NEWS & NOTES
AT KANSAS: In nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded one pole position and four top-10 finishes. He has completed 96.8 percent of all the laps he’s attempted (2,270 laps of 2,346 total) at the 1.5-mile racetrack. The 35-year-old driver has led a total of 81 laps there.
LAST YEAR AT KANSAS: Last October, Earnhardt qualified his No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet on the front row alongside teammate Mark Martin. Earnhardt had a strong opening run from the outside pole position and led 41 laps before an expired engine sidelined the team 35 laps shy of the checkered flag.
INTERMEDIATE TRACK STATS: In 187 Cup starts on intermediate (one- to two-mile) tracks, Earnhardt has recorded six wins, six pole positions, 38 top-five finishes and 70 top-10s. He has a 15.9 average starting position and an average finishing position of 17.4.
LAPS IN THE TOP 15: Earnhardt ranks ninth among drivers for laps run in the top 15 during the last five races at Kansas. The 35-year old-driver has spent 56.7 percent of all laps (724 laps) in the top 15 per NASCAR’s loop statistics.
KANSAS CHASSIS: Crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88 engineers will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-599 this weekend at Kansas. Earnhardt notably drove this chassis to two top-10 finishes this year. He took seventh on June 13 at Michigan. In April, Earnhardt started ninth in this car at Texas and led 46 laps before finishing eighth.
HENDRICK AT KANSAS: In nine Cup events (39 entries) at Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports owns three wins, 10 top-five finishes, 18 top-10s and four pole positions. The organization leads all other teams in wins, poles and laps led (641).
CHEVROLET DOMINANCE: Chevrolet has reached Victory Lane six times in the last nine Cup events at Kansas, and Hendrick Motorsports has accounted for half of those victories. Jimmie Johnson scored Hendrick Motorsports’ most recent win at the 1.5-mile speedway in 2008.
QUOTES
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON KANSAS.): “We had a really good run there last year, and I know Lance and the guys are coming back with something similar. Kansas can be challenging to get the car to work at both ends, but it’s a pretty simple racetrack, I enjoy running there.”
LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON THE NO. 88 TEAM’S PERFORMANCE AT INTERMEDIATE TRACKS.): “At the beginning of the year I was really happy with it because we had really strong runs at California, Texas and first Atlanta. We seemed to stumble through the summer, but were good at first Michigan. I think we have figured some things out along the way. I’m hoping that after our tire test in Homestead (Fla.), that it gave us a clear-cut direction. We were good at Kansas last year. It’s a place I enjoy going and have always enjoyed going there. I won there with Ricky (Hendrick) in a truck race so I have a lot of fond memories. We qualified really well there last year, and Dale likes that racetrack too.”
McGREW (ON IF LAST YEAR’S INFORMATION TRANSLATES.): “I think it does. The places that we ran good at last year, we’ve come back with a similar setup and have been pretty close. It’s not going to be exactly the same because everything changes—the track surface changes, the tire changes—but I think it’s definitely a good starting spot.”
McGREW (ON WHICH TRACKS HELP THE NO. 88 TEAM PREPARE FOR KANSAS.): “You pull from Chicago or places like that. It’s different though. The transitions off the corner are smoother. The radiuses are easier. The track is easier to drive compared to some of the other ones. It’s not going to be exactly the same but the more we run this car and get settled in on a setup we don’t change it as much as we used to.”
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