Below is a look at how the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field has performed at Kansas Speedway, going into the Price Chopper 400 Presented by Kraft Foods on Oct. 3.
1 - Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 94.6
2010 Rundown
· Six wins, 11 top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.5
· Led 15 races for 918 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, one top 10
· Average finish of 19.0 in five races
· Average Running Position of 18.4, 16th-best
· Driver Rating of 80.9, 16th-best
· 28 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
· 288 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
· 118 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 12th-most
2 - Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/Johns Manville Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 108.2
2010 Rundown
· Six wins, 11 top fives, 15 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 14.4
· Led 19 races for 1,274 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· One win, two top fives, six top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 10.3 in eight races
· Series-best Average Running Position of 6.3
· Series-best Driver Rating of 122.6
· Series-high 204 Fastest Laps Run
· 328 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 162.394 mph
· Series-high 1,189 Laps in the Top 15 (93.0%)
· Series-high 217 Quality Passes
3 - Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 98.8
2010 Rundown
· Three wins, eight top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 12.1
· Led 15 races for 1,024 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· One top 10
· Average finish of 24.3 in six races
· Average Running Position of 21.9, 25th-best
· Driver Rating of 74.4, 18th-best
· 43 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
· 351 Green Flag Passes, second-most
· 156 Quality Passes, seventh-most
4 - Kurt Busch (No. 2 Operation Home Front/Miller Lite Dodge)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 95.6
2010 Rundown
· Two wins, nine top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 14.0
· Led 15 races for 820 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· Two top 10s
· Average finish of 19.7 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 18.8, 17th-best
· Driver Rating of 82.0, 14th-best
· 54 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
· 326 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
5 - Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 95.1
2010 Rundown
· Three wins, 12 top fives, 18 top 10s
· Average finish of 9.8
· Led 11 races for 230 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· Three top 10s
· Average finish of 15.9 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 16.4, 14th-best
· Driver Rating of 81.2, 15th-best
· 328 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
6 - Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 90.5
2010 Rundown
· Seven top fives, 15 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 11.6
· Led 8 races for 139 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· Two top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 13.3 in six races
· Average Running Position of 13.9, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 94.2, sixth-best
· 71 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
· 305 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.350 mph, eighth-fastest
· 824 Laps in the Top 15 (64.5%), seventh-most
· 173 Quality Passes, fourth-most
7 - Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 99.4
2010 Rundown
· Six top fives, 14 top 10s
· Average finish of 12.4
· Led 12 races for 390 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 18.6 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 21.1, 23rd-best
· Driver Rating of 73.0, 21st-best
· 285 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most
8 - Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 102.3
2010 Rundown
· 10 top fives, 14 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.9
· Led 15 races for 815 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· Two wins, six top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 8.9 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 9.5, third-best
· Driver Rating of 104.7, third-best
· 45 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.912 mph, third-fastest
· 1,123 Laps in the Top 15 (87.9%), third-most
· 197 Quality Passes, second-most
9 - Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Sherwin Williams Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 86.2
2010 Rundown
· One win, five top fives, 14 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.5
· Led 9 races for 258 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· One win, five top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 9.0 in eight races
· Average Running Position of 6.3, second-best
· Driver Rating of 119.6, second-best
· 117 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 162.152 mph, second-fastest
· 1,170 Laps in the Top 15 (91.5%), second-most
· 181 Quality Passes, third-most
10 - Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 92.1
2010 Rundown
· One win, seven top fives, 14 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 13.6
· Led 16 races for 432 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· Two wins, four top fives, six top 10s
· Average finish of 13.2 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 11.0, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 99.0, fifth-best
· 58 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.541 mph, fifth-fastest
· 952 Laps in the Top 15 (74.5%), fourth-most
· 163 Quality Passes, fifth-most
11 - Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 82.7
2010 Rundown
· Five top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 13.1
· Led 6 races for 35 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· Two top fives, three top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 22.1 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 14.5, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.7, seventh-best
· 73 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· 794 Laps in the Top 15 (62.1%), eighth-most
· 113 Quality Passes, 13th-most
12 - Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 92.6
2010 Rundown
· One win, five top fives, 15 top 10s
· Average finish of 14.5
· Led 12 races for 340 laps
Kansas Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 11.0 in four races
· Average Running Position of 14.5, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 93.4, ninth-best
· 35 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.627 mph, fourth-fastest
At Kansas Speedway:
History
· Groundbreaking was held on May 25, 1999.
· The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first events being an ARCA race and a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race on the same day – June 2.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was Sept. 30, 2001.
Notebook
· There have been nine NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas
since the track opened in 2001.
· All of the races have been scheduled for 267 laps.
· 13 drivers have competed in all eight races at Kansas.
· Jeff Gordon won the first two NASCAR Sprint Cup races.
· Jason Leffler won the first pole in September 2001.
· Seven different drivers have won poles, led by Jimmie Johnson with three.
· Seven different drivers have posted victories, led by Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart (each with two).
· There have been seven different winners.
· Six of the nine races have been won from a top-10 starting position.
· Two drivers have won from the pole: Joe Nemechek in 2004 and Jimmie Johnson in 2008.
· The furthest back in the field that race winner started was 21st, by Tony Stewart in 2006.
· Points leader Denny Hamlin made his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup start at Kansas – a 32nd-place finish in 2005.
· Two active drivers with more than one start have averaged a top-10 finish: Greg Biffle (9.0) and Jeff Gordon (8.9).
· Jeff Gordon leads all drivers in top fives (six) and top 10s (seven). Gordon’s only two non-top 10s were a 39th in 2006 and a 13th in 2004.
· Seven of the eight races that ended under green had a margin of victory under one second. The 2007 race ended under caution.
NASCAR in Kansas
· There have been nine NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Kansas, all at Kansas Speedway. The only other Kansas track to hold a NASCAR national series race was Heartland Park in Topeka, which hosted five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races from 1995-99.
· 16 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Kansas, including Jim Roper who won the very first NASCAR Sprint Cup race – Charlotte in 1949.
· There have been two race winners in the top three NASCAR series from Kansas:
Driver NSCS NNS NCWTS Clint Bowyer 3 8 1 Jim Roper 1 0 0
Kansas Speedway Data
Race #: 29 of 36 (10-3-10)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
· Banking/Corners: 15 degrees
· Banking/Frontstretch: 10.4 degrees
· Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
· Frontstretch: 2,685 feet
· Backstretch: 2,207 feet
Driver Rating at Kansas
Jimmie Johnson 122.6 Greg Biffle 119.6 Jeff Gordon 104.7 Mark Martin 100.1 Tony Stewart 99.0 Carl Edwards 94.2 Matt Kenseth 93.7 Brad Keselowski 93.4 Clint Bowyer 93.4 Casey Mears 88.4
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2009 races (5 total) at Kansas.
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: Mark Martin (175.758 mph, 30.724 seconds)
2009 race winner: Tony Stewart, 137.144 mph, 10-4-09)
Qualifying record: Matt Kenseth (180.856 mph, 29.858 seconds, 10-8-05)
Race record: Mark Martin (137.774 mph, 10-9-05)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 40-44 laps, based on fuel mileage.
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