s. He has logged a top-five showing in his last four starts at the 1.5-mile track.

Logano’s checkered flag was his first at Charlotte. His previous best Queen City finish was third in 2011.

On the season, Logano ranks tied with Kevin Harvick for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead in top 10s with 24. His five Coors Light Pole Awards are the most in the series.

Striving For Greatness: Harvick Joins Elite Company With 20th Top-Five Finish

After placing second on Sunday at Charlotte, Kevin Harvick became the 13th driver in NASCAR’s modern era (1972-present) to collect 20 top-five finishes in a season. The other drivers to achieve the feat include: Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Benny Parsons, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Jimmie Johnson.

If Harvick can finish within the top five in the final six races he will tie Jeff Gordon’s record for most top fives in a modern era season – 26 in 1998.

Harvick’s Charlotte result also earned him his 11th runner-up of the season, the most since Bobby Allison logged 12 in 1972. The No. 4 Chevrolet driver boasts 14 top-two finishes this season, double the total of the next-highest driver (Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson, 7).

Harvick heads to Kansas ranked second on the Chase Grid – 13 points above the cutoff line. In 19 career starts at Kansas, he boasts one win (fall 2013), four top fives, six top 10s and the track’s second-best average finish (9.4).

Another Milestone: In addition to his impressive finish totals, Harvick has led 2,031 laps – his second straight season with over 2,000 laps led. The last driver to lead 2,000 laps or more in consecutive seasons was Jeff Gordon (1995-96).

Earnhardt, Kenseth Head To Kansas In Need Of A Win

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth have to be thankful for the simple formula that embodies the new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format – “win and you’re in.”

Earnhardt, 11th on the Chase Grid, sits 19 points behind Brad Keselowski on the cutoff line. Kenseth, 12th on the Chase Grid is 32 points below the cutoff line.

Both drivers essentially need wins in the next two races (Kansas and Talladega) to advance from the Contender Round to the Eliminator 8 Round.

And both drivers get to race at tracks where they perform well.

In 19 starts at Kansas, Kenseth has two wins, six top fives and 11 top 10s. His 104.9 driver rating there is the second-highest total in NASCAR.

Earnhardt has solid stats at Kansas with nine top-10 finishes in 18 starts there, but gets to close out the Contender Round at Talladega where he owns six wins – tied with Jeff Gordon for the second-most victories in track history.

Kenseth hasn’t been very strong at Talladega. In 31 starts at the superspeedway, he claims one win, six top fives and 10 top 10s.

Newman And Busch On The Outside Looking In

If the Contender Round ended after Charlotte, Ryan Newman and Kyle Busch would be among the four drivers eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Luckily for them, there are two races left. Newman (-6) and Busch (-10) are also close enough to the cutoff in points where they do not need wins to advance.

The two drivers get their chance to close their points gaps in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Historically one of his worst tracks, Busch’s only top-five finish in 15 starts at Kansas was a third-place showing in the Chase last fall. His average finish at the 1.5-mile track is 21.4. With Talladega looming, Busch could be in trouble.

Newman owns one win (fall 2003), three top fives and six top 10s in 19 starts at Kansas. He has logged a top-10 finish there in his last two races and has an average finish of 17.6 in the Jayhawk State.

Gordon Good At Kansas

No driver is as good at Kansas as Jeff Gordon, who boasts a record three wins there. In his 19 starts at the Midwestern track, the No. 24 Chevrolet pilot also has 11 top fives and 13 top 10s.

Gordon currently ranks seventh on the Chase Grid following his eight-place finish at Charlotte over the weekend – eight points ahead of the cutoff line. He is still searching for his first win of the year with just six races left in his final full-time season.

Homecoming For Edwards, Bowyer and McMurray

Carl Edwards (Columbia, Mo), Clint Bowyer (Emporia, Kansas) and Jamie McMurray (Joplin, Mo.) all get to return to their roots this weekend by racing at their “hometrack” (Kansas Speedway).

None of the three hometown heroes has ever won for the hometown crowd at Kansas.

Here are their stats in the Jayhawk State:

Edwards – 16 starts, six top fives (37.5%), 11 top 10s (68.8%), 10.8 avg. finish, 96.0 driver rating

Bowyer – 14 starts, two top fives (14.3%), five top 10s (35.7%), 14.8 avg. finish, 78.9 driver rating

McMurray – 17 starts, three top 10s (17.6%), 19.9 avg. finish, 70.0 driver rating

All three drivers qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, but Edwards is the only one still in contention. Edwards is currently sixth on the Chase Grid, seven points above the cutoff line. He owns two victories this season – the third consecutive year he’s earned multiple wins.

No Chase, No Problem for Potential Spoilers

Just because a driver is not in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, doesn’t mean he/she can’t win one of the final six races.

There are plenty of drivers attempting to play “spoiler” in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 – Jimmie Johnson being the most likely to pull off the victory. The No. 48 Chevrolet driver won the spring race at Kansas for his second career victory at the 1.5-mile track and has failed to finish in the top 10 there a mere three times in 18 starts.

Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart join Johnson as non-Chasers with two Kansas wins.

Last season, two drivers played spoiler during the Chase – Dale Earnhardt Jr. visited Victory Lane at Martinsville, while Johnson took the checkered flag at Texas.