* On The Entry List
There are 48 cars entered for this Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 – 26 Chevrolets, nine Toyotas, seven Fords and six Dodges.
Eight of the 12 drivers that have won at least one NASCAR Nationwide Series race this season are entered. Those eight account for 23 victories in 28 races this season.
The top 13 drivers in the points standings have started all 28 races this season, and are all entered at Kansas Speedway.
Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips-Comcast Toyota) is the highest running driver in the point standings – fourth – without a victory this season. He does have six top fives and 18 top 10s.
Thirteen NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers are also scheduled to compete in Sunday’s Price Chopper “400” presented by Kraft Foods.
Patrick Sheltra (No. 81 Dodge) is making his first NNS start at Kansas, though he does have three previous ARCA starts there.
Kyle Davis is the lone Missouri or Kansas native on a NASCAR Nationwide Series crew this weekend. Davis, from Savannah, Mo., is the car chief for the No. 15 Toyota, driven by Michael Annett.
* Kansas Speedway Statistics
No driver has ever won from the pole position at Kansas Speedway. Jeff Burton started the highest of any Kansas winner – second, en route to his win in 2002. Two drivers have come from 19th to win, including last year’s winner, Denny Hamlin.
Burton’s 2002 win provided other track records. It marked the most leaders, 15, and the most lead changes, 19.
The closest margin of victory was 0.030 seconds in 2005, when Kasey Kahne won.
* Manufacturers’ Standings
With his victory Sunday at Dover, Clint Bowyer (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet) brought Chevrolet back to within 11 points of Toyota in the manufacturer points standings with seven races remaining. Chevrolet leads all manufacturers in Kansas wins with three. Toyota won its first and only Kansas race last season.
2009 Manufacturers’ Championship Standings
Toyota 187
Chevrolet 176
Ford 166
Dodge 87
Follwing Race 28 of 35 at Dover International Speedway
Up Next: NASCAR Nationwide Series Right At Home In Golden State
NASCAR has a rich Southern California tradition and the NASCAR Nationwide Series has played a significant role. Aside from the actual on-track competition, for a number of years, the series’ postseason banquet was held in the Los Angeles area at the prestigious Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Next week’s (Saturday, Oct. 10) Camping World RV Service 300 presented by Coleman will be the series’ 19th event at Auto Club Speedway, in Fontana, Calif. The series has raced at ACS since 1997, with Todd Bodine winning the first event. Jack Roush-owned cars have dominated overall, winning six times at the fast, flat 2-mile oval.
That’s obviously impressive but so is the fact that Kyle Busch will try not only for a season sweep next week, but also for a third-straight ACS victory. No one has ever won three straight NNS race at the track. Matt Kenseth has the most series victories there, with four.
There has been one previous NNS season sweep at Auto Club Speedway. That happened in 2004 – the first season there were two of the series’ races at the track – with Roush driver Greg Biffle winning twice.
FAST FACTS
The Race: Kansas Lottery 300
The Place: Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
The Date: Saturday, Oct. 3
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Distance: 200 laps / 300 miles
2008 Winner: Denny Hamlin
2008 Polesitter: Kevin Harvick
Event Schedule (all times CT):
Friday – Practice, 2-3:30 p.m.; Final Practice, 5-6 p.m.; Saturday – Qualifying, 9:05 a.m.
2009 STANDINGS
Driver Points
1 Kyle Busch 4,549
2 Carl Edwards 4,338
3 Brad Keselowski 4,252
4 Jason Leffler 3,749
5 Steve Wallace 3,259
6 Justin Allgaier 3,240
7 Jason Keller 3,125
8 Mike Bliss 3,120
9 Brendan Gaughan 3,063
10 Michael McDowell 2,978
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